European Union (EU)

• EU is a group of 28 countries that operates as a cohesive economic and political block. Nineteen of the countries use the euro as their official currency.9 EU members (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) do not use the euro.
• Note: In a 2016 referendum, the U.K. voted to leave the EU. Though the terms of Brexit had been challenged many times, Jan 31, 2020, marked the official enactment of Britain leaving the European Communities (EU).
• The EU grew out of a desire to form a single European political entity to end the centuries of warfare among European countries that culminated with World War II and decimated much of the continent.
• The European Single Market was established by 12 countries in 1993 to ensure the so-called four freedoms: the movement of goods, services, people, and money.
• The EU began as the European Coal and Steel Community, which was founded in 1950 and had just six members: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.
• The Maastricht Treaty took effect on November 1, 1993, and the EU replaced the EC. The treaty created the euro, which is intended to be the single currency for the EU.

Goals of the European Union (EU)

• Promote peace, its values, and the well-being of its citizens
• Offer freedom, security, and justice without internal borders
• Sustainable development based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly competitive market economy with full employment and social progress, and environmental protection
• Combat social exclusion and discrimination
• Promote scientific and technological progress
• Enhance economic, social, and territorial cohesion and solidarity among EU countries
• Respect its rich cultural and linguistic diversity.
• Establish an economic and monetary union whose currency is the euro.
• The goals and values form the basis of the EU and are laid out in the Lisbon Treaty and the EU Charter of fundamental rights History of the European Union (EU).
• Treaty of Paris: In 1952, European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was founded under this treaty by 6 countries called Six (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) to renounce part of their sovereignty by placing their coal and steel production in a common market, under it.
• The European Court of Justice (called “Court of Justice of the European Communities” until 2009) was also established in 1952 under the Paris Treaty.
• In 1957, the Treaty of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC), or ‘Common Market’.
• Merger Treaty (1965, Brussels) in which an agreement was reached to merge the three communities (ECSC, EAEC, and EEC) under a single set of institutions, creating the European Communities (ECs).
• The Commission and Council of the EEC were to take over the responsibilities of its counterparts (ECSC, EAEC) in other organizations.
• The 1990s was also the decade of two treaties: the ‘Maastricht’ Treaty on the European Union in 1993 and the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1999.
• Single European Act (1986): Enacted by the European Community that committed its member countries to a timetable for their economic merger and the establishment of a single European currency and common foreign and domestic policies.
• The Maastricht Treaty-1992 (also called the Treaty on European Union) was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands to further European integration. It led to.
  • European Communities (ECSC, EAEC, and EEC) being incorporated as the European Union.
  • European citizenship was created, allowing citizens to reside in and move freely between the Member States.
  • A common foreign and security policy was established. It paved the way for the creation of a single European currency – the euro.
  • It established the European Central Bank (ECB). f It enabled people to run for local office and for European Parliament elections in the EU country they lived in.
• Schengen Agreement (1985) paved the way for the creation of open borders without passport controls between most member states. It was effective in 1995.

EU Institutions

• European Parliament
• European Council
• Council of the European Union
• Presidency of the Council of the EU
• European Commission
• Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)
• European Central Bank (ECB)
• European Court of Auditors (ECA).
• European External Action Service (EEAS).

Governed

• Three bodies run the EU. The EU Council represents national governments. The Parliament is elected by the people. The European Commission is the EU staff. They make sure all members act consistently in regional, agricultural, and social policies. Contributions of 120 billion euros a year from member states fund the EU.
  • The European Commission proposes new legislation. It layout the EU strategy, its role in setting priorities, and its implementation through EU policy. The commissioners serve a five-year term.
  • The European Parliament: The European Parliament is the EU’s only directly-elected institution. It gets the first read of all laws the Commission proposes. Its members are elected every five years.
• The European Council:
  • The European Council defines the EU’s overall political direction and priorities.
  • It is not one of the EU’s legislating institutions, so it does not negotiate or adopt EU laws. Instead, it sets the EU’s policy agenda, traditionally by adopting ‘conclusions’ during European Council meetings which identify issues of concern and actions to take.
  • The members of the European Council are the heads of state or government of the 27 EU member states, the European Council President, and the President of the European Commission.