Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country with an area of 30,688 km² and a population of 11,825,551 as of January 1, 2025, resulting in a population density of 385 inhabitants/km². Politically, it is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Its capital is Brussels; other major cities include Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven. Historically, Belgium, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg were known, from the 15th to the 17th centuries, as the Low Countries, a region encompassing a territory slightly larger than the present-day Benelux countries. The region, which covered part of Belgium as well as northern and eastern France, was referred to as “Belgica” in documents written in Latin. This name, used since antiquity, was adopted to designate Gallia Belgica, conquered by Julius Caesar and established as a Roman province by Augustus. From the late Middle Ages until the 17th century, the territory corresponding to modern-day Belgium was a prosperous commercial and cultural center, relatively cosmopolitan in its main cities. After being part of the Spanish Netherlands (1581–1714) and the Austrian Netherlands (1714–1794), it was annexed by Revolutionary France (1794–1815). In 1815, following the Congress of Vienna, most of present-day Belgium was incorporated into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. For centuries, Belgian territory was the scene of numerous battles between various European powers, earning it the nickname “Battlefield of Europe,” a reputation reinforced in the 20th century by the two World Wars. Belgium is one of the six founding members of the European Union.
Brussels
Brussels, also known as the Brussels urban area, Greater Brussels, or the Brussels metropolitan area, is an agglomeration that extends beyond the administrative boundaries of the Brussels-Capital Region to encompass parts of Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant. At its center lies the municipality of Brussels proper, whose name in the Belgian constitution is City of Brussels. Most of the institutions of the European Union (EU), as well as numerous international organizations, including NATO, are headquartered in the Brussels-Capital Region. By metonymy, “Brussels” is often used to refer to the European institutions, and more specifically the European Commission.
Greece
Greece is a country in southern Europe. Covering an area of 131,957 km2 for just under eleven million inhabitants, the country shares land borders with Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey and maritime borders with Cyprus, Albania , Italy, Libya, Egypt and Turkey (the latter is the source of Greek-Turkish litigation in the Aegean Sea). The Ionian Sea to the west and the Aegean Sea to the east, parts of the Mediterranean Sea, frame the country, one-fifth of the territory of which is made up of more than 9,000 islands and islets, of which nearly 200 are inhabited. In addition, 80% of its territory is made up of mountains, the highest of which is Mount Olympus, whose summit rises to 2,917 meters. Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilization, homeland of the arts (theater, architecture), politics (Athens is the cradle of democracy), philosophy (Stoicism, Epicureanism, Aristotelianism) and sciences (mathematics, physics, medicine). Ancient Greece bequeathed to Europe a colossal cultural and linguistic heritage.
France
France is a transcontinental state. Its overseas territory extends into the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as South America. The only country in the world to exercise sovereignty over territories spread over three oceans and two continents, it plays an important geopolitical role at the global level, thanks to an extensive network of embassies and consulates, and it has military bases on all continents. France has in the seas the second exclusive economic zone in the world, to which is added an extension of the continental shelf of 579,000 km2, and it is one of the leading countries in the world for the variety of its maritime environments and their biodiversity. In 2018, the population of France was approximately 67.8 million inhabitants, 65,018,000 in metropolitan regions, 2,777,200 in overseas regions.
Italy
Italy is a country in southern Europe. It is linked to the rest of the continent by the massif of the Alps. Italy makes a very important contribution to Western civilization: it is notably the cradle of Etruscan civilization, Magna Graecia, the Roman Empire, the Holy See, the maritime republics, humanism and the Renaissance. Existing as a unitary state since 1861 following the Risorgimento (Renaissance or Resurrection) led by the Kingdom of Sardinia, Italy has been a republic since the abolition by referendum of the Italian monarchy in 1946. It is a founding member of the European Union and the euro area. There are around 60 million Italians.