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Further east, Volga Bulgaria became an Islamic state in the 10th century, but was eventually absorbed into Russia several centuries later. The powerful West Slavic state of Great Moravia spread its territory all the way south to the Balkans, reaching its largest territorial extent under Svatopluk I and causing a series of armed conflicts with East Francia. This led in 962 to the founding of the Holy Roman Empire, which eventually became centred in the German principalities of central Europe. Between 711 and 720, most of the lands of the Visigothic Kingdom of Iberia were brought under Muslim rule—save for small areas in the northwest (Asturias) and largely Basque regions in the Pyrenees.

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These increasingly amalgamated bodies grew, with their legal successor the EU, both in size through the accessions of a further 22 states from 1973 to 2013, and in power through acquisitions of policy areas. The EU was established, along with its citizenship, when the Maastricht Treaty came into force in 1993, and was incorporated as an international legal juridical personclarification needed upon entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009. Through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the union has developed a role in external relations and defence. EU policies aim to ensure the free www.eusfs.eu movement of people, goods, services and capital within the internal market; enact legislation in justice and home affairs; and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries, and regional development.

Some of these, such as the Alps and the Pyrenees, are oriented east–west and allow the wind to carry large masses of water from the ocean in the interior. Having lived side by side with agricultural peoples for millennia, Europe’s animals and plants have been profoundly affected by the presence and activities of humans. Most of the older geology of western Europe existed as part of the ancient microcontinent Avalonia. The northern plain contains the old geological continent of Baltica and so may be regarded geologically as the “main continent”, while peripheral highlands and mountainous regions in the south and west constitute fragments from various other geological continents.

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Twenty-three EU members are members of NATO while the remaining member states follow policies of neutrality. EU development action is based on the European Consensus on Development, which was endorsed on 20 December 2005 by EU Member States, the council, the European Parliament and the commission. International recognition of sustainable development as a key element is growing steadily. These countries, primarily developing countries, include some who seek to one day become either a member state of the European Union, or more closely integrated with the European Union. The European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department, or “ECHO”, provides humanitarian aid from the EU to developing countries. The unanimity and difficult issues treated under the CFSP sometimes lead to disagreements, such as those which occurred over the war in Iraq.

After the Second World War the map of Europe was redrawn at the Yalta Conference and divided into two blocs, the Western countries and the communist Eastern bloc, separated by what was later called by Winston Churchill an “Iron Curtain”. More than 40 million people in Europe had died as a result of the Second World War, including between 11 and 17 million people who perished during the Holocaust. The Battle of Kursk, which involved the largest tank battle in history, was the last major German offensive on the Eastern Front.

The Presidency of the council rotates between member states, with each holding it for six months. It consists of a representative from each member state’s government and meets in different compositions depending on the policy area being addressed. The council, as it is now simply called (also called the Council of the European Union and the “Council of Ministers”, its former title), forms one half of the EU’s legislature. It has 27 European commissioners for different areas of policy, one from each member state, though commissioners are bound to represent the interests of the EU as a whole rather than their home state. The European Council should not be mistaken for the Council of Europe, an international organisation independent of the EU and based in Strasbourg.

• The average temperatures for the coldest month, as well as the annual average temperatures, drop from the west to the east.
• Containing 5.5% of the world population in 2023, EU member states generated a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of around €17.935 trillion in 2024, accounting for approximately one sixth of global economic output.
• According to the Institute for European Environmental Policy, environmental law comprises over 500 Directives, Regulations and Decisions, making environmental policy a core area of European politics.

Europe’s continuing economic achievements are evidenced by its high standard of living and its successes in science, technology, and the arts. Slavic-based civilization dominates much of the territory occupied by the former Soviet Union from the Baltic and Black seas to the Pacific Ocean. Inhabited plains, with only the minor interruption of the worn-down Urals, extend from central Europe to the Yenisey River in central Siberia. Furthermore, the Mediterranean coastlands of North Africa and southwestern Asia also exhibit some European physical and cultural affinities.

A 2021 study in the Journal of Political Economy found that the 2004 enlargement had aggregate beneficial economic effects on all groups in both the old and new member states. The European Union has had a significant positive economic effect on most member states. The majority of media in the European Union are national-orientated, although some EU-wide media focusing on European affairs have emerged since the early 1990s, such as Euronews, Eurosport, EUobserver, EURACTIV or Politico Europe.

On 24 September, the Soviet Union attacked the Baltic countries and, on 30 November, Finland, the latter of which was followed by the devastating Winter War for the Red Army. Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, prompting France and the United Kingdom to declare war on Germany on 3 September, opening the European theatre of the Second World War. In 1933, Hitler became the leader of Germany and began to work towards his goal of building Greater Germany. Helped by the economic crisis, social instability and the threat of communism, fascist movements developed throughout Europe placing Adolf Hitler in power of what became Nazi Germany.