The economies of European countries
Europe is one of the most economically and technologically developed regions: states of Northern, Western and Southern Europe are developed, while former socialist states and former USSR republics are economies in transition. Four members of the G7 are European: Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy. The European Union is a large integration union with a single market, a common currency (the euro) in many members and free movement. It began in the 1950s with six states (Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg); after the United Kingdom left in 2020 it has 27 members. The leading industry is engineering, especially cars, machine tools and aircraft (Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Volvo, Airbus). Second come chemicals and petrochemicals, and Rotterdam (Netherlands) is the largest port and petrochemical centre. Europe imports much of its oil and gas; after 2022 many countries reduced reliance on Russian gas and turned to liquefied gas, Norwegian gas, solar and wind. Livestock (milk, meat) is developed in Northern and Western Europe; Southern Europe stands out for olives, grapes and citrus fruit. Light industry has declined and is moving south and to developing countries. Tourism is major: France receives the most visitors in the world, with Spain and Italy among the leaders.
“EU members”: the class finds the original 6 states and 5 later joiners on a map and guesses the order of accession (eastern enlargement was in 2004).