Interesting Facts

Holidaymakers from within Europe using their mobile phones abroad are in for a pleasant surprise this summer as the EU brings in a lower cap on mobile phone roaming charges. (These cuts, along with others in the past mean data roaming is now up to 91 per cent cheaper to check email and get online through your phone than in did in 2007. You never know, I might actually be able to stay in touch with work when I'm on holiday.  No!)

Greece has been given a €110 billion ($136bn; £94bn) to help it overcome its debt crisis. (Europe's Finance Ministers have also approved a comprehensive rescue package worth almost a trillion dollars aimed at ensuring financial stability across Europe. The whole world seems to be in debt, which means no one really owes anything. Let's rip it up and start again.)

The European Union has scrapped rules on fruit and vegetable size. (Twenty-six fruits and vegetables are now free to grow their own way. But ten — including peaches, pears and tomatoes — still have to watch the scales. I shall look forward to funny shaped carrots going back on the shelf.)

Germany paid more than any other country for its membership in the European Union, 114 billion euros ($179 billion). (Greece received the most money from the bloc, receiving 5.4 billion euros more from the EU than it paid in, making it the EU's biggest recipient for the second year running.)

There are 20 official languages in the EU. (They are:- Čeština - CS - Czech Dansk - DA - Danish Deutsch - DE - German Eesti - ET - Estonian Elinika - EL - Greek English - EN Español - ES - Spanish Français - FR - French Italiano - IT - Italian Latviski - LV - Latvian Lietuviškai - LT - Lithuanian Magyar - HU - Hungarian Malti - MT - Maltese Nederlands - NL - Dutch Polski - PL - Polish Português - PT - Portuguese Slovenčina - SK - Slovak Slovenščina - SL - Slovene Suomi - FI - Finnish Svenska - SV - Swedish )