The word 'perspective' here really means 'plan'. The EU has to plan its work well in advance and ensure that it has enough money to pay for what it wants to do. The purpose of the financial perspective/framework is to keep EU expenditure under control.

This expression is often used to mean an attitude that wants to defend Europe from outside influences, especially cultural influences.

In the years following the Second World War, people like Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman dreamed of uniting the peoples of Europe in lasting peace and friendship.

One of the great achievements of the EU has been to create a frontier-free area within which people, goods, services and money can all move around freely.

This means a group of countries that have removed barriers to trade between them – barriers such as import tariffs and quotas. The European Union is also a free trade area, but it is much more than that because it is built on a process of economic and political integration.