8. Money

Money is one of the man’s greatest inventions. History has shown as that in early civilizations commodities, particularly metals, were used a money. There were such commodities as salt, teeth, copper and later silver and gold.

In the function of money a commodity must be widely acceptable to the population of the region or country. The money must carry out following functions: medium of exchange, a store of value, a measure of value, a means of making different payments.

In order to fulfill the functions of money, a commodity must have the following properties: portability, durability, transferability, divisibility, stability, reconcilability. Also money must be convertible.

Today all notes and coins in circulation are fiat money. Modern coins, unlike their predecessors, contain a value of metal that is characteristically only a minute fraction of the face value of the coin. Nevertheless, they function as money.

9. European Union

The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community formed among six countries in 1951 and the Treaty of Rome formed in 1957 by the same states.

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 member states, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993 upon the foundations of the European Communities.

The EU has developed a single market through a standardised system of laws which apply in all member states, ensuring the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital. It maintains common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. Sixteen member states have adopted a common currency, the euro, constituting the Eurozone.

Important institutions of the EU include the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the European Central Bank. The European Parliament is elected every five years by member states' citizens, to whom the citizenship of the European Union is assured. The basic proclaimed purposes of the Union are: introduction of European citizenship, supporting of freedom, safety and legality; assistance to economic and social progress; strengthening a role of Europe in the world.

10. European Union and Ukraine

The European Union is the association of the European states participating in the European integration. Includes 25 countries, among them Italy, Germany, France, The Great Britain, Hungary, Poland and others. Nowadays, some countries are negotiating EU membership and Ukraine is among them.

European integration has been on Ukraine’s agenda since its independence. Ukraine was one of the first former Soviet Union countries to sigh a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with the EU in the 1994. The agreement aimed at assisting the consolidation of the country’s democracy and development of its economy.

A relation with Ukraine and deepening of integration in economic and other spheres is clearly very important for the EU. It plays a vital transit role for several goods imported by the EU from the east (Russian and Central Asian natural gas).

The debates on Ukraine’s European integration will continue. It will be influenced by the domestic politics as well as the messages sent from Brussels.