Welcome to Slippery Rock University's European Studies website.

Today, "Europe" as a political entity or European culture as a frame of reference includes those countries of western and eastern Europe since the break-up of the former Soviet Union, as well as those regions such as Scandinavia and the Mediterranean that might be referred to, respectively, as northern and southern Europe. What is commonly called the European Union actually consists of fifteen Member States, which inlcude the six founding members: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, plus Denmark, Greece, Spain, Ireland, Austria, Portugal, Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The Treaty of Nice calls for preparations for the enlargemtn of the European Union to include countries of central and eastern Europe, the Mediterrean and the Baltic.

In all, 12 countries are currently negotiating accession to the European Union: Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovkia and Slovenia. In addition, Turkey has been recognized as a candidate for membership. Indeed, since the break-up of the Soviet bloc countries of the Warsaw Pact, the issues of European identity and European integration have become central to political, social, economic, and cultural debates of the 21st century.