EUROPE TODAYSS6G9, SS6G10, SS6CG5

Essential Questions

How does the diversity of languages in Europe reflect its unique cultural characteristics?

What are the characteristics of the 3 major religions?

How does the European Union encourage voluntary trade among its members?

 How do the factors of location, climate and natural resources impact trade in the European nation of the U.K., Russia, and Germany?

Governments Coachbook page 176 & 180

Constitutional Monarchy- A government ruled by a king or queen whose power is determined by the nation’s constitution and laws

Parliamentary System -The head of the government is the leader of the political party that has the most members in the parliament

Presidential System –The head of government is elected by the people.

Dual System -Government with both a President and Prime Minister; has features of both the Parliamentary and Presidential systems

Federation –A union of states united by a central government.

Unitary –A system of government where the federal government retains power and delegates that power to the lower levels.

Confederation –A union of states…less binding than a federation. States retain their identity.

Autocratic –Holds independent and absolute power.

Oligarchic –Few hold independent or absolute power.

Democratic –The people hold the power through a vote.

Representative Democracy –The people vote for representatives in their government.

Economies Coachbook pg 184 & 190

Market- An economy that operates by voluntary exchange in a free market and is not planned or controlled by a central authority; a capitalistic economy…Capitalism

Command- Economy in which supply and price are regulated or imposed by a central nonmarket authority; a communist economy…Communism

Mixed- Economy with both privately owned and government controlled business

Traditional- Economy dominated by old-fashioned techniques that are out of date (due to long-standing traditions); such as a agricultural-based economy…Trade or Barter

EUROPEAN CULTURE

Cultural diversity exists when within a nation or region there are many differing races, ethnic groups, languages, and/or religions.

European Languages

German Greek Italian French English Slavic- Ukrainian, and Russian Spanish

Major Religions

Judaism Christianity Islam

Literacy Rate

Literacy is a person’s ability to read or write to an acceptable level.

It is a strong indicator of how successful a nation is.

The majority of European nations have literacy rates well above 90% with several at 100%.

Hungary’s literacy rate is 99% and it is considered an upper-middle-income country.

France’s literacy rate is 99%, and France possesses the fifth largest economy.

The majority of European nations with high literacy rate enjoy a strong economy too.

United Kingdom

Made up of four political regions:

England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland

The capital is in London.

United Kingdom

Government

Constitutional Monarchy Queen Elizabeth

Parliamentary System Prime Minister:

David Cameron

Economy

Mixed Very industrialized

economy Major Religion-

Protestant (mostly Anglican)

United Kingdom: Geography

Island nation- This has caused the need for a large navy to protect themselves over the years

Lack of natural resources and farmland- They have to import raw materials and food

Separated from France by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover

Germany

Germany: Government

Parliamentary government

Federal System of Government

Proportional representation

They have both a President and Chancellor, but only the Chancellor has a lot of power –A dual system

Germany: Economy

Mixed Economy Very industrial economy Major religions-Protestant/Catholic

Germany: Geography

Germany is located in central Europe south of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

Due to it’s location, they export iron, steel, coal, and cement.

They are members of the European Union.

Russia Federation

Russia Federation: Government and Economy

Constitution adopted December 1993

Presidential Republic –Dual system, the have a prime minister as well but the power is with the president.

Representative Democracy

Mixed Economy

Russia Federation: Geography Russia is located east of Europe and North of

China. Russia is partly covered by Tundra due to their

location near the North Pole. Due to their large Taiga habitat they export timber,

coal, and gas from the region. They also export minerals from the Ural Mountains. Due to the proximity of the Caspian Sea, the Black

Sea, the Barents Sea and the Baltic Sea, most of Russia’s population lives West of the Ural Mountains.

Europe Today:

Currency- system of money

Euro- currency used by the European countries

Tariff- a fee paid on imported or exported goods; this makes them more expensive

Sovereignty- the right to govern yourself

European Union

European Union

Union of 25 European countries

First formed in 1992 to encourage trade; it has gotten more powerful over the years

One currency-The Euro

U.K. does not use the Euro, but other countries do

This is used to make all goods cost the same

The E.U. is supposed to give more economic prosperity to Europe, but it takes sovereignty away from member countries

Also: language barriers are still around!

It’s hard to get into the E.U.

Countries have to meet certain criteria to get in

Economic Environmental Human Rights Environmental concerns Air quality Emissions Climate change

Essential Questions

How does the diversity of languages in Europe reflect its unique cultural characteristics?

What are the characteristics of the 3 major religions?

Essential Questions

How does the European Union encourage voluntary trade among its members?

 How do the factors of location, climate and natural resources impact trade in the European nation of the U.K., Russia, and Germany?