EU Member states
Austria Country: Austria
Capital: Vienna
Official language(s): German
Population: 8 348 233
Area: 83 871 km2
EU accession: 1 January 1995
Currency: Euro
Famous for:
Mozart’s music;
national dance – waltz;
the Schönbrunn Palace (the summer residence of the emperors);
one of the UN headquarters - located in Vienna;
the funfair called "Prater"
Belgium Country: Belgium
Capital: Brussels
Official language(s): Dutch, French, German
Population: 10 827 519
Area: 30 528 km2
EU accession: 25 March 1957*
Currency: Euro
Famous for:
being the heart of EU – the headquarters of major EU institutions, like Commission, Council of EU, European Council, partly Parliament, but also many NGOs;
cuisine: french fries, chocolates, waffles
Republic of Bulgaria Country: Republic of Bulgaria
Capital: Sofia
Official language(s): Bulgarian
Population: 7 563 710
Area: 110 993.6 km2
EU accession: 1 January 2007
Currency: Bulgarian lev
Famous for:
tourist destination - good and cheap cuisine, nice, warm weather, beautiful sandy beaches;
many interesting places and buildings like The Church of Saint Cyril and Methodius in Burgas city,
Republic of Cyprus Country: Republic of Cyprus
Capital: Nicosia
Official language(s): Greek, Turkish
Population: 798 045
Area: 9.251 km2
EU accession: 1 May 2004
Currency: Euro
Famous for:
its history - many cultures are cumulating on this island: from
ancient Persia, Assyria to the Turkish Empire times;
legends about the birthplace of the ancient Greek Goddess Aphrodite
Czech Republic Country: Czech Republic
Capital: Prague
Official language(s): Czech, Slovak
Population: 10506813
Area: 78 866 km2
EU accession: 1 May 2004
Currency: Czech koruna
Famous for:
Czech cuisine, traditional dish called "knedlicki"- dumplings, beer;
Prague - one of the most visited cities in Europe because of the architecture and interesting sights, such as the Bridge of Charles
Kingdom of Denmark Country: Kingdom of Denmark
Capital: Copenhagen
Official language(s): Danish
Population: 5 540 241
Area: 43 098.31 km2
EU accession: 1 January 1973*
Currency: Danish krone
Famous for:
places to relax like Legoland;
ports;
studies for free;
TV series such as "the Olsen Gang"
Republic of Estonia Country: Republic of Estonia
Capital: Tallinn
Official language(s): Estonian
Population: 1 340 021
Area: 45 228 km2
EU accession: 1 May 2004
Currency: Estonian kroon
Famous for:
forests;
limestone;
oil shale;
ports
Republic of Finland Country: Republic of Finland
Capital: Helsinki
Official language(s): Finnish, Swedish
Population: 5 359 538
Area: 338 424 km2
EU accession:1 January1995
Currency: Euro
Famous for:
Rovaniemi - Santa Claus’ village;
reindeers; sauna;
sports: ski jumping, skiing;
music: rock bands like The Rasmus, Nightwish, Lordi;
food - various kinds of meet, dumplings, especially those from Karelian region;
unique language from the Ugro-Finnish group
French Republic Country: French Republic
Capital: Paris
Official language(s): French
Population: 65 447 374
Area: 674 843 km2
EU accession: 25 March 1957*
Currency: Euro
Famous for:
rich and fascinating history;
cuisine - mussels, cheese (roquefort, camembert), fondue dish, french croissants, tarts;
fashion;
Paris;
Eiffel Tower;
the Lumiere brothers beingthe founders of movie;
music - artists like Joe Dassin, Edith Piaf, Jean-Michel Jarre
Federal Republic of Germany Country: Federal Republic of Germany
Capital: Berlin
Official language(s): German
Population: 81 757 600
Area: 357 021 km2
EU accession: 25 March 1957*
Currency: Euro
Famous for:
rich history;
popular top model Claudia Schiffer;
music – Wagner, bands such as Tic Tac Toe;
literature – J. W. Goethe;
sport – football, ski jumping, skiing;
traditional festivals such as "October Fest";
cuisine - various types of sausages, beer, special dishes, like "Maultaschen", "Pratzel";
Berlin being one of the most important capitals in Europe
Republic of Greece Country: Republic of Greece
Capital: Athens
Official language(s): Greek
Population: 11 306 183
Area: 131 990 km2
EU accession: 1 January 1981*
Currency: Euro
Famous for:
the antiquity period;
mythology;
cuisine - wines, olives, moussaka dish;
light blue colour of houses;
mineral water sources;
country with sea, islands;
country which is tourist oriented
Republic of Hungary Country: Republic of Hungary
Capital: Budapest
Official language(s): Hungarian
Population: 10 007 000
Area: 93 030 km2
EU accession: 1 May 2004
Currency: Forint
Famous for:
national dance - Chardash;
cuisine - spicy dishes with a lot of paprika;
the Hungarian language belongs to the Ugro-Finnish group
Ireland Country: Ireland
Capital: Dublin
Official language(s): English, Irish
Population: 4 459 300
Area: 70 273 km2
EU accession: 1 January 1973
Currency: Euro
Famous for:
many green places;
natural gas and hydrocarbon sources;
Dublin being the main tourist destination;
music - traditional Irish folk music
Italian Republic Country: Italian Republic
Capital: Rome
Official language(s): Italian
Population: 60 231 214
Area: 301 338 km2
EU accession: 25 March 1957*
Currency: Euro
Famous for:
Rome - as one of the most often visited European cities
because of the ancient places and buildings, like the Colosseum, Forum Romanum, di Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, Basilica di San Marco;
cuisine – various types of pasta, olives, wine, pizza, tiramisu cake;
sport - football, volleyball;
music - opera; warm climate
Republic of Latvia Country: Republic of Latvia
Capital: Riga
Official language(s): Latvian
Population: 2 217 969
Area: 64 589 km2
EU accession: 1 May 2004
Currency: Lats
Famous for:
music - Brainstorm band; Riga;
many interesting castles;
protestant cathedrals;
food - black bread, a drink called "Gira";
numerous lakes and mineral water sources
Republic of Lithuania Country: Republic of Lithuania
Capital: Vilnius
Official language(s): Lithuanian
Population: 3 341 966
Area: 65 200 km2
EU accession: 1 May 2004
Currency: Lithuanian litas
Famous for:
sport - especially basketball (Zalgiris team being the best club), ice-hockey;
cuisine - traditional dishes: fried bread with cheese, potato cakes, cold beetroot soup, pancakes with cheese, drink called "Gira";
full of sights located in Vilnius, Trakai, Kaunas
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Country: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Capital: Luxembourg
Official language(s): German, French, Luxembourgish
Population: 502 202
Area: 2 586.4 km2
EU accession: 25 March 1957*
Currency: Euro
Famous for:
being a headquarter for many financial institutions, such as
European Investment Bank;
place of European Parliament administration
Republic of Malta Country: Republic of Malta
Capital: La Valletta
Official language(s): Maltese, English
Population: 413 609
Area: 316 km2
EU accession: 1 May 2004
Currency: Euro
Famous for:
second highest amount of Catholics (Vatican being the first);
cuisine – varied dishes because of the influence of Britain and Italy;
warm climate
Kingdom of the Netherlands Country: Kingdom of the Netherlands
Capital: The Hague
Official language(s): Dutch
Population: 16 620 900
Area: 41 526 km2
EU accession: 25 March 1957*
Currency: Euro
Famous for:
traditional cheese production - Emmentaler, Maasdamer, Gouda (from the Gouda city);
flowers - tulips as a symbol of the country;
healthy lifestyle - the highest percentage of bicycle users and the best bicycle routes infrastructure among other EU member states;
numerous tall people;
windmills
Republic of Poland
Country: Republic of Poland
Capital: Warsaw
Official language(s): Polish
Population: 37 810 793
Area: 312 685 km2
EU accession: 1 May 2004
Currency: Złoty
Famous for:
rich history;
varied landscape - mountains, lakes and sea;
literature - writers and poets such as Henryk Sienkiewicz, Wisława Szymborska, Czesław Miłosz;
directors - Roman Polański, Andrzej Wajda;
music - Frederic Chopin etc.;
traditional dance - polonaize;
it’s a country that was notmuch touched by the recent economic crisis
Portuguese Republic Country: Portuguese Republic
Capital: Lisbon
Official language(s): Portuguese
Population: 11 317 192
Area: 92 090 km2
EU accession: 1 January 1986*
Currency: Euro
Famous for:
traditional music – Fado;
cuisine – wines;
Lisbon - place where the EU treaty was signed;
interesting sights such as University in Coimbra (the oldest in Portugal);
places of religious importance;
pilgrim routes - Fatima
Romania Country: Romania
Capital: Bucharest
Official language(s): Romanian
Population: 22 215 421
Area: 238 391 km2
EU accession: 1 January 2007
Currency: Romanian leu
Famous for:
legends about the Dracula;
good cuisine;
wine;
music
Slovak Republic Country: Slovak Republic
Capital: Bratislava
Official language(s): Slovak
Population: 5 379 455
Area: 49 035 km2
EU accession:1 May 2004
Currency: Euro
Famous for:
high mountains;
cheap products,
numerous sights put on the UNESCO world heritage list;
sport - tennis players like Martina Hingis, Daniela Hantuchova
Republic of Slovenia Country: Republic of Slovenia
Capital: Ljubljana
Official language(s): Slovene
Population: 2 054 199
Area: 20 273 km2
EU accession 1 May 2004
Currency: Euro
Famous for:
many green places;
interesting caves- Vilenica as a meeting point for guests of Central-European literary festival;
sport – ski jumping competition in Planica, skijumpers Robert Kranjec, Primoz Peterka, Damjan Fras
Kingdom of Spain Country: Kingdom of Spain
Capital:Madrid
Official language(s): Spanish
Population: 45 989 016
Area: 504 030 km2
EU accession:1 January 1986*
Currency: Euro
Famous for:
traditional celebrations such as Corrida, Pampeluna;
cuisine - paella, olives, wine;
impressive history – the great fleet of Spain called "Armada";
traditional dance - Flamenco;
sport - football clubs: FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, tennis -Raphael Nadal, Carlos Moya, Juan Carlos Ferrero
Kingdom of Sweden Country: Kingdom of Sweden
Capital: Stockholm
Official language(s):Swedish
Population: 9 354 462
Area: 449 964 km2
Accession: 1 January 1995
Currency: Swedish krona
Famous for:
music - Abba band;
cold climate;
the best welfare system in Europe;
forests; lakes;
good conditions for winter sports
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Country: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Capital: London
Official language(s):English
Population: 62 041 708
Area: 243 610 km2
Accession: 1 January 1973*
Currency: Pound sterling
Famous for:
tradition of royalty - Buckingham Palace, Queen as
a symbol of the British Empire;
fashion – London being one of the most important fashioncentre;
food - coffee with milk, eggs with bacon, toasts;
music – numerous bands and singers of various genres, forexample the Beatles, Robbie Williams, the Spice Girls;
British Museum, Westminster Abbey;
sights to visit like Stonehenge, the Tower
* Precise date of the accession to the European Community. The European Union was created in 1992.