Kailey Cox, Ally Johnson, Chad Collins,

and Chris Reiss

Countries United Kingdom-London Ireland-Dublin* Norway-Oslo Sweden-Stockholm Germany-Berlin Denmark-Copenhagen Belgium-Brussels France-Paris Netherlands-Amsterdam Switzerland-Bern* Italy-Rome* Spain-Madrid Portugal-Lisban

Facts- Western Europe

400 million people, the highest is Germany at 82.6 million, and 826 people in Vatican city (which is in fact a country)

Celtic tribes arrived on the island between 600-150 B.C. Invasions by Norsemen that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King Brian BORU defeated the Danes in 1014. English invasions began in the 12th century and set off more than seven centuries of Anglo-Irish struggle marked by fierce rebellions and harsh repressions. A failed 1916 Easter Monday Rebellion touched off several years of guerrilla warfare that in 1921 resulted in independence from the UK for 26 southern counties; six northern counties remained part of the UK. In 1948 Ireland withdrew from the British Commonwealth; it joined the European Community in 1973. Irish governments have sought the peaceful unification of Ireland and have cooperated with Britain against terrorist groups. A peace settlement for Northern Ireland is being looked at with some difficulties. In 2006, the Irish and British governments developed and began working to implement the St. Andrew's Agreement, building on the Good Friday Agreement approved in 1998.

Economy Population growth rate: 1.15% (2006 est.)

Religions: Roman Catholic 88.4%, Church of Ireland 3%, other Christian 1.6%, other 1.5%, unspecified 2%, none 3.5% (2002 census).

Languages-English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish , Gaelic, Welsh, Catalan, and Flemish.

Switzerland Climate-rises to 30C(86f) in summer and rarely

drops to 5c (41f) in winter. Mountains!!!!!! GDP per capita- $42,900 Unemployment rate- 3.9% Population below poverty line- 7.4% Population growth-.22% Languages- French, Dutch, Italian, and Croation

Government- Switzerland Switzerland is a confederation governed under the constitution of 1874 as revised

in 1998. The president, who is both head of state and head of government, is elected annually by the legislature. The cabinet, or Federal Council, is the main executive body; it is composed of seven members elected for four years by the legislature. The bicameral legislature, or Federal Assembly, consists of the 46-seat Council of States, with two members from each canton and one from each half canton, and the 200-seat National Council, whose members are popularly elected. All legislators serve four-year terms. Switzerland frequently employs the referendum as well as the popular initiative to achieve political change.

Micheline Anne-Marie Calmy-Rey is the 2011 president of Switzerland. She was also the president of Switzerland in 2007, and was the 2nd woman president of Switzerland.The president changes every year in Switzerland. The president is always a member of the Federal Council, formed of 7 counselors, or ministers). Usually, the president was the vice-president the previous year.The entire Federal Council is considered a collective Head of State

News in switzerland Gaddafi believes Switzerland is "a world mafia and not a state,"

according to Time Magazine. So he submitted a proposal to the United Nations recommending that "the Italian-speaking part of the country should be returned to Italy, the German-speaking part to Gaddafi's battle with Switzerland seems to stem from the arrest and detention of his son and his son's wife by the Swiss police in Geneva, in July of 2008, on charges of allegedly beating two of their servants at a local hotel.

Gaddafi is Muammar Gaddafi has ruled Libya as the African country's dictator. Reagan called Gaddafi "the mad dog of the Middle East" and ordered U.S. Air Force bombings in Tripoli in 1986 that killed Gaddafi's daughter. for more than four decades.

Italy Climate-Italy has a variety of climate systems. The inland northern areas of Italy (for

example Turin, Milan, and Bologna) have a Humid subtropical climate.

-Population: 58,133,509 approximately

-Growth Rate of Population: 0.68%

Ethnic groups: Italian. But exists some clusters of German, French, and Slovene. There are also few Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south.

Religions- * 90% belong to Roman * 10% are Protestant or Jewish * There are also very few Muslim immigrant

-Languages Spoken: Officially Italian (official); others include: German, French, Slovene

Government-Italy Government Type:republic President Giorgio Napolitano Head of State: Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi Legislature: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body

appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated 8 seat

Voting Age:18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25)

In 1946 Italy changed its government. In this year, the people voted to change their nation from a monarchy, which was ruled by a king to a republic that was headed by a president. King Humbert the 2nd fastest left the throne and the voters elected 556 members to the Constituent Assembly to write a constitution. The constitution was passed in 1947 and took effect on January 1,1948. The constitution established a government, which was made up of a president, the Council of Ministers headed by a prime minister, and a Parliament with a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies.

-It is the largest temple in Ancient Rome located at the far east side of the Forum Romanum near the Colosseum.

12,000 feet high, the summit at Mont Blanc is one of the most popular peaks in Western Europe. Set between the Aosta Valley in Italy and Haute-Savoie in France, the two countries have a peaceful dispute over who actually can claim rights to the peaks. Regardless, the mountain is a safe climb for even amateur climbers

Ireland’s Government Parliamentary Republic

No clear difference between the executive and legislative branches

Executive Branch○ Head of government (Prime Minister) and the head of

state (President) differ greatly with the head of state holding the real power

○ No Vice President○ President (Mary McAleese)

35 years old and citizen7 year terms and can only serve 2 terms

Government…

Legislative BranchSenate

○ 60 seats (49 elected by universities and candidates and 11 elected by Prime Minister)

House of Representatives○ 166 seats (all elected by popular vote)

Economy GDP per capita

$38,816 Exports

Machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals

ProductionSteel, lead, zinc, silver, aluminum, and barite

History and Culture

The Republic of Ireland26 counties Independent from Britain

Northern Ireland6 countiesMajority of the people

didn’t want independence

from Britain

History and Culture…

Independence1921

LanguagesEnglish, Irish, Polish, Shelta

ReligionsRoman Catholic- 92%, Presbyterian,

Methodist, Jewish

Population Characteristics Population

6.27 million○ 4.47 million in Republic and 1.8 million in the north

Ethnic Groups87.4%- Irish7.5%- White1.3%- Asian1.1%-Black1.1%- Mixed

Population…

Growth Rate1.007%

Climate and Topography Emerald Isle

Atlantic Ocean and Gulf Stream○ A lot of precipitation

WinterMountains have snow many weeksOn the lower ground it only snows a few

days every yearThere are a few weeks each winter when

temperatures don’t rise over freezing all day

Climate and Topography… Summer

Warm, sunny weatherAverage temperature is

15 degrees CelsiusThunderstorms mostly

occur in July and August

Climate and Topography… Elevation

Highest Point○ Carrauntoohill

1041 meters (3,415ft)

Longest RiverRiver Shannon

○ 240 miles

PIIGS

Portugal Italy Ireland Greece SpainTerm used to describe the countries with a

terrible economy in EuropeIn debt because they borrowed too much

money and cant pay it backOther European countries will have to help,

possibly putting them in debt

PIIGS

Causes of the PIIGS going in debtPrice of the Euro goes up

○ Other countries buy more products from the U.S. which causes the $ to go up because demand rises

The PIIGS can’t buy exports from the U.S. causing Europe and the U.S. to go into debt