Europe'''Europe''' encompasses an area of 10,400,000 km² (4,000,000 square miles), stretching from Asia to the Atlantic, Africa to the Arctic. There is much here for the traveller to enjoy, with a bewildering array of diversity and culture, cosmopolitan cities and spectacular scenery. Europe defies easy categorization, with its compact size and complex history. The following are five (loosely defined) regions. Image:Europecolour3.PNG|thumb|250px|European Regions: Western Europe, Central Europe, Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, Mediterranean Europe *Western Europe|Western Europe - Benelux, the British Isles and France; *Northern Europe|Northern Europe - Finland, Iceland and Scandinavia; *Central Europe|Central Europe - Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia and Switzerland; *Eastern Europe|Eastern Europe - Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Baltic countries, Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia (country)|Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Russia and Ukraine; *Mediterranean Europe|Mediterranean Europe - Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Portugal, San Marino, Serbia and Montenegro, Spain, Turkey and Vatican. See also: European Union, 25 European states in various stages of economic and political union. Image:Europegeog.JPG|thumb|250px|Geographical Europe ==Get around== There are no border controls between countries that have signed and implemented the '''Schengen Agreement'''. Likewise, a visa granted for any European_Union#Get_around|Schengen Agreement signatory country is valid in all other countries that signed and implemented the treaty. These countries are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. Note that not all EU members have signed the Schengen treaty and not all Schengen treaty countries are members of the European Union. At some airports, airlines will still insist on seeing your id-card or passport. Travel to and from a Schengen Agreement country to any other country will result in the normal border checks. ===By train=== The Inter Rail (for Europeans) and Eurail (for everybody else) passes offer good value if you plan on traveling extensively around Europe (or even a single region) and want more flexibility than cheap plane tickets can offer. These countries are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ===By plane=== A number of budget airlines allow very cheap travel around Europe, often '''much cheaper''' than the train fares for the same journey. Currently the cheapest flights are offered by Discount_airlines_in_Europe|low cost airlines such as Easyjet, HLX, Ryanair, Transavia and Jet2, with the lowest fares usually found on routes which go to or from cities in the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland or Eastern Europe. All of these flights should be booked on the internet well in advance. === By bus === [http://www.eurolines.com Eurolines] connects over 500 destinations, covering the whole of the continent, including Morocco. Eurolines allows travelling from Sicily to Helsinki and from Casablanca to Moscow. ==Countries== {| cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="border: 1px solid #C9AFFF; background-color: #ddf; text-align: center; " width="600" |- style="background-color: #ddd" !width="130" align=left| Country || Symbol || Currency ||European Union|EU-member ||Schengen implemented||Time zone³||Inter Rail (zone)||Eurail |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Albania || AL, .al ||ALL||n||n||CET|| || |- |align=left| Andorra || AND, .ad ||'''EUR'''||n||n||CET|| || |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Austria || A, .at ||'''EUR'''||'''1995'''||'''y'''||CET||C||'''y''' |- |align=left| Belarus || BY, .by ||BYR||n||n||EET|| || |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Belgium || B, .be ||'''EUR'''||'''1958'''||'''y'''||CET||E||'''y''' |- |align=left| Bosnia and Herzegovina || BIH, .ba ||BAM||n||n||CET|| |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Bulgaria || BG, .bg ||BGN||''2007'''''¹'''||n||EET||H|| |- |align=left| Croatia || HR, .hr ||HRK||''2007+?'''''²'''||n||CET||D |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Cyprus || CY, .cy ||CYP||'''2004'''||n||CET|| || |- |align=left| Czech Republic || CZ, .cz ||CZK||'''2004'''||n||CET||D |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Denmark || DK, .dk ||DKK||'''1973'''||'''y'''||CET||C||'''y''' |- |align=left| Estonia || EST, .ee ||EEK||'''2004'''||n||EET|| || |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Finland || FIN, .fi ||'''EUR'''||'''1995'''||'''y'''||EET||B||'''y''' |- |align=left| France || F, .fr ||'''EUR'''||'''1958'''||'''y'''||CET||E||'''y''' |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Germany || D, .de ||'''EUR'''||'''1958'''||'''y'''||CET||C||'''y''' |- |align=left| Greece || GR, .gr ||'''EUR'''||'''1981'''||'''y'''||EET||G||'''y''' |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Hungary || H, .hu ||HUF||'''2004'''||n||CET||D|| |- |align=left| Iceland || IS, .is ||ISK||n||'''y'''||CET|| || |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Republic of Ireland|Ireland || IRL, .ie ||'''EUR'''||'''1973'''||n||WET||A|| |- |align=left| Italy || I, .it ||'''EUR'''||'''1958'''||'''y'''||CET||G||'''y''' |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Latvia || LV, .lv ||LVL||'''2004'''||n||EET|| || |- |align=left| Liechtenstein || FL, .li ||CHF||n||n||CET|| || |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Lithuania || LT, .lt ||LTL||'''2004'''||n||EET|| || |- |align=left| Luxembourg || L, .lu ||'''EUR'''||'''1958'''||'''y'''||CET||E||'''y''' |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia || MK, .mk ||MKD||n||n||CET||H|| |- |align=left| Malta || M, .mt ||MTL||'''2004'''||n||CET|| || |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Moldova || MD, .md ||MDL||n||n||EET|| || |- |align=left| Monaco || MC, .mc ||'''EUR'''||n||n||CET|| || |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Netherlands || NL, .nl ||'''EUR'''||'''1958'''||'''y'''||CET||E||'''y''' |- |align=left| Norway || N, .no ||NOK||n||'''y'''||CET||B||'''y''' |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Poland || PL, .pl ||PLN||'''2004'''||n||CET||D||n |- |align=left| Portugal || P, .pt ||'''EUR'''||'''1986'''||'''y'''||WET||F||'''y''' |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Romania || RO, .ro ||ROL'''5'''||''2007'''''¹'''||'''y'''||EET||H||'''n''' |- |align=left| European Russia || RU, .ru (.su) ||RUB||n||n||MSK'''4'''|| || |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| San Marino || RSM, .sm ||'''EUR'''||n||n||CET|| || |- |align=left| Serbia and Montenegro || YU, .yu ||CSD'''²'''||n||n||CET||H |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Slovakia || SK, .sk ||SKK||'''2004'''||n||CET||D|| |- |align=left| Slovenia || SLO, .si ||SIT||'''2004'''||n||CET||G|| |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Spain || E, .es ||'''EUR'''||'''1986'''||'''y'''||CET||F||'''y''' |- |align=left| Sweden || S, .se ||SEK||'''1995'''||'''y'''||CET||B||'''y''' |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Switzerland || CH, .ch ||CHF||n||n||CET||C||'''y''' |- |align=left| European Turkey || TR, .tr ||TRY||''2010+?'''''¹'''||n||EET||G|| |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Ukraine || UA, .ua ||UAH||n||n||EET|| || |- |align=left| United Kingdom || GB, .uk ||GBP||'''1973'''||n||WET|| |- style="background-color: #f3f3ff" |align=left| Vatican || V, .va ||'''EUR'''||n||n/a||CET||n/a||n/a |} '''¹''' Official EU applicant countries. Bulgaria and Romania acceding January 1, 2007. '''²''' Montenegro and the Serbian province of Kosovo (administered by the UN) use the Euro as their official currency. '''³''' Winter time. In summer (''last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October''): WET → WEST (''UTC+0 → +1''), CET → CEST (''+1 → +2''), EET → EEST (''+2 → +3'') '''4''' Russia uses multiple time zones. EET in Kaliningrad Oblast, MSK (''UTC+3'') in Moscow, up to UTC+12 near Alaska. '''5''' In July 1, 2005 the ROL currency will be replaced by RON which is a denomination of national currencies. This denomination will cut out 4 (four) zeros. An example is: 4.250.300 lei (ROL) will be: 425,03 lei (RON). ROL is also called ''leu'' (lion) and RON will be called ''leu greu'' (heavy lion). From March 1, 2005 the prices will be shown in both currencies. The old currency ROL will stop by December 31, 2006. ==Other territories== *Faroe Islands *Gibraltar *Channel Islands (United Kingdom) Note: Russia and the Caucasus are sometimes considered to be a part of Asia. ==Political History== Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries was a region ravaged by large-scale wars. National leaders realized after World War II that closer socio-economic and political integration was needed to ensure that such tragedies never happened again. Starting with humble beginnings, the EU's first form was the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The founding group was Belgium, West Germany, Luxembourg, France, Italy and the Netherlands. Impressed with the results of the union the six countries pressed on and in 1956 signed the treaty of Rome, with the ultimate goal of creating a common market- the European Economic Community (EEC). In 1967 the union was formalised further with a the creation of a single Commission, as well as a council of ministers and a EU parliament. Post-1967 the EU continued to grow; Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom joined in 1973. Greece joined in 1981, Spain and Portugal in 1986 and Austria, Finland and Sweden in 1995. The EU pressed on with economic integration and launched the Euro(€) across several nations in January 2002. In 2004 a further 10 countries joined the EU "club", including Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. * [http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/index_en.htm Key EU Events] ==See also== * [http://europa.eu.int/index_en.htm European Union Website] {{stub}} de:Europa fr:Europe ro:Europa sv:Europa WikiPedia:Europe Dmoz:Europe First page | Prev | Next | Last page |

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