European Union vs. San Marino
Government
| European Union | San Marino | |
|---|---|---|
| Capital | name: Brussels (Belgium), Strasbourg (France), Luxembourg, Frankfurt (Germany); note - the European Council, a gathering of the EU heads of state and/or government, and the Council of the European Union, a ministerial-level body of ten formations, meet in Brussels, Belgium, except for Council meetings held in Luxembourg in April, June, and October; the European Parliament meets in Brussels and Strasbourg, France, and has administrative offices in Luxembourg; the Court of Justice of the European Union is located in Luxembourg; and the European Central Bank is located in Frankfurt, Germany geographic coordinates: (Brussels) 50 50 N, 4 20 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: the 27 European Union countries spread across three time zones; a proposal has been put forward to do away with daylight savings time in all EU countries | name: San Marino (city) geographic coordinates: 43 56 N, 12 25 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October etymology: named after Saint MARINUS, who in A.D. 301 founded a monastic settlement around which the city and later the state of San Marino coalesced |
| Independence | 7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the European Union); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force) note: the Treaties of Rome, signed on 25 March 1957 and subsequently entered into force on 1 January 1958, created the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community; a series of subsequent treaties have been adopted to increase efficiency and transparency, to prepare for new member states, and to introduce new areas of cooperation - such as a single currency; the Treaty of Lisbon, signed on 13 December 2007 and entered into force on 1 December 2009 is the most recent of these treaties and is intended to make the EU more democratic, more efficient, and better able to address global problems with one voice | 3 September 301 (traditional founding date) |
| National holiday | Europe Day (also known as Schuman Day), 9 May (1950); note - the day in 1950 that Robert SCHUMAN proposed the creation of what became the European Coal and Steel Community, the progenitor of today's European Union, with the aim of achieving a united Europe | Founding of the Republic (or Feast of Saint Marinus), 3 September (A.D. 301) |
| Constitution | history: none; note - the EU legal order relies primarily on two consolidated texts encompassing all provisions as amended from a series of past treaties: the Treaty on European Union (TEU), as modified by the 2009 Lisbon Treaty states in Article 1 that "the HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES establish among themselves a EUROPEAN UNION ... on which the Member States confer competences to attain objectives they have in common"; Article 1 of the TEU states further that the EU is "founded on the present Treaty and on the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as 'the Treaties')," both possessing the same legal value; Article 6 of the TEU provides that a separately adopted Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union "shall have the same legal value as the Treaties" amendments: European Union treaties can be amended in several ways: 1) Ordinary Revision Procedure (for key amendments to the treaties); initiated by an EU country's government, by the European Parliament, or by the European Commission; following adoption of the proposal by the European Council, a convention is formed of national government representatives to review the proposal and subsequently a conference of government representatives also reviews the proposal; passage requires ratification by all EU countries; 2) Simplified Revision Procedure (for amendment of EU internal policies and actions); passage of a proposal requires unanimous European Council vote following European Council consultation with the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the European Central Bank (if the amendment concerns monetary matters) and requires ratification by all EU countries; 3) Passerelle Clause (allows the alteration of a legislative procedure without a formal amendment of the treaties); 4) Flexibility Clause (permits the EU to decide in subject areas where EU competences have not been explicitly granted in the Treaties but are necessary to the attainment of the objectives set out in the Treaty); note - the Treaty of Lisbon (signed in December 2007 and effective in December 2009) amended the two treaties that formed the EU - the Maastricht Treaty (1993) and the Treaty of Rome (1958), known in updated form as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union | history: San Marino's principal legislative instruments consist of old customs (antiche consuetudini), the Statutory Laws of San Marino (Leges Statutae Sancti Marini), old statutes (antichi statute) from the1600s, Brief Notes on the Constitutional Order and Institutional Organs of the Republic of San Marino (Brevi Cenni sull'Ordinamento Costituzionale e gli Organi Istituzionali della Repubblica di San Marino) and successive legislation, chief among them is the Declaration of the Rights of Citizens and Fundamental Principles of the San Marino Legal Order (Dichiarazione dei Diritti dei Cittadini e dei Principi Fondamentali dell'Ordinamento Sammarinese), approved 8 July 1974 amendments: proposed by the Great and General Council; passage requires two-thirds majority Council vote; Council passage by absolute majority vote also requires passage in a referendum; Declaration of Civil Rights amended several times, last in 2019 |
| Legal system | unique supranational law system in which, according to an interpretive declaration of member-state governments appended to the Treaty of Lisbon, "the Treaties and the law adopted by the Union on the basis of the Treaties have primacy over the law of Member States" under conditions laid down in the case law of the Court of Justice; key principles of EU law include fundamental rights as guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights and as resulting from constitutional traditions common to the EU's 27-member states; EU law is divided into 'primary' and 'secondary' legislation; primary legislation is derived from the consolidated versions of the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and are the basis for all EU action; secondary legislation - which includes directives, regulations, and decisions - is derived from the principles and objectives set out in the treaties | civil law system with Italian civil law influences |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age (16 years in Austria); universal; voting for the European Parliament is permitted in each member state | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | under the EU treaties there are three distinct institutions, each of which conducts functions that may be regarded as executive in nature: note: for external representation and foreign policy making, leaders of the EU member states appointed Joseph BORRELL (Spain) as the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; BORRELL took office on 1 December 2019, succeeding Federica MOGHERINI (Italy (2014 - 2019); the High Representative's concurrent appointment as Vice President of the European Commission was meant to bring more coherence to the EU's foreign policy (horizontally, between policies managed by the Commission that are particularly relevant for EU external relations, such as trade, humanitarian aid and crisis management, neighborhood policy and enlargement; and vertically, between national capitals and the EU); the High Representative helps develop and implement the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy and Common Security and Defense Policy components, chairs the Foreign Affairs Council, represents and acts for the Union in many international contexts, and oversees the European External Action Service, the diplomatic corps of the EU, established on 1 December 2010 | chief of state: co-chiefs of state Captain Regent Alessandro CARDELLI and Captain Regent Mirko DOLCINI (for the period 1 October 2020 - 31 March 2021) head of government: Secretary of State for Foreign and Political Affairs Luca BECCARI (since 8 January 2020) cabinet: Congress of State elected by the Grand and General Council elections/appointments: co-chiefs of state (captains regent) indirectly elected by the Grand and General Council for a single 6-month term; election last held in March 2020 (next to be held in September 2020); secretary of state for foreign and political affairs indirectly elected by the Grand and General Council for a single 5-year term; election last held on 28 December 2019 (next to be held by November 2024) election results: Alessandro MANCINI (PSD) and Grazia ZAFFERANI (RETE Movement) elected captains regent; percent of Grand and General Council vote - NA; Luca BECCARI (PDCS) elected secretary of state for foreign and political affairs; percent of Grand and General Council vote - NA note: the captains regent preside over meetings of the Grand and General Council and its cabinet (Congress of State), which has 7 other members who are selected by the Grand and General Council; assisting the captains regent are 7 secretaries of state; the secretary of state for Foreign Affairs has some prime ministerial roles |
| Legislative branch | description: two legislative bodies consisting of the Council of the European Union (27 seats; ministers representing the 27 member states) and the European Parliament (705 seats; seats allocated among member states roughly in proportion to population size; members elected by proportional representation to serve 5-year terms); note - the European Parliament President, David SASSOLI (Italian center-left), was elected in July 2019 by a majority of fellow members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and represents the Parliament within the EU and internationally; the Council of the EU and the MEPs share responsibilities for adopting the bulk of EU legislation, normally acting in co-decision on Commission proposals (but not in the area of Common Foreign and Security Policy, which is governed by consensus of the EU member state governments) elections: last held on 23-26 May 2019 (next to be held May 2024) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by party (as of 31 January 2020) - EPP 187, S&D 148, ALDE/EDP 97, ID 76, Greens/EFA 67, ECR 59, GUE-NGL 40, non-inscripts 31; composition - NA | description: unicameral Grand and General Council or Consiglio Grande e Generale (60 seats; members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote in 2 rounds if needed; members serve 5-year terms) elections: last held on 8 December 2019 (next to be held by December 2024) election results: percent of vote by coalition/party - PDCS 33.3%, Tomorrow in Movement coalition 24.7% (RETE Movement 18.2%, Domani Motus Liberi 6.2%, other 0.3%), Free San Marino 16.5%, We for the Republic 13.1%, Future Republic 10.3%, I Elect for a New Republic 2%; seats by coalition/party - PDCS 21, Tomorrow in Movement coalition 15 (RETE Movement 11, Domani Motus Liberi 4), Free San Marino 10, We for the Republic 8, Future Republic 6; composition - men 42, women 18, percent of women 30% |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: Court of Justice of the European Union, which includes the Court of Justice (informally known as the European Court of Justice or ECJ) and the General Court (consists of 27 judges, one drawn from each member state; the ECJ includes 11 Advocates General while the General Court can include additional judges; both the ECJ and the General Court may sit in a "Grand Chamber" of 15 judges in special cases but usually in chambers of 3 to 5 judges judge selection and term of office: judges appointed by the common consent of the member states to serve 6-year renewable terms note: the ECJ is the supreme judicial authority of the EU; it ensures that EU law is interpreted and applied uniformly throughout the EU, resolves disputed issues among the EU institutions and with member states, and reviews issues and opinions regarding questions of EU law referred by member state courts | highest courts: Council of Twelve or Consiglio dei XII (consists of 12 members); note - the College of Guarantors for the Constitutionality and General Norms functions as San Marino's constitutional court judge selection and term of office: judges elected by the Grand and General Council from among its own to serve 5-year terms subordinate courts: first instance and first appeal criminal, administrative, and civil courts; Court for the Trust and Trustee Relations; justices of the peace or conciliatory judges |
| Political parties and leaders | European United Left-Nordic Green Left or GUE/NGL [Manon AUBRY and Martin SCHIRDEWAN] European Conservatives and Reformists or ECR [Raffaele FITTO and Ryszard LEGUTKO] European Greens/European Free Alliance or Greens/EFA [Ska KELLER, Philippe LAMBERTS] European People's Party or EPP [Manfred WEBER] Identity and Democracy Party or ID [Marco ZANNI] Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats or S&D [Iratxe PEREZ] Renew Europe - RE (successor to Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe or ALDE) [Dacian CIOLOS] | DOMANI - Modus Liberi or DML Free San Marino (Libera) Future Republic or RF [Mario VENTURINI] I Elect for a New Republic Party of Socialists and Democrats or PSD [Paride ANDREOLI] RETE Movement Sammarinese Christian Democratic Party (PDCS) [Marco GATTI] Socialist Party or PS [Alessandro BEVITORI] Tomorrow in Movement coalition (includes RETE Movement, DML) We for the Republic |
| International organization participation | ARF, ASEAN (dialogue member), Australian Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CERN, EBRD, FAO, FATF, G-8, G-10, G-20, IDA, IEA, IGAD (partners), LAIA (observer), NSG (observer), OAS (observer), OECD, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SICA (observer), UN (observer), UNRWA (observer), WCO, WTO, ZC (observer) | CE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), OPCW, OSCE, Schengen Convention (de facto member), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WHO, WIPO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Stavros LAMBRINIDIS (since 1 March 2019) chancery: 2175 K Street, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 862-9500 FAX: [1] (202) 429-1766 | chief of mission: Ambassador Damiano BELEFFI (since 21 July 2017) chancery: 327 E 50th Street, New York, NY 10022 Embassy address: 1711 North Street, NW (2nd Floor) Washington, DC 22036 telephone: [1] (212) 751-1234 [1] (202) 223-24l8 [1] (202) 751-1436 FAX: [1] (212) 751-1436 email address and website: sanmarinoun@gmail.com |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (Vacant); Charge D' Affaires Kelly Adams-Smith (since 1 July 2021) embassy: Zinnerstraat - 13 - Rue Zinner, B-1000 Brussels mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [32] (2) 811-4100 email address and website: https://useu.usmission.gov/ | embassy: the United States does not have an Embassy in San Marino; the US Ambassador to Italy is accredited to San Marino, and the US Consulate general in Florence maintains day-to-day ties |
| Flag description | a blue field with 12 five-pointed gold stars arranged in a circle in the center; blue represents the sky of the Western world, the stars are the peoples of Europe in a circle, a symbol of unity; the number of stars is fixed | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and light blue with the national coat of arms superimposed in the center; the main colors derive from the shield of the coat of arms, which features three white towers on three peaks on a blue field; the towers represent three castles built on San Marino's highest feature, Mount Titano: Guaita, Cesta, and Montale; the coat of arms is flanked by a wreath, below a crown and above a scroll bearing the word LIBERTAS (Liberty); the white and blue colors are also said to stand for peace and liberty respectively |
| National anthem | name: Ode to Joy lyrics/music: no lyrics/Ludwig VAN BEETHOVEN, arranged by Herbert VON KARAJAN note: official EU anthem since 1985; the anthem is meant to represent all of Europe rather than just the organization, conveying ideas of peace, freedom, and unity | name: "Inno Nazionale della Repubblica" (National Anthem of the Republic) lyrics/music: no lyrics/Federico CONSOLO note: adopted 1894; the music for the lyric-less anthem is based on a 10th century chorale piece |
| National symbol(s) | a circle of 12, five-pointed, golden yellow stars on a blue field; union colors: blue, yellow | three peaks each displaying a tower; national colors: white, blue |
Source: CIA Factbook
