March 25, 2007 is the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome which established the European Economic Community, which became the European Union. Europe is using the birthday to pause, look back, celebrate and look forward. Sunday will see the Heads of Government issuing a statement on the future so before that, it's worthwhile looking back at what has been achieved.
First, a few British Euromyths to dispel. Contrary to reports over the years, as the BBC points out, the EU has not demanded the UK change to the metric system, banned straight bananas, insisted that the snack "Bombay mix" be renamed "Mumbai mix", required barmaids' breasts be covered, forbidden the British sausage, stopped firemen using their poles, outlawed the corgi dog or changed the name of British style yoghurt to "fermented milk".
The original 6 members have been joined by 21 others. The borders now stretch from the Arctic to Mediterranean, the Russian border to the Atlantic (and North and South America and North Africa if you count all the territories). More over the flip.
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