Web of European Institutions
The first time most of us realize that there is difference among EU nations is when one comes to learn that the Schengen Visa isn’t valid across all those nations. Until I saw the pic below, I didn’t realize that the continent which claims European integration is its ultimate aim had so many different institutions related to that goal! Notice how many of them there are. And worse, how they overlap. Must be a bureaucrat’s dream come true! (On the bright side, here’s a very nice application of Venn diagrams). So what are all these groups? Eurozone : 17 countries that use the Euro as their currency. EU-but-not-Eurozone : Members of EU but don’t use Euro as the currency. Among these, only UK, Denmark and Sweden opted out of the Euro. The rest in that group (later day Eastern European additions) are obligated to eventually transition to the Euro currency. European Union Customs Union (EUCU) : No customs levied on goods moving within this group. Customs are only levied on goods entering the...