The Facts

Switzerland is not a member of the EU or the EEA, but it has negotiated many agreements with it. Read this fact to find out more.

The UK's EU referendum was held on Thursday 23 June 2016.

The referendum question was: Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?

According to figures from HM Treasury, in 2014-18 the UK’s average net contribution to the EU budget was £9.6 billion per year.

In 2014, total EU spending was just over €140 billion, which equates to around £114 billion. By comparison, total UK public spending…

According to Eurostat, on 1 January 2020, the population of the European Union (EU) with 27 member states was estimated at 448 million.

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was designed to provide income support for farmers in the EU. Read this fact to find out more.

The Lisbon Treaty (2007) was the culmination of a long process to rationalise the existing treaties. Read this fact to find out more.

The UK first applied to join the EU in 1961. This application was vetoed by the French government in 1963 and a second application was vetoed, again by the French, in 1967.

This fact explains why the United Kingdom did not join the European Union when it started during the 1950s.

There are 19 ‘euro-ins’ and eight ‘euro-outs’ in the EU. The euro-ins are the members states that use the euro as their currency.

Directives are the most common form of EU legal act. In contrast to a regulation, a directive does not apply directly at the national level.