Europe

Website: europe-portal.com

European Continent

Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula or subcontinent, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia.  Europe is conventionally considered a continent; this is more of a cultural distinction than a geographic one.  Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea, and to the east its boundary is culturally determined and unclear.

However, the Ural mountains are considered by some to be a geographical and tectonic landmark separating Europe and Asia.

When considered a continent, Europe is the world's second-smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles).  In terms of population, it is the third-largest continent. The population of Europe is roughly 700,000,000: about 11% of the world's population.

European Union

The main block of European Countries are part of the European Union (EU), notable exceptions are Switzerland, Norway and some of the Balkan countries.

On 1st May 2004 The European Union (EU) welcomed Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia & Slovenia. Most European countries belong, have applied to join or have some formal relationship with the EU.  The remaining countries are Norway and Switzerland together with some ex-Soviet countries.  Most European countries conform to EU time change rules.

Time Zones

Europe spans 3 time zones: Eastern European Time, Central European Time and Western European Time.  Most European counties including those not in the EU adopt Summer Time (Daylight Saving Time) uniformly at dates and times laid down by the EU.

Countries conforming to European Union Time Rules

Countries not conforming to European Union Time Rules