European Union: Since its founding in 1958, the European Union’s main purpose has been to promote peace, human rights, cooperation, democratic ideals, and the well-being of the European people. It has enabled Europe to emerge from destruction of World War II with a much unified marketplace, connected through a single currency, the Euro. The EU is a unique structure in that it is one of the biggest governing alliances worldwide that has been reasonably successful in its purpose. There are several elements of the structure, such as the European Council, European Parliament, Council of the EU, and the European Commission, as well as many others that help the EU to run efficiently and effectively. One of the most important aspects of the European Union is most likely the European Commission, due to its highly influential role on the management of the EU, as well as its impact on international perception of the EU. The Commission is headed by a single president, under whom there are 28 Commissioners, one from each EU country. Each Commissioner serves a 5 year term in the EU, and each one is assigned a specific area of EU policy by the president of the EU. An important aspect of the European Commission is its ability to propose new laws to Parliament and the European Council (in most cases, this is only done when issues cannot be dealt with at the national, regional, or local level). If at least half of the Commissioners agree with the proposed law, the draft is sent to the
The European Union is a group of European countries who combined together as allies after WWII for trade and peace reasons. It was established so countries in Europe would not create conflicts with each other to prevent the disaster of the two World Wars. They also signed trade deals to secure the countries in the EU would be financially stable and not go into depression and poverty like most countries did in WWII. Each country in the EU has to provide the EU with money to operate. In return, not only will they see trade with European countries, but the EU budgets will help redevelopment and regeneration of poor areas, seen in
The European Union (EU) is a political economic union of 28 members. The founders are France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Italy, Netherlands, and Germany. The Maastricht treaty established the European Union in 1993. The EU aims to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital and regional development. These 28 member states have successfully integrated because of their similar cultural lifestyles.
The European Union (EU) is a unique economic and political partnership between 28 different countries. It consists of about half a billion citizens, and its combined economy represents about 20 percent of the world’s total economy (Briney, 2015). Today The European Union works as a single market, with free movement of people, goods and services from one country to another. There is a standard system of laws to be followed, and since 1999 many countries share a single currency called the Euro (Europa.eu, 2015). This essay will explore the background history of the European Union and the benefits and drawbacks of the European Union.
The European Union was initially set up as a means to terminate the conflict that occurred within Europe throughout the 20th century, culminating with the end of The Second World War (WWII) and The Cold War that followed. The EU ultimately aimed to bring the member countries together in order to form an ‘ever closer union’ between the countries of Europe, thus preventing a future battle. The Union started as the European Economic Community (EEC), which was established in 1957, and over the years endured numerous adjustments to form the politico-economic union that we know of today.
In considering the international realm, let’s consider the concept of economic treaties. Specifically, let's think about an organization like the European Union (EU). Why was it formed? In addition, what are some of the objectives of the nations that are joining the EU?
The European Union consists of 28 member states and has a population of 503 million inhabitants, and a total surface area of over 4 million square miles. The EU has its own currency, the Euro, and the largest single market in the world. It is a global community and power and has a huge influence on our world today in many aspects, and has been slowly built up to what it is today through humanistic ideology , common interests, new structures, treaties, economic policy and the attempt of equality throughout.
The European Union (EU) is the organization which integrates the countries listed below, both politically and economically. It is a customs union, which is an agreement amongst a group of countries to eliminate trade barriers between them on the movement of goods, services, labor and capital, and also to establish a common external tariff on goods and services coming into the union. The EU evolved from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which was formed in 1951 as a response to the First and Second World Wars to try to ensure future peace in Europe. This became the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1965, which in turn became the European
The components can be differentiated into 3 branches, executive, legislative, and judicial. The Commission would be the executive branch. The Council and Parliament would make up the legislative branch. Finally the judicial branch would be the Court of Justice. However, the powers that lie in these components are still not clear cut. As discussed in class, the EU Court is the largest supranational court. The court makes its decisions in secret. This could affect power because this could result in judges more easily making decisions for the EU as a whole rather than the individual state if the state cannot hold them accountable. This can raise the question of whether accountability plays a role with appointed delegates and or elected officials. The only place with elected officials is the Parliament. The people who are appointed are held accountable by the individual member states where as the elected officials are held accountable directly to the people. This could create come power division between the government and the people. The powers of the different components are not necessarily clear cut because the commission does have certain legislative powers in addition to its executive
Part of the exceptional nature of the EU stems from the notion that nothing like it has ever been attempted successfully before. The European Union is an international institution with a single market and shared currency. It strives to maintain singular goals and make its way towards being an “ever closer union”. Today, the European Union has expanded to include twenty-eight member countries with an influence that reaches every continent. This institution has had an impressive history, but it has reached a point of concern. The golden years which held high hopes of a united supranational Union are long over. The EU faces destructive problems today, which could ultimately end their impressive era of cooperation. The Union has come
These states increased the Union’s population by 30 percent but only increased gross domestic product by four percent. The European Union has an unwieldly governing structure, the most important parts are the Commission and the European Council which make the rules and carry out executive functions. Two lesser but still important parts are the Parliament and the Court of Justice. The Commission has immense power with the domination of the Union budget and setting regulations for the member states. It is also the only permanent part of the executive
The European union is an integrated system featuring some if not most of the countries in Europe. It is an economic and political agreement between the European member states that binds countries together through treaties, which have been signed by every country in the union. It was established back in the 1950s but, back then it only featured 19 countries in comparison to now when it features 28.
The European Union is based on the rule of law. The treaties are an agreement between EU countries and it sets objectives for the EU. To serve European communities, the purpose the European institutions which have been changed over the years and is always based on intergovernmental principles. Parliamentary Assembly; the voice of the citizens have the power of co-decision, the Courts of justice; the duty to ensure that the Community law is observed, the Council; comprises representatives of the member states, still has the most powerful role in legislative process by the procedure of majority voting, and the commission has major responsibilities for the implementation of Community law . EU countries sign the Treaty of Lisbon establishing a European Constitution.
The main objectives of the Union: the establishment of "European citizenship" (the fundamental rights, freedom of movement, civil and political rights), freedom, security and justice (cooperation in internal affairs and justice), the support of economic and social progress (the common market, common currency euro, regional development, environmental protection issues), and to strengthen the role of Europe in the world (unified foreign and security policy, and the European Union and the World) [http://europa.eu/about-eu/eu-history/index_en.htm]
The European Commission is the Executive (governmental) body of the EU, initiating legislative proposals and also managing the EU’s budget (Europa, 2007). Each commission operates for a five-year period, with meetings taking place in Brussels every Wednesday. The Commission consists of a President of the Commission and twenty-eight commissioners (some vice presidents). Employees of the Commission are organised according to department (Directorates-General) and answer to a Commissioner. The Commission exists in order to represent the interests of the whole of the EU (thus arguably the whole of Europe), as opposed to individual Member States. The Commission represents the EU on a global basis and is the main participant in negotiations in areas such as trade. The appointment of Commissioners is the responsibility of the Parliament, with all having previously assumed senior positions in politics in their own country, usually within its national government. Proposals are drafted by the senior civil servant (Director-General. A proposal may be adopted if more than half of the Commissioners decide to adopt it. Once agreed, all Commissioners must give their unconditional support – similar to the collective responsibility held by the Scottish executives and the UK. The Commission works closely with both
The European Union is a political community constituted as an international organization whose aim is to promote integration and a common government of the European people and countries. According to the Article 3 of the European Union Treaty, Union’s aim is to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples. It is based on the values of freedom, democracy, equality, law enforcement and respect for human rights and dignity.