It is often said that Europe is the place where Western civilization was born and developed.
Europe is the name given to the continent that borders Asia to the east; the Atlantic Ocean to the west; the Arctic Ocean to the north; and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It is part of the Eurasian supercontinent and is located in the northern hemisphere of planet Earth .
With an area of just over 10,530,700 square kilometres, Europe is the second smallest continent. Only Oceania has a smaller territorial extension. In terms of population, Europe ranks behind Asia , Africa and America , surpassing Oceania and Antarctica .
Countries of Europe
The number of countries that can be identified in Europe depends on several factors. There are states that are not unanimously recognised at international level, while there are also autonomous territories and non-European areas that are part of European nations, for example.
Typically, 50 sovereign states are mentioned in Europe , such as Germany , Spain , France , Italy , Portugal and Russia , among many others. Abkhazia , Northern Cyprus and Kosovo , meanwhile, are states with limited recognition. We can also refer to dependent territories such as the Faroe Islands and dependent territories such as Gibraltar .
It is interesting to note that Vatican City is the smallest sovereign state in Europe and even in the world. At the other extreme, Russia is the country in Europe and the world with the largest surface area .
The European Union made possible the integration of most European countries into a community bloc.
A supranational union
In 1993 , the Maastricht Treaty came into force, formally establishing the creation of the European Union . This supranational entity currently includes 27 European countries.
The European Union is a bloc of enormous international importance. In the geopolitical context, it acts as a counterweight to the United States and China .
Seven institutions provide the appropriate framework for the fulfilment of its mission . These are the European Council , the European Parliament , the European Commission , the Council of the European Union , the European Court of Auditors , the European Central Bank and the Court of Justice of the European Union .
The importance of Europe
For Western civilization , Europe is a key region. It is often said, in fact, that Europe is the birthplace of so-called Western culture due to the importance of Ancient Greece .
With the collapse of the Western Roman Empire , the so-called Ancient Age ended and the Middle Ages began. The advances brought about by the Renaissance and the explorations that led Europeans to America made possible the entry into the Modern Age , where the countries of Europe acquired a central role.
It should be noted that, with the colonization that began in the 16th century, the powers of Europe came to control large areas of America , Africa , Asia and Oceania ; despite the subsequent processes of independence, European influence continued, especially at the cultural and economic levels.
Although the world wars reduced Europe 's hegemony (and the importance of the United States and, at the time, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics grew), with the European Union the continent regained a leadership position, albeit shared.