In half a century time, the European Union has expanded tremendously. Today’s EU has become a union of 27 Member States representing a population of close to 500 million citizens!
Why would the EU encourage this enlargement?
The governments of the EU Member States, coming together in the European Council, have agreed to extend the EU to countries in South East Europe like Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo under UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and Turkey
BRUSSEL - In Vlaanderen is het dragen van een hoofddoek met onmiddellijke ingang verboden in alle openbare scholen van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap. © ANP
Dat heeft het overkoepelend bestuur van het Vlaams openbaar onderwijs vrijdag bekendgemaakt. Het gaat om ongeveer zevenhonderd scholen in het basis- en voortgezet onderwijs. Samen hebben die ongeveer 300.000 leerlingen.
Naast hoofddoeken zijn ook andere zichtbare uitingen van een levensbeschouwing, zoals bijvoorbeeld een kruisje, verboden.
read more »Want to test your expertise about the EU in a fun way? Take the quiz called “the enlargement quiz”. Play it here:
European foreign ministers have asked the commission to evaluate Iceland’s suitability for EU membership, the first step in the entry process.

The decision came swiftly – less than two weeks after Iceland submitted its application – reflecting the country’s strong credentials.
read more »In the beginning, six countries – Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands – founded the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951, followed by the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community in 1957.
Five successful enlargements have followed since then:
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From Tony Blair’s emphatic speech to the vote on the Services Directive to the dockers’ angry protests: The five years of the last Parliamentary term saw some momentous events - some far reaching, others just dramatic. In this slideshow we look back at some incidents - both memorable and at times poignant, such as when the EP President led a delegation of MEPs to the Gaza strip.
read more »POLL 100: Testen maar ... A.Ja, B.Nee. SMS POLL 100A or POLL 100B to +32472191457