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Collectively, the economy of the European Union's twenty-seven member states is the world's largest economy, accounting for 30.3% of the world's total GDP in 2005 (World Bank figure). As such, it is the world's principal agricultural, industrial and service provider.

Currency

The official currency of the European Union is the euro, used in all its documents and policies. The Stability and Growth Pact sets out the fiscal criteria to maintain for stability and (economic) convergence. The euro is also the most widely used currency in the EU, which is in use in 13 member states known as the Eurozone. All other member states, apart from Denmark and the United Kingdom which have special opt-outs, have committed to changing over to the Euro once they have fulfilled the requirements needed to do so - although Sweden also has an effective opt-out by choosing when or whether to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism which is the preliminary step towards joining.

Economies of member states

Economic performance varies from state to state. The Growth and Stability Pact governs fiscal policy with the European Union. It applies to all member states, with specific rules which apply to the eurozone members that stipulate that each state's deficit must not exceed 3% of GDP and its public debt must not exceed 60% of GDP. However, many larger members have consistently run deficits substantially in excess of 3%, and the eurozone as a whole has a debt percentage exceeding 60% (see below).

All countries, except Greece and Portugal with below average GNI per capita are those which joined the EU in May 2004 and all countries with above average GNI per capita come from the existing (pre-2004) member states.

Economic growth

The EU's share of Gross world product (GWP) is stable at around one fifth [5]. GDP growth, though strong in the new member states, is being affected by sluggish growth in France and especially Germany, Italy and Portugal. Belgium and the Netherlands also have a relatively low growth rate. Greece along with Ireland on the other hand have the strongest growth rates in the Union.

Current forecasts see the Union's economy achieving growth of 2.3% during 2006. The ten new member states of Eastern Europe have enjoyed a higher average percentage growth rate than their Western European counterparts. Notably the Baltic states have achieved massive GDP growth, with Latvia topping 8.5%, close to China, the world leader at 9% on average for the past 25 years. Reasons for this massive growth include government commitments to stable monetary policy, export-oriented trade policies, low flat-tax rates and the utilisation of relatively cheap labour.

The current map of EU growth is one of huge regional variation, with the larger economies suffering from stagnant growth and the new nations enjoying sustained, robust economic growth.

Although EU25 GDP is on the increase, the percentage of Gross world product is decreasing due to the emergence of economic powers such as China, India and Brazil. In the medium to long term, the EU will be looking to increase GDP growth in the central European economies such as France, Germany and Italy and stabilise growth in the new Eastern European states to ensure sustained economic prosperity.

Energy resources

The European Union has large coal, oil, and natural gas reserves. There are six oil producers in the European Union, primarily in North Sea oilfields. The United Kingdom by far is the largest producer, however Denmark, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands all produce oil. If it is treated as a single unit, which is not conventional in the oil markets, the European Union is the 7th largest producer of oil in the world, producing 3,424,000 (2001) barrels a day. However, it is also the world's 2nd largest consumer of oil, consuming much more than it can produce, at 14,590,000 (2001) barrels a day.

All countries in the EU have committed to the Kyoto Protocol, and the European Union is one of its biggest exponents. The European Commission published proposals for the first comprehensive EU energy policy on January 10, 2007.

Trade

The European Union is the largest exporter in the world and the second largest importer. Internal trade between the member states is aided by the removal of barriers to trade such as tariffs and border controls. In the eurozone, trade is helped by not having any currency differences to deal with amongst most members. The European Union Association Agreement does something similar for a much larger range of countries, partly as a so-called soft approach ('a carrot instead of a stick') to influence the politics in those countries.

The European Union represents all its members at the World Trade Organization, and acts on behalf of member states in any disputes.

Unemployment

The Unemployment rate in the European Union in February 2007 was 7.5%, however the rate varies by member state, the lowest rates are in Denmark (3.2%), the Netherlands (3.6%), Estonia (4.2%) and Ireland (4.4%), the highets rates are in Greece (8.7%), Slovakia (11.0%) and Poland (12.6%), this compares with 4.1% in Japan and 4.7% in the United States.

Industries

The services sector is by far the most important sector in the European Union, making up 69.4% of GDP, compared to the manufacturing industry with 28.4% of GDP and agriculture with only 2.3% of GDP.

Agriculture

The agricultural sector is supported by subsidies from the European Union in the form of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). This currently represents 40-50% of the EU's total spending. It guarantees a minimum price for farmers in the EU. This is criticised as a form of protectionism, inhibiting trade, and damaging developing countries; one of the most vocal opponents is the UK, the second largest economy within the bloc, which has repeatedly refused to give up the annual UK Rebate unless the CAP undergoes significant reform; France, the biggest benefactor of the CAP and the bloc's third largest economy, is its most vocal proponent.

Regional variation

Comparing the richest areas of the EU can be a difficult task. This is because the NUTS 1 & 2 regions are not homogenous, some of them being very large regions, such as NUTS-1 Hesse (21,100 km²) or NUTS-1 Île-de-France (12,011 km²), whilst other NUTS regions are much smaller, for example NUTS-1 Hamburg (755 km²) or NUTS-1 Greater London (1,580 km²).

One problem with this data is that in some areas, including Greater London, are subject to a large number of commuters coming into the area, thereby artificially inflating the figures. It has the effect of raising GDP but not altering the number of people living in the area, inflating the GDP per capita figure.

The data is used to define regions that are supported with financial aid in programs such as the European Regional Development Fund.

The decision to delineate a Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) region is to a large extent arbitrary (i.e. not based on objective and uniform criteria across Europe), and is decided at European level (See also: Regions of the European Union).

Top 10: economically strongest NUTS-1 and NUTS-2 regions

The 10 NUTS-1 and NUTS-2 regions with the highest GDP per capita are all in the first seventeen member states: none are in the 10 new member states that joined in May 2004. The NUTS Regulation lays down a minimum population size of 3 million and a maximum size of 7 million for the average NUTS-1 region, whereas a minimum of 800.000 and a maximum of 3 million for NUTS-2 regions ¹ [9]. This definition, however, is not respected by Eurostat. E.g.: the région of Île-de-France, with 11.3 million inhabitants, is treated as a NUTS-2 region, while the state of Bremen, with only 662,000 inhabitants, is treated as a NUTS-1 region.