Euripus \yu-'ri-p9s\ Strait or Evripos Ve-vre-,p6s\ Strait Narrow strait in the Aegean Sea. Located between the Greek island of Euboea and the mainland of central Greece, it is 5 mi (8 km) long and varies from 130 ft (40 m) to 1 mi (1.6 km) in width. It has strong tidal currents that reverse directions seven or more times a day, a phenomenon still not fully under¬ stood. The main port on the strait is Chalkis, an important trading centre since the times of ancient Greece. A 130-ft (40-m) movable bridge spans the strait at Chalkis, replacing earlier structures that dated to 411 bc.
euro Single currency of 12 countries of the European Union (EU), includ¬ ing Germany, France, and Italy. The euro was adopted as a unit of exchange in January 1999. Those who advocated the currency believed it would strengthen Europe as an economic power, increase international trade, simplify monetary transactions, and lead to pricing equality throughout Europe. Euro currency notes and coins were introduced in January 2002 and became the sole national currency in all participating countries by March 1. Britain and Sweden decided not to adopt the euro immediately, and voters in Denmark rejected it.
Eurocommunism Trend among European communist parties toward independence from Soviet Communist Party doctrine in the 1970s and ’80s. The term, coined in the mid-1970s, received wide publicity after the pub¬ lication of Santiago Carrillo’s Eurocommunism and the State (1977). The Eurocommunist movement rejected the Soviet doctrine of one monolithic world communist movement and advocated instead that each country’s communist party base its policies on the traditions and needs of its own country. With Mikhail Gorbachev’s encouragement, all communist parties took independent courses in the late 1980s. Most of the European com¬ munist parties declined after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Eurodollar U.S. dollar that has been deposited outside the U.S., espe¬ cially in Europe. Foreign banks holding Eurodollars are obligated to pay in U.S. dollars when the deposits are withdrawn. Most Eurodollars are used to finance trade, but many central banks also operate in the Euro¬ dollar market. See also currency, foreign exchange.
Europa \yu-'ro-p3\ In Greek mythology, the daughter either of Phoenix or of Agenor, king of Phoenicia. Her beauty inspired the love of Zeus, who approached her in the form of a white bull and carried her off across the sea to Crete. After bearing Zeus three sons, she married the king of
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Europe ► European Economic Community I 643
Crete, who adopted her sons. They grew up to become King Minos of Crete, King Rhadamanthus of the Cyclades, and Prince Sarpedon of Lycia. On Crete she was worshiped under the name Hellotis. The continent of Europe is named for her.
Europe Second smallest continent on Earth. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian seas. The continent’s eastern boundary runs along the Ural Mountains and the Ural River. Its area includes numerous islands, archipelagoes, and pen¬ insulas. Indented by bays, fjords, and seas, continental Europe’s irregu¬ lar coastline is about 24,000 mi (38,000 km) long. Area: 4,000,000 sq mi (10,400,000 sq km). Population (2001 est.): 666,498,000. The greater part of Europe combines low elevations with low relief; about three-fifths of the land is below 600 ft (180 m) above sea level, and another one-third is between 600 and 3,000 ft (180 and 900 m). The highest points are in the mountain systems crossing the southern part of the continent, includ¬ ing the Pyrenees, Alps, Apennines, Carpathians, and Balkan Mountains. A well-watered continent with many rivers, Europe has few sizable lakes. Glaciers cover an area of about 44,800 sq mi (116,000 sq km), mostly in the north. Roughly one-third of Europe is arable, and about half of that land is devoted to cereals, principally wheat and barley. One-third is for¬ ested. Europe was the first of the world’s regions to develop a modern economy based on commercial agriculture and industry, and it remains one of the world’s major industrial regions, with average annual income per capita among the world’s highest. The people of Europe constitute about one-seventh of the world’s population. Most of the continent’s approximately 60 native languages belong to either the Romance, Ger¬ manic, or Slavic language groups. Europe’s population is overwhelmingly Christian. Modem humans supplanted the scanty Neanderthal population in Europe about 40,000 years ago, and by the beginning of the 2nd mil¬ lennium bc the general population groups that would become the histori¬ cal peoples and countries of Europe were in place. The Greek civilizations were the earliest in Europe, and in the Classical period the Greeks were a conduit for the advanced civilizations of the Middle East, which, along with the unique Greek contribution, laid the foundation for European civilization. By the mid-2nd century bc the Greeks had come under Roman control, and the vast Roman Empire brought to the conquered parts of Europe the civilization the Greeks had begun. It was through the Romans that Christianity penetrated into Europe. The Roman Empire in the West finally collapsed in the 5th century ad, which led to an exten¬ sive breakdown of Classical civilization. This civilization was not to be revived until the Renaissance (15th-16th centuries), which began the mod¬ em European traditions of science, exploration, and discovery. The Prot¬ estant Reformation of the 16th century ended the dominance of the Roman Catholic church over western and northern Europe, and the Enlightenment period of the 17th and 18th centuries stressed the primacy of reason. In the late 18th century, Enlightenment ideals helped spur the French Revo¬ lution, which toppled Europe’s most powerful monarchy and spearheaded the movement toward democracy and equality. The late 18th century also marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, which led to Europe’s military and political dominance over much of the world for the next cen¬ tury. In the early 20th century the European powers were divided in World War I, which led to the effective end of monarchy in Europe and created a host of new countries in central and eastern Europe. World War II marked the passing of world power from the states of western Europe and was followed by the rise of communism in eastern Europe, with the Soviet Union and its satellites sharply dividing the continent. The Soviet Union collapsed in the late 20th century, leading to a general demise of com¬ munism throughout the continent. Soviet satellites became independent, and most began to democratize; East and West Germany were reunified; and Yugoslavia and its successor states were devastated by ethnic conflict (see Kosovo conflict; Bosnian conflict). See also European Union; NATO. See map on following page.
Europe, Council of Organization of more than 40 European states formed to promote European unity, protect human rights, and facilitate social and economic progress. Established in 1949 by 10 western Euro¬ pean states, it has devised international agreements on human rights and established a number of special bodies and expert committees on social, legal, and cultural issues. It is headquartered in Strasbourg, France. (The Council of Europe should not be confused with the European Council, which is a policy-making body of the European Union.)
European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) Euro¬ pean aerospace company that is one of the world’s largest. It was formed
(2000) from the merger of Aerospatiale Matra of France, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) of Germany, and Construcciones Aeronauticas S.A. (CASA) of Spain. It holds an 80% share in the European airplane manu¬ facturer Airbus S.A.S. and is responsible for the final assembly of Airbus aircraft. It has a controlling interest in the trinational venture Astrium (created 2000), whose facilities in France, Germany, and Great Britain cover a broad range of the space business from ground systems and launch vehicles to satellites and orbital infrastructure. Its Eurocopter subsidiary produces military and civil helicopters. It also has stakes in Arianespace, which markets the commercial services of Ariane launch vehicles; the Eurofighter consortium to develop a multirole combat aircraft; and the French aerospace firm Dassault.