Australian rules football in Europe

Australian rules football is played in Europe at an amateur level in a large number of countries. The oldest and largest leagues are those in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, each nation having a number of clubs, organised junior programs and women's football. The British AFL has now dramatically expanded into the Welsh, Scottish and English leagues. The Danish AFL has been responsible for the expansion of Australian Football into Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Norway. The governing body for Australian Football in Europe was founded in Frankfurt in January 2010; the body was initially called the European Australian Football Association, but changed its name to AFL Europe at a general assembly meeting in Milan in October of the same year. It currently has 19 member nations. AFL Europe, with backing of the AFL in Australia has overseen a large improvement in the organisation of Australian football in Europe.

The sport has grown from a few clubs and leagues started mainly by expatriate Australians and returning nationals in the late 1980s and early 1990s, to now having established leagues in over 15 nations, with the majority of players being non-Australian.

Spain (disambiguation)

Spain is a European country.

Spain may also refer to:

Other meanings

Music

Spain (European Parliament constituency)

In European elections, Spain is a constituency of the European Parliament, currently represented by fifty-four MEPs. It covers the entirety of Spain and is the largest European Parliament constituency in terms of geographic area.

Current MEPs

As of July 2012

1987

The first European election in Spain was a by-election held after it joined the European Communities in 1987. The rest of the EC had voted in 1984.

1989

The 1989 European election was the third election to the European Parliament and the first time Spain voted with the rest of the Community.

1994

The 1994 European election was the fourth election to the European Parliament and the third European election in Spain.

1999

The 1999 European election was the fifth election to the European Parliament.

2004

The 2004 European election was the sixth election to the European Parliament.

2009

References

External links

Belgium

Coordinates: 50°50′N 4°00′E / 50.833°N 4.000°E / 50.833; 4.000

Belgium (ⁱ/ˈbɛldʒəm/; Dutch: België  [ˈbɛlɣijə]; French: Belgique  [bɛlʒik]; German: Belgien  [ˈbɛlɡiən]), officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a sovereign state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts several of the EU's official seats and as well as the headquarters of many major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi) and has a population of about 11 million people.

Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups: the Dutch-speaking, mostly Flemish community, which constitutes about 59% of the population, and the French-speaking, mostly Walloon population, which comprises 41% of all Belgians. Additionally, there is a small group of German-speakers who live in the East Cantons located around the High Fens area, and bordering Germany.

Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. Its two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its political history and complex system of government.

History of Belgium

The history of Belgium stretches back before the origin of the modern state of that name in 1830. Belgium's history is intertwined with those of its neighbours: the Netherlands, Germany, France and Luxembourg. For most of its history, what is now Belgium was either a part of a larger territory, such as the Carolingian Empire, or divided into a number of smaller states, prominent among them being the Duchy of Brabant, the County of Flanders, the Prince-Bishopric of Liège and Luxembourg. Due to its strategic location and the many armies fighting on its soil, Belgium since the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) has often been called the "battlefield of Europe" or the "cockpit of Europe." It is also remarkable as a European nation which contains, and is divided by, a language boundary between Latin-derived French, and Germanic Dutch.

Belgian wine

Belgian wine is produced in several parts of Belgium and production, although still modest at 1,400 hectoliters in 2004, has expanded in recent decades.

History

Belgian wine first appeared in the Middle Ages, around the 9th century. It is unlikely that wine was made in the area now known as Belgium before that, since the climate was not suitable and Gaul was covered with thick forests. However, there are mentions of Paris vineyards in the 4th century. From that time, vine cultivation spread northward and in the 8th century the banks of the Rhine were covered with vineyards. The first attempts at viniculture in Belgium were made around the same time. Moreover, the vineyards were already well established in Amay. The vineyard at Vivegnis, in the north of the province of Liège, was already considered old in the 9th century, as well as the vineyard at Huy, which belonged in part to the Bishop of Liège. The edges of the Meuse River were intensively cultivated because they offered well-exposed hillsides.