UNITED STATES TERRITORY: The territory of the Unites States is about

9629 sq km. It consists of fifty states.

US POPULATION: The population of the USA is about 289 million people.
US LOCATION: The United States is situated in north-America.
US BORDERS: The US has land borders with Canada and Mexico and sea
borders with Cuba and Russia.
UNITED STATES: GOVERNMENT: The United States is a federal
presidential republic. The executive power(vgrehajt hatalom) lies in the
hands of the president and the cabinet. Legislative power(trvnyhoz) is
allocated to the House of Representatives, usually called the Congress,
and the Senate, both of which may veto each other's bills(trvny,
hatrozat). Judicial power belongs to the Supreme Court and other federal
courts.
US CURRENCY: The official currency of United States is the U.S. dollar.
US CAPITALS AND POPULATION: The capital of the United States is
Washington DC. It has a population of more than half a million. New York
City is a major port in south-eastern New York State. With its population of
about 7.5 million people, it is the most popular city in the US. It consists
of Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island boroughs. The
second most populous city is Los Angeles with its 3.5 million inhabitants.
You can find Hollywood, the centre of US film and television industry,
here. The third largest town is Chicago, an industrial city on Lake
Michigan with about 2.7 million inhabitants.
RELIGION: The largest religions in the United States are Protestant,
followed by Roman Catholic, and Jews.
US LANGUAGES: In the United States English, Spanish and Native Indian
Languages are spoken.
THE MAIN REGIONS: The main regions of the United States are the
Northeast, the Central Basin, the Southeast, the Great Plains, the
Mountains and Deserts, the West Coast Valleys and the Newest States.
US URBANIZATION, ENVIRONMENT AND FAMOUS CITIES:
- The East Coast is the oldest and most urban part of the country. This
is the melting pot(olvaszttgely) of many nations. Millions of
Europeans moved to this industrial area bringing with them the
European culture and traditions. The West Coast is famous for big
cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles. You can also find
Hollywood here.
- Las Vegas is famous for its casinos and bars, its neon-lighted resort
hotels, quick marriages and cheap prices.

The European Union (abbreviation: EU)

- There is a confederation of 28 member countries in Europe, started
in 1957 as the European Economic Community (EEC). It has created
a common economic area with Europe-wide laws allowing people to

move and trade in other EU countries almost the same as they do in

their own.
Seventeen of these countries also share the same type of money,
the euro. Its the official currency of European Union.
The Treaty of Lisbon is the most recent treaty that says how the
Union is run. Every member state signed to say that they each
agreed with what it says.
The members decide how the Union should act by voting for or
against proposals(indtvny, elterjeszts).
The purpose of the EU is to bring its member states closer together
with respect of human rights and democracy. It does this with a
common style of passport, common rules about fair trading with
each other, common agreements about law enforcement, and other
agreements. Most members share a common currency (the euro)
and most allow people to travel from one country to another without
having to show a passport.

The history of European Union*:

- After World War II, the countries in Europe wanted to live peacefully
together and help one another's economies. Instead of fighting for
coal and steel, the first member countries (West) Germany, France,
Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg created one European
Coal and Steel Community in 1952.
- In 1957 in the Italian city of Rome, the member countries signed
another treaty and made the European Economic Community. Now it
was a community for coal, steel and for trade. Later it changed the
name to the European Community.
- In 1993, with the Treaty of Maastricht it changed its name to the
European Union. Now the member countries work together not only
in politics and economy (coal, steel and trade), but also in money,
justice (laws), and foreign affairs. With the Schengen Agreement, 22
member countries of the EU opened their borders to each other, so
people can now travel from one country to the other without a
passport or identity card. Now already 16 member countries have
replaced their national currencies with the euro. 10 new countries
became members of the EU in 2004, 2 more became members in
2007, and 1 more in 2013. Today there are 28 member countries
altogether.
The free movement of European Union:
- A person who is a citizen of a European Union country can live and
work in any of the other 28 member countries without needing a
work permit or visa. For example, a British person can move to

Germany to work there, or just to live there, and he or she does not
need permission from an authority in Germany.
- In the same way, products made in one member country can be sold
in any other member country without any special permissions or
extra taxes. For this reason, the members agree rules on product
safety - they want to know that a product made in another country
will be as safe as it would be if it had been made in their own
country.
The European Parliament: The Parliament has a total of 785 members
(called Members of the European Parliament, or MEP). They are elected in
their countries every five years by the citizens of the European Union
member countries. The Parliament can approve, reject or change
proposed laws. It can also sack the European Commission. In that case,
the entire commission would have to give up their jobs.
- Hungary was invited to join both the NATO and the European Union
in 1997. It became a member of NATO in 1999, and a member
of the EU in 2004. Hungary took on the presidency of the Council
of the European Union for half a year in 2011.