Loading subject…
Article 50 (Treaty on European Union)
The clause in the Treaty on European Union that lets a member state withdraw from the EU. Once triggered, it starts a two-year negotiating window for a withdrawal agreement. The UK triggered it in March 2017 and formally left the EU on 31 January 2020.
Eurozone
The group of European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency, with monetary policy set by the European Central Bank (ECB). The Eurozone was established in 1999 (electronic) and 2002 (physical currency). By 2020 it comprised 19 of the EU's 27 member states. The structural weakness of a shared monetary policy without shared fiscal policy became apparent in the sovereign debt crisis of 2010-2015.
Schengen Agreement
A 1985 agreement, in force from 1995, that removed routine passport checks at internal borders between participating European states, creating a passport-free travel area (the Schengen Area) that later grew to include most EU states plus Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.