lf year border
war with Eritrea ended with a peace treaty on 12 December 2000.
Final demarcation of the boundary is currently on hold due to
Ethiopian objections to an international commission's finding
requiring it to surrender sensitive territory.

Europa Island
A French possession since 1897, the island is heavily
wooded; it is the site of a small military garrison that staffs a
weather station.

European Union
Following the two devastating World Wars of the first
half of the 20th century, a number of European leaders in the late
1940s became convinced that the only way to establish a lasting
peace was to unite the two chief belligerent nations - France and
Germany - both economically and politically. In 1950, the French
Foreign Minister Robert SCHUMAN proposed an eventual union of all
Europe, the first step of which would be the integration of the coal
and steel industries of Western Europe. The following year the
European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up when six
members, Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the
Netherlands, signed the Treaty of Paris. The ECSC was so successful
that within a few years the decision was made to integrate other
parts of the countries' economies. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome
created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European
Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the six member states
undertook to eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a
common market. In 1967, the institutions of all three communities
were formally merged into the European Community (EC), creating a
single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the European
Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were initially
selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first direct
elections were undertaken and they have been held every five years
since. In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the
addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The 1980s saw
further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain
and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis
for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in
judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic
and monetary union - including a common currency. This further
integration created the European Union (EU). In 1995, Austria,
Finland, and