EU, Eurozone, ECB, Schengen: a quick primer [View all]

[Recursion]

Not to be pedantic, but this seems needful:

The European Union (EU) is a customs and trade union that allows people in any EU country to reside and work in any other. It also allows (mostly) free trade in goods among member countries.

The Eurozone is a group of countries using a common currency, the Euro. That currency's monetary policy is set by the European Central Bank (ECB). This is the institution that fucked Greece, and the UK is not a member of it. Most of the Eurozone members are EU members (but not all) and about two-thirds of the EU members are Eurozone members.

The Schengen Area is a visa agreement among several countries. The UK is also not in this. Entry into a Schengen country allows you visa-free entry into any other Schengen country. The UK and Ireland are not in Schengen (they have a "British Isles Only" version of it called the CTA). Switzerland and Norway are in Schengen, but are not in the EU (or the Eurozone).

The EU doesn't do anything about budgets or austerity or monetary policy. If that's your complaint you're charging the wrong windmill; that's the ECB, which is not an EU organ. The EU sets trade, labor, safety, etc. regulations.