|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The European Union (EU) is a sui generis supranational and intergovernmental union of 27 states. It was established in 1992 by the Treaty on European Union (The Maastricht Treaty), and is the de facto successor to the six-member European Economic Community founded in 1957. Since then new accessions have raised its number of member states, and competences have expanded. The EU is the current stage of a continuing open-ended process of European integration. The EU is one of the largest economic and political entities in the world, with 493 million people and a combined nominal GDP of $15.4 trillion in 2006. The Union is a single market[1] with a common trade policy, a Common Agricultural/Fisheries Policy, and a Regional policy to assist poorer regions.[2] It introduced a single currency, the euro, adopted by 13 member states. The EU initiated a limited Common Foreign and Security Policy, and a limited Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters.
HistoryThe EU has evolved from a western European trade body into the supranational and intergovernmental body that it is today. After the Second World War, an impetus grew in western Europe for institutional forms of cooperation (through social, political and economic integration) between states, driven by the determination to rebuild Europe and eliminate the possibility of another World War. Eastern Europe, on the other hand, was largely within the Soviet sphere of influence, and only in the 1990s did the EU see central and eastern European states as potential members. In 1946 Winston Churchill called for a "United States of Europe" (though without the inclusion of the UK).[4] On May 9 1950, the French foreign minister Robert Schuman presented a proposal for the joint management of France's and West Germany's coal and steel industries. The proposal, known as the "Schuman Declaration", envisaged the scheme as "the first concrete step towards a European federation".[5] It is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union, and led to the formation of the European Coal and Steel Community by (West) Germany, France, Italy and the Benelux countries. This was accomplished by the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1951.[6]Image:Rometreaty.jpg The founding nations signing the Treaty of Rome in 1957 The first full customs union - the European Economic Community (the Common Market) - was established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957 and implemented on 1 January 1958. This later changed to the European Community, which is now the "first pillar" of the European Union created by the Maastricht treaty. On 29 October 2004, EU member state heads of government and state signed the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. This was later ratified by 17 member states. However, in most cases ratification was based on parliamentary action, rather than popular vote, and the process faltered on 29 May 2005 when French voters rejected the constitution 55% to 45%. The French rejection was followed three days later by a Dutch one, in which 62% of voters refused the constitution as well. GeographyImage:Vourvourou-Greece.jpg 22 member countries are influenced by extensive coastlines and oceanic climate, (Mediterranean, Greece) The territory of the European Union is formed by the territory of its twenty-seven member states, and expands with the accession of new members. It covers an area of 4,422,773 square kilometres (1,707,642 sq mi).[7] Extending northeast to Finland, northwest to Ireland, southeast to Cyprus and southwest to Portugal, it represents the seventh largest territory in the world by area. It is estimated that the coastline of the European Union is over 150,000 km long. The EU is not coterminous with Europe: significant parts of the continent (e.g. Switzerland, Norway, European Russia) are outside of the EU. The member states of the EU have land borders with 21 other nations. Several overseas territories and dependencies of various member states are also formally part of the EU (e.g. the Azores, Madeira, French Guiana, Martinique, Guadeloupe or the Canary Islands) while in other cases territories associated with member states are not part of the EU (e.g. Greenland, the Faroe Islands, most territories associated to the United Kingdom, Aruba, the Netherlands Antilles or New Caledonia). Including overseas territories of member states, the EU includes most types of climate from Arctic to tropical. Meteorological averages for the EU as a whole are therefore not meaningful. The majority of the population live in areas with a Mediterranean climate (southern Europe), a temperate maritime climate (western Europe), or a warm summer continental or hemiboreal climate (in eastern member states). Member statesThe EU describes itself as "a family of democratic European countries".[8] On 23 July 1952, six founding members formed the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which was transformed into the European Community, later renamed to European Union, in waves of accession:
a On 3 October, 1990, the constituent Länder of former East Germany acceded to the former West Germany, automatically becoming part of the EU. Note that certain areas of the member countries are not part of the EU, like the The Channel Islands, the Faroe Islands and most areas that are far from continental Europe. See the Geography section above for details. PoliticsSupporters of the European Union argue that the growth of the EU is a force for peace, democracy, and prosperity for its member states. However, the causal factors of war and peace are a controversial theoretical issue. Others contend that peace in Europe since World War II is the product of other causes, such as the moderating influence of the United States and the Soviet Union within their respective power blocs, and the mutual external threat for the other bloc/alliance, the need for reconstruction after World War II, and a collective temporary tiring of waging war, and that the dictatorships cited came to an end for entirely different reasons. The nature and future direction of the European Union itself is the central issue in European politics, and a significant issue in the national politics of the member states. General issues include the ultimate size of the Union, limits on new accession, the pace of new accessions, expansion in membership versus internal integration, a future as a political union versus a future as a free trade zone, the geographical limits of "Europe" for membership purposes, and the values and historical-cultural identity of the Union. Internal structure, procedures and policies are themselves subject to constant political debate. Specific issues at present include the status and future of the constitutional treaty; enlargement on the Balkans and Turkish accession; problems of financial probity and democratic accountability; relative economic viability; revision of the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact; and the Common Agricultural Policy. The Financial Perspective for 2007–2013 was defined in 2005 when EU members agreed to fix the common budget to 1.045% of the European GDP.[9] UK Prime Minister Tony Blair agreed to review the British rebate, negotiated by Margaret Thatcher in 1984. French President Jacques Chirac declared this increase in the budget will permit Europe to "finance common policies" such as the Common Agricultural Policy or the Research and Technological Development Policy. France's demand to lower the VAT in catering was refused.[10] Controversial issues during budget debates include the British rebate, France's benefits from the Common Agricultural Policy, Germany and the Netherlands' large contributions to the EU budget, reform of the European Regional Development Funds, and the question of whether the European Parliament should continue to meet once a month in Strasbourg. The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE), commonly referred to as the European Constitution, is an international treaty intended to create a constitution for the European Union. The constitution was rejected by France and the Netherlands, where referenda were held[11] causing other countries to postpone or halt their ratification procedures. The constitution now has an uncertain future.[12][13] As of February 2007, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Romania, Slovenia and Spain have ratified the constitutional treaty. Finland, Germany and Slovakia have completed parliamentary procedures required for ratification. Spain and Luxembourg held referenda, thus in those member states the constitution was ratified by popular vote.[14] The 'pillar' structure created by the Treaty of Maastricht moved the older policies and activities into the 'first pillar, labeled the 'European Communities'. The more controversial new policy areas - foreign policy, security and defence, asylum and immigration, and judicial co-operation - were moved into two new 'pillars'. European Economic CommunityImage:Euro banknotes.png The Euro is adopted by 13 countries and is used by 315 million people The most prominent policy goal of the European Union is the development and maintenance of an effective single market. Significant efforts have been made to create harmonised standards designed to bring economic benefits through creating larger, more efficient markets. Since the Treaty of Rome, policies have implemented free trade of goods and services among member states, and continue to do so. This policy goal was further extended to three of the four EFTA states by the European Economic Area, EEA. Common EU competition law restricts anti-competitive activities of companies (through antitrust law and merger control) and member states (through the State Aids regime). The EU promotes free movement of capital between member states (and other EEA states). The members have a common system of indirect taxation, the VAT, as well as common customs duties and excises on various products. Image:Lanckoronaa.jpg From 2007-2013 new member states expect investments financed with EU Structural Funds and Cohesion Funds, (Lanckorona, Poland) They have a Common Agricultural Policy (with the Common Fisheries Policy) and the structural and cohesion funds, which improve infrastructure and assist disadvantaged regions. Together they are known as the cohesion policies. The EU also has funds for emergency financial aid, for instance after natural disasters. The funding extends to programmes in candidate countries and other Eastern European countries, as well as aid to many developing countries, through programmes such as Phare, TACIS, ISPA. The EU also funds research and technological development, through four-year Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development. In a more political sense, the EU attempts to create - with much controversy - a sense of European citizenship and European political life. That includes freedom for citizens of the EU to vote and to stand as candidates in local government and European Parliament elections in any member state.[15] The European Parliament is now attempting to create pan-European political parties, and almost all members have joined at least a federation of national political parties.
Common Foreign & Security PolicyDefence and security are traditionally matters of national sovereignty. EU policies in this area were established as the second of the three pillars in the Maastricht treaty of 1992. The Common Foreign and Security Policy or CFSP were further defined and broadened in the Amsterdam Treaty of 1997. It superseded the European Political Cooperation. The CFSP acknowledges NATO being responsible for territorial defence of Europe and "peace-making". In 1999 the European Council took over responsibilities for the implementation of peace-keeping missions (EUFOR in Bosnia Herzegovina, Congo) and policing of treaties. The supervision is coordinated by the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana. The European Security and Defence Policy is an element of the CFSP and stipulated the framing for policies that could deal with humanitarian and rescue tasks, and tasks of combat forces. It includes the creation of a 60,000-member European Rapid Reaction Force for peacekeeping purposes, an EU military staff, a European Defence Agency and an EU satellite centre (for intelligence purposes). Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal MattersImage:Maastricht-shopping-street.redvers.jpg The Treaty of Maastricht, Netherlands formed the three pillar EU structure The third of the three pillars of the European Union is focusing on cooperation in criminal matters, including sharing of intelligence (through Europol and the Schengen Information System), agreement on common definition of criminal offences and expedited extradition procedures. It is the EU instrument of law enforcement and combating racism. It was created as the Justice and Home Affairs pillar in the Treaty of Maastricht; subsequently the Treaty of Amsterdam transferred the areas of illegal immigration, visas, asylum, and judicial co-operation to the integrated first (European Community) pillar. The term Justice and Home Affairs now covers these integrated fields as well as the intergovernmental third pillar.
Institutions and bodiesImage:EuroparliamentCROPPED.jpg The Brussels seat of Parliament The European Union is governed by a number of institutions, these primarily being the Commission, Council and Parliament. The European Commission acts as an executive or civil service of sorts. It is currently composed of one member from each state (currently 27) and is responsible for drafting all proposed law, a duty on which it maintains a monopoly in order to co-ordinate European Law. It also controls some agencies and the day-to-day running of the Union. Its president is nominated by the European Council then elected by the Parliament. The Council of the European Union (aka the Council of Ministers) forms one half of the Union's legislative branch (the other being the Parliament). It is composed of the national ministers responsible for the area of EU law being addressed, for example a law regarding agriculture would go to a Council composed of national agriculture ministers. This body should not to be confused with the European Council below or the non-EU body, the Council of Europe. The body's presidency rotates between the member-states every 6 months, though the current president member-state co-operates with the previous and future president member-state, to provide continuity. The European Parliament is the only Union body composed of officials directly elected on European issues. Every 5 years citizens in all member-states vote across a few days for 785 "MEPs" who form the second half of the Union's legislative branch. Its members sit according to political groups rather than nationality and its president is elected by its members. Image:Eurotower in Frankfurt.jpg The European Central Bank in Frankfurt The European Central Bank is controlling the monetary policy within the Eurozone, consisting of 13 member states. The ECB was established in 1998 and its headquarters are located in Frankfurt, Germany. The Judicial branch of the Union consists primarily of the European Court of Justice composed of one judge nominated by each member-state with the president elected from among those nominees. Below the Court of Justice there is a lower court called the Court of First Instance created to lift some of the work load of the Court of Justice. There is also the European Court of Auditors which monitors the Union's accounts. Another major body, though not an official institution, is the European Council, composed of the heads of government (along with the President of the European Commission) meeting 4 times a year. It shares its presidency with that of the Council of the European Union. There are also the two advisory committees; the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee. There is no official European capital, with institutions spread across a number of cities. However, Brussels is often considered the de facto capital as it hosts most of the primary institutions, including the Commission and the Council. The Parliament also has its second seat in the city. Strasbourg is the official seat of the European Parliament, meeting there for twelve week-long plenary sessions each year. Luxembourg City plays host to the Secretariat of the European Parliament as well as the European Court of Justice, the Court of First Instance and the European Court of Auditors. See also: Location of European Union institutions
LawEuropean Union law is the first and only example of a supranational legal framework. According to the European Court of Justice, in one of its earliest cases, it constitutes "a new legal order of international law".[16] Sovereign nation states, by becoming EU members, pool their authority for the mutual social and economic benefit of their peoples. The principle of subsidiarity means that laws are passed at the regional level where they are more effective when member states take action by themselves, while EU law is supreme in its own fields. The two main treaties which form the basis of EU law are the Treaty of the European Community, or the Treaty of Rome from 1957, and the Treaty of the European Union, or the | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
