The multiplicity of adjacent nations made the economy of Europe a mong the most complex on the planet. For centuries Europe has been one of the major… [600592]

European Economy
work elaborated by :
Heleno de Barros
Teacther
Dudã

Graduation Management

1. Introduction

The multiplicity of adjacent nations made the economy of Europe a mong the
most complex on the planet.
For centuries Europe has been one of the major economic centers of the world.
Among the causes, we can cite as the main geographical condition. The
location between Africa and Asia, made the European region a compuls ory
passage point, and facilitated considerably the absorption and radiation of
knowledge, technology and commerce from both continents. This condition
lasted until the twentieth century. In the twentieth century, Europe saw its
dominance decline to ward the United States, Japan and, in the final stage, the
People's Republic of China. The First and Second World War, fought on its
territory, the lack of energy, oil, and an intense rivalry between their peoples ,
accounted for the continent losing its economic leadership.
Europe does not have self-sufficiency in energy production, requiring import a
lot of oil. This product is only extracted in considerable quantities in Russia and
the North Sea. Natural gas, another product widely used in the generation a nd
production of energy is very abundant in Russia, Romania, the Netherlan ds and
the UK. Other energy resource that had great importance in the early stages of
the industrial revolution was coal, abundant, especially in Germany, Poland,
Russia, United Kingdom. All these energy sources are extremely polluting and
cause great environmental impacts across the planet. In the case of clean
energy, ie, non-polluting, can be cited hydropower, wind power, and solar
energy, low production and use in Europe due to its geographical conditions.
Nuclear power production in Europe is very important, and, like the United
States, generates immense amounts of nuclear waste, whose aim from t he
beginning of its use, it is very foggy and never published in the world media.

2. Measuring the EU economy

The EU economy, measured in terms of total production of goods and serv ices
(GDP) is currently higher than the US: EU GDP in 2014 :

13,920,541 million euros

3. Commerce

Although the EU represents only 7 % of world population , the volume of trade
with the rest of the world accounts for approximately 20% of the global v olume
of exports and imports.
About two-thirds of trade in EU countries are held with other Member States.
While trade has been affected by the global recession, the EU remains the
largest trading power in the world, accounting for 16.4% of world imports in
2011. Following are you the United States, with 15.5% of world imports, and
China, with 11.9%. The EU was also the largest exporter, with 15.4 % of worl d
exports, against 13.4 % for China and 10.5% for the United States.

4. Imports and exports

Europe imports mainly raw materials, minerals, tropical products, rubber and
wood (equipment | wood). High-tech manufactured from the United States and
Japan. The predominant export is manufactured, automobiles, ships, chemicals,
optical products and footwear. From the Western European economies Intra-
European trade is the same as in other regions of the planet. To promote the
local trade was created specific legislation and trade agreements that have
materialized in organizations such as the European Free Trade Asso ciation and
the European Economic Community.

The European center-western area, where trade is intense, and the road
network and densest railway land on the planet. The trade and com merce take
place very quickly and dynamically. In the other regions although not hav ing a
road network so dense, it is still well above the rest of the world averag e, for
any inhabitant of a moderately important region ceases to rely on rail or road
next to you.

Due to its rugged profile, geographically, the European continent has many
bays and natural harbors. This particular historically enabled the development
of the maritime vocation of the inhabitants of the coast.

The busiest ports are Rotterdam (Rotterdam), Antwerp, Le Havre, Marseille,
London, Lisbon and Genoa. The busiest airports in Europe are Moscow
(Moscow), London, Paris and Frankfurt, all
among the busiest
in the world.

5. Employment

Employment has also been affected by the global economic crisis a nd
disruption in the euro zone.

Investigation
Research and development (R & D) occupy a central place in the EU strategy to
make its economy more competitive. The goal is to increase investment in this
area in order to align the expenditure on R & D by the United States and Japan.

6. Agricultural production

Europe has an important and diverse agricultural production, with great use of
its soil, usually fertile. Land use is subject to appropriate and modern
techniques with high productivity.

The cereal cultivation is predominant, highlighting the "wheat" most important
product. Its main producing area is the black soil region of Ukraine
(tchernoziom). The other countries that excel in wheat production are Italy,
France, Germany and Russia. Other cereals grown are rye, oats and barley,
important agricultural products from temperate areas.

Rye replaces wheat in cooler climate areas and it is important in the production
of bread. Oats is mostly produced for cattle feed, receiving, therefore the fodder
name. Barley is a basic raw material in the manufacture of beer, prominent

product in several European countries. The largest producers of these grains
are: Germany, France, Spain, Poland and the UK. Potatoes are another
important product of European agriculture. The main potato producers are
Germany,

France, Netherlands, United Kingdom and Russia. The European regions of
Mediterranean climate, stands olive cultivation, intended for the production of
olives and olive oil. Portugal, Spain, France and Italy stand out as the world's
largest producers and its products are recognized as best international quality
them .

Another special highlight is the cultivation of the vine, for the production of
wines. Some types of wine and olive oil can only be produced in th ese
countries, due to the special soil and climate conditions. These geographical
aspects attribute to the countries of Mediterranean Europe special market
conditions, due to the inability of production in other countries, goods with
similar characteristics.

The volume of crops in Europe is much lower relative to North America, Asia
and South America. The cultures in the region include cereals, especially
wheat, barley, rye grown in rotation with potatoes. The production of corn, rice
and oats is poor. The fruit production, quite diverse, varies from region to
region. Examples are the pear and apple produced in temperate and wetlands.
We can also cite the Mediterranean citrus fruits and vines due to soil cond itions
and climate produce large quantities of grapes, and give the wines exce ptional
quality. Another Mediterranean product is the olive, appreciated an d exported
worldwide.

7. Transport

The EU's objective is to promote efficient transport networks , safe and
environmentally friendly.
The proportion of trips made by car increased slightly since 2008, compared
with other forms of road transport (such as bus, particularly for tourism). The EU
continues to support investment and restructuring of rail transport.
Despite the current economic crisis, it is expected that air transport worldwide to
grow by around 5 % per year until 2030. With the increased traffic, also
emphasizes the concern for safety. The EU aviation policy aims to make the
European airspace the safest in the world.

8. Energy and Environment

The EU imports more than half its energy needs.

Percentage of electrical energy produced starting from sources of
renewable energies

9. Livestock

As agriculture, livestock farming in Europe provides a wide range of products,
from meat to cheese and butter. Livestock farming is mainly practiced
intensively, with cattle receiving technical care, providing more income.

The largest herd is to cattle, created mainly in Russia, Ukraine, Germany,
France, Britain and Poland. Despite not having a large herd, the dairy farming is
prominent in Denmark, Switzerland and the Netherlands. In the Netherlan ds, for
example, herd productivity is more than 5000 liters of milk per cow per year,
with about 75 % of industrial production in the country.

By comparison, while the consumption of milk in the European Union in the
early 1990s, it was 810 liters per inhabitant in Brazil was approximately 90 li ters
per capita.
In addition to cattle, it stands out on the European continent the hogs and
sheep. In swine, Germany stands out as the main creator. In this country, it
creates mainly pigs intended for supply of meat to serve the high consu mption
not only in Germany but also throughout Europe. However, production is
insufficient to supply the entire continent, being necessary to import pork.
Sheep, used to obtain wool, are created mainly in the British Isles, Romani a
and Spain. Another important feature of agriculture, particularly in countries tha t
are part of the European Union, are subsidies granted by governments to
farmers in low-interest loans and long-term payments.

The creation in 1962 of the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) was a way f or
European governments protect their farmers from foreign competition, aimed at
supporting agricultural income and employment and the achievement of stability
in food prices. This support given to agriculture since the 1960s led Europe to

become practically self-sufficient in the main food, but did not solve pro blems
such as disparities between countries and regions of the continent.

In the 1990s, the program began to be questioned within the European Union
by those who considered the very high costs (45,000 million dollars annuall y).
The CAP is also a matter of international criticism, especially by institutions
such as the WTO (World Trade Organization) and countries like the US, tha t
are pressing harder and the reduction of agricultural protectionism, because it
blocks the entry of products from other countries in the European market. The
prospect of the reduction of agricultural subsidies has been the object of
protests in several European countries, especially in France, the largest
agricultural producer in Western Europe and where there is the largest numbe r
of farmers benefit from subsidies.

Euro, the common currency

Due to the economic integration and the large amount of working capital in t he
region, there was the need to create a common currency. Countries that have
adopted this currency are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, the
Netherlands and Portugal.

It is planned to circulation of the euro as currency paper some of th e EU
nations. This forecast is due to the expansion of own economic bloc.

Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican and Montenegro, countries that did not
own currency adopted the euro as their common currency.

The emission control and exchange rate policy of the European Union are made
by European Central Bank. Its headquarters are in Frankfurt, Germany. The
division of the currency to facilitate its physical movement is in cent, one e uro
cent is equal to one hundred. Money has the constitution of notes o f 5, 10, 20,
50, 100, 200 and 500 euros and coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent and 1 a nd 2
euros.

All these referenced economic activities makes the European economy is on e
of the world's largest.

Bibliography

Wikipedia
Eurosat
http://europa.eu