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Relations between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) are governed, since 1 January 2021, by the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). Relations trace back to the foundation of the European Communities , the European Union's predecessor, in 1957.
Democracy in Europe can be comparatively assessed [1] according to various definitions of democracy. [2] According to the V-Dem Democracy Indices, the European countries with the highest democracy scores in 2023 are Denmark , Norway and Sweden , meanwhile the European countries with lowest democracy scores in 2023 are Belarus , Russia and Turkey .
The European Union describes its values as being 'Human Dignity, Freedom, Democracy, Equality, Rule of Law, and Human Rights'. [48] Democracy is a cornerstone of the project that is the European Union, and has been since its inception. It thus also represents a criterion for accession to the EU.
There are three types of government systems in European politics: in a presidential system, the president is the head of state and the head of government; in a semi-presidential system, the president and the prime minister share a number of competences; finally, in a parliamentary republic, the president is a ceremonial figurehead who has few political competences.
Parliamentary democracy is the dominant form of government in the European Union, Oceania, and throughout the former British Empire, with other users scattered throughout Africa and Asia. A similar system, called a council–manager government , is used by many local governments in the United States .
In practice, several government departments and ministers have responsibilities that cover England alone, with devolved bodies having responsibility for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, (for example – the Department of Health), or responsibilities that mainly focus on England (such as the Department for Education).
The political structure of the European Union (EU) is similar to a confederation, where many policy areas are federalised into common institutions capable of making law; the competences to control foreign policy, defence policy, or the majority of direct taxation policies are mostly reserved for the twenty-seven state governments (the Union ...
There have been proposals for the establishment of a single devolved English Parliament to govern the affairs of England as a whole. This has been supported by groups such as English Commonwealth, the English Democrats and Campaign for an English Parliament, as well as the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru who have both expressed support for greater autonomy for all four nations while ...