the tendency toward uniformity of ideas, values, technologies, and institutions among associated culture groups

legal workers from outside a country who help fulfill the need for temporary workers but who are expected to return home when they are no longer needed

the official (but not required) currency of the European Union as of January 1999

a midlatitude climate pattern in which summers are fairly hot and moist, and winters become longer and colder the deeper into the interior of the continent one goes

a communist economic model in which a central bureaucracy dictates prices and output, with the stated aim of allocating goods equitably across society according to need

reductions in the unit cost of production that occur when goods or services are efficiently mass produced, resulting in increased profits per unit

the contest that pitted the United States and western Europe, who were espousing free market capitalism and democracy, against the USSR and its allies, who were promoting a centrally planned economy and a socialist state

the longer workday of women with jobs outside the home who also work as caretakers, housekeepers, and/or cooks for their families

an EU program, meant to guarantee secure and safe food supplies at affordable prices, that places tariffs on imported agricultural goods and gives subsidies to EU farmers

environmentally conscious

a supranational organization that unites most of the countries of West, South, North, and Central Europe

the loss of old ways of life and the adoption of the lifestyle of another culture

an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods, driven by the profit motive and characterized by a competitive marketplace

an ideology, based largely on the writings of the German revolutionary Karl Marx, that calls on workers to unite to overthrow capitalism and establish an egalitarian society in which workers share what they produce; as practiced, communism was actually a socialized system of public services and a centralized government and economy in which citizens participated only indirectly through Communist Party representatives

monetary assistance granted by a government to an individual or group in support of an activity, such as farming, that is viewed as being in the public interest

the easternmost end of the Gulf Stream, a broad warm-water current that brings large amounts of warm water to the coasts of Europe

an agreement signed in the 1990s by the European Union and many of its neighbors that allows for free movement across common borders

a military alliance between European and North American countries that was developed during the Cold War to counter the influence of the Soviet Union; since the breakup of the Soviet Union, NATO has expanded membership to include much of eastern Europe and Turkey, and is now focused mainly on providing the international security and cooperation needed to expand the European Union

a government that accepts responsibility for the well-being of its people, guaranteeing basic necessities such as education, affordable food, employment, and health care for all citizens

a strategy for increasing a country’s power and wealth by acquiring colonies and managing all aspects of their production, transport, and trade for the colonizer’s benefit

the now-preferred term in Europe for Gypsies

devotion to the interests or culture of a particular country, nation, or cultural group; the idea that a group of people living in a specific territory and sharing cultural traits should be united in a single country to which they are loyal and obedient

(in the European Union,social protection) in Europe, tax-supported systems that provide citizens with benefits such as health care, affordable higher education and housing, pensions, and child care

a climate pattern of warm, dry summers and mild, rainy winters

as in south-central North America, China, and Europe, a climate that is moist all year with relatively mild winters and long, mild to hot summers

a philosophy and value system that emphasizes the dignity and worth of the individual, regardless of wealth or social status

a long, fortified border zone that separated western Europe from (then) eastern Europe during the Cold War

during World War II, a massive execution by the Nazis of 6 million Jews and 5 million gentiles (non-Jews), including ethnic Poles and other Slavs, Roma (Gypsies), disabled and mentally ill people, gays, lesbians, transgendered people, and political dissidents