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The UK's Relations with Europe - the EU and the Council of Europe

Two organisations that are easy to confuse: the European Union, which the UK left, and the Council of Europe, which protects human rights and which the UK is still part of. Plus how Brexit changed the UK-EU relationship.

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What you'll cover

Two Europes, easily confused 🌍

When people talk about "Europe", they often mix up two very different organisations: the **European Union (EU)** and the **Council of Europe**. They sound similar, but they do different jobs, and the UK has a different relationship with each. The UK **left the EU**, but is **still a member** of the Council of Europe. This module untangles the two and looks at how Brexit changed things.

The key organisations 🔑

Four terms to keep straight:

EU and Council of Europe ⚖️

This is the key distinction. They are two separate organisations.

Match each one 🔗

  • The European Union
  • The Council of Europe
  • The Convention on Human Rights
  • Brexit
  • A political and economic union with a single market
  • A body that protects human rights across Europe
  • A list of rights created by the Council of Europe
  • The UK's decision to leave the EU

Which did the UK leave? 🎯

After the 2016 referendum, which organisation did the UK leave?

  • The European Union
  • The Council of Europe
  • The European Court of Human Rights
  • The United Nations

What Brexit changed ✅

Select the TWO ways the UK's relationship with the EU changed after Brexit.

  • The end of free movement for EU citizens
  • New customs checks on trade with the EU
  • The UK left the Council of Europe
  • The UK started using the euro

Still part of the Council of Europe 🕊️

A common mistake is to think leaving the EU meant leaving everything European. It did not. The UK is **still a member of the Council of Europe**. That means the UK is still part of the **European Convention on Human Rights** and its court in Strasbourg. The Council of Europe is **not an EU institution**, so Brexit did not change the UK's membership of it.

Who created the Convention? 📜

Which organisation created the European Convention on Human Rights?

  • The Council of Europe
  • The European Union
  • The European Parliament
  • The World Trade Organisation

Europe in words 🧱

The _____ is a political and economic union that the UK left in 2020 after a referendum. The _____, a separate and larger body, protects human rights and created the European Convention on _____. The UK is still a member of that body. Leaving the EU changed rules on travel, fishing, trade and _____. The UK's decision to leave the EU is known as _____.

European Union Council of Europe Human Rights migration Brexit United Nations European Parliament currency taxation NATO

The road out of the EU 🪜

An interactive activity.

Which belong to the Council of Europe? 🖍️

An interactive activity.

Sort out the two bodies 🧭

An interactive activity.

Explain the difference ✍️

An interactive activity.