It is interesting to know:

History of Country's Membership

1952 - Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands 1973 - Denmark, Ireland, the United Kingdom 1981 - Greece  1986 - Portugal, Spain 1995 - Austria, Finland, Sweden 2004 - Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia

2007 – Bulgaria, Romania

Croatia and Turkey are the official candidate countries to join the European Union.

The EU symbols

The European flag - the 12 stars in a circle symbolize the ideals of perfection, completeness and unity.

The European anthem - the melody comes from the Ninth Symphony by Beethoven.

Europe Day, 9 May - is celebrated each year as the EU’s birthday (1950)

“United in diversity” - is the motto of the EU.

Euro banknotes

The euro (€), is probably the EU’s most tangible achievement. It is the single currency, shared by 13 countries. This number will rise as the new member countries adopt the euro, once their economies are ready. 

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EU countries using the euro:

Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France,

Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland, Slovakia. EU countries not using the euro: Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.