Western European

Europe is one of the seven traditional continents on Earth. The westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, it is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea, to the southeast by the Caucasus Mountains, the Black Sea and the waterways connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. To the east, Europe is generally divided from Asia by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, and by the Caspian Sea.

Europe is the world's second-smallest continent in terms of area, covering about 10,180,000 square kilometers of the Earth's surface. Of Europe's 48 countries, Russia is the largest by both area and population, while the Vatican is the smallest. Europe is the third most populous continent after Asia and Africa.

Europe is the birthplace of Western culture. European nations played a predominant role in global affairs from the 16th century onwards, especially after the beginning of colonization. By the 17th and 18th centuries European nations controlled most of Africa, the Americas, and large portions of Asia. The Cold War divided Europe along the Iron Curtain. European led to the formation of the Council of Europe and the European Union in Western Europe, both of which have been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

At the end of the World War II almost all countries of Western Europe received economical assistance from the United States through the Marshall Plan. Most joined NATO and the European Community or its rival, the European Free Trade Association.

Western Europe is composed by: United Kingdom and France, one of the several victors of the war. The Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg countries that had been occupied by Nazi Germany. Other countries also became increasingly part of Western Europe.

The Western European Union (WEU) is a partially dormant European defense and security organization, established on the basis of the Treaty of Brussels of 1948 with the accession of West Germany and Italy in 1954. It should not be confused with the European Union (EU). The WEU headquarters are in Brussels.

The Treaty of Brussels was signed by the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands on March 17, 1948. It was a mutual intergovernmental self defense treaty which also promoted economic, cultural and social collaboration. As a result of the failure of the European Defense Community on October 23, 1954 the WEU was established by the Paris Agreements with the incorporation of the West Germany and Italy. The signatories of the Paris Agreements clearly stated their three main objectives in the preamble to the modified Brussels Treaty: To create in Western Europe a firm basis for European economic recovery; To afford assistance to each other in resisting any policy of aggression; To promote the unity and encourage the progressive integration of Europe.

The three major elements of the WEU are the Council of Ministers, The Council President, and the Secretary-General. Council: The WEU is led by a Council of Ministers, assisted by a Permanent Representatives Council on ambassadorial level. A Parliamentary Assembly who would oversee the work of