Leggi il seguente brano sulla Unione Europea e poi rispondi alle domande che trovi alla fine.
The European Union (EU) is an economic and political partnership among European countries, 27 at the moment. It aims to create a fair society and promote peace, prosperity and mutual understanding. It started life in 1957, as the European Economic Community (EEC) with six founding members German, France, Italy, the Nederlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, Denmark and the United Kingdom joined the EU in 1973, followed by Greece in 1981 and Spain and Ponugal in 1986. After the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, Germany reunited after over 40 years and its eastern part entered the EU in October 1990. Later on, in 1992, the Treaty of Maastricht promoted the creation of an economic union. Under the Treaty, the name 'European Union' officially replaced 'European Community'. The European Union got bigger in 1995, when Finland, Sweden and Austria joined. On 1 January 2002 euro notes and coins came into use in 12 countries, gradually increasing over the years and reaching 17 in 2011. The Czech Republic, Lituania, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Malta and Cyprus entered the EU in 2004, followed by Bulgaria and Romania in 2007.
DOMANDE: 1. What Is the EU? 2. What does it aim to create and promote? 3. When were the six founding members of the EEC? 4. Which countries followed? 5. When did the Berlin wall fall? 6. When and under what treaty did the name "European Union" officially replace "European Community"? 7. Which countries joined the EU in 1995? 8. When did the euro currency come into use? 9. How many countries use the euro today? 10.Name some of the latest countries to enter the EU 11.What is the European Motto?
