Traditionally, Europe is a continent, but it is not an isolated continent - it has a long land border with Asia. For geographical purposes, the division between Europe and Asia is generally regarded as the watershed of the Ural Mountains; down the Ural river to Gur'yev, Kazakhstan; across the Caspian Sea to Apsheronskiy Poloustrov, near Baku; along the watershed of the Caucasus Mountains to Anapa and then across the Black Sea to the Bosporus in Turkey; across the Sea of Marmara to Çanakkale Boğazi (Dardanelles). (Ref: Whitaker's Almanack)
This definition presents certain practical problems, in that the division slices right through several countries, notably Russia and Turkey. The simple solution is to include the whole of Russia and Turkey in the definition - but that still leaves some open questions as to the inclusion or not of the Caucasian states, and of the Central Asian states that once formed part of a country (the USSR) that straddled the Eurasian border, but now do not.
For these reasons, these pages make no hard distinctions about what constitutes Europe and what does not. Nevertheless, a discussion of what the word "Europe" may mean today is instructive.
In addition, we may mention certain groupings within the EC:
The foundation for the European Union was laid in 1952 with the formation of the European Coal and Steel Community. The 6 member states went on to form the European Economic Community (EEC, later EC) in 1958. The EC was enlarged in 1973, 1981 and 1986, and became the European Union (EU) in 1993. The EU was further enlarged in 1995, 2004 and 2007.
The maps show the progressive enlargement of the EEC/EU.
Iceland is also a member of the EEA.
The Schengen agreement effectively eliminates border controls between the member countries. The Nordic Union was a similar agreement between the Nordic states (including Iceland). The two zones were merged for all practical purposes in 2003. The 10 states which joined the EU in 2004, the 2 which joined in 2007 and Switzerland (which remains outside the EU) are expected to form part of the Schengen area from 2008.
These countries have adopted the Euro as their official currency. The Euro is accepted in the tourist areas and larger shops of most other European countries.
