European Union

An emerging political system?

2007-01-01, EU enlargement

• Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU• Now the EU includes 27 countries

Comparison: EU vs. US

• Land area– European Union is less than half the size of

the United States• Population

– European Union has 516 million residents• GDP (purchasing power parity)

– US$13 trillion• EU exports more but imports less than US

European Union

• A family of democratic European countries• not a State intended to replace existing

state• more than any other international

organization• Member states

– set up common institutions– delegate some of their sovereignty

European Union

• More than an economic organization or trading bloc

• Three pillars (or spheres) of activities– trade and economic matters– justice and home affairs– foreign and security policy

• most controversial aspect of EU today

Outline

• How and why did the EU emerge?• What are its main decision-making

bodies?• Progress of European integration

– bursts of growth– broadening (add new members)– deepening (add new powers)– stagnation, doubts, and criticisms

“Europe Day” (1950)

• Destruction of World War II

• 1950-05-09 “Europe Day”

• Schuman (Fr.) proposed an organized Europe to maintain peace

ECSC (1951)

• European Coal and Steel Community– 6 members: Belgium, West Germany,

Luxembourg, France, Italy, and the Netherlands

European Economic Community

• Same 6 countries as in ECSC• Treaties of Rome (1957)

– European Atomic Energy Community – European Economic Community– remove trade barriers– form common market

Merge of 3 communities (1967)

• 1967, executives of ECSC, EURATOM, and EEC were merged

• one single Commission• one single Council of Ministers• European Parliament

– members chosen by national parliaments– directly elected every 5 years since 1979

Enlargement (1973 - 1995)

• 1973– Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom

• 1981– Greece

• 1986– Spain and Portugal

• 1995– Austria, Finland, and Sweden

Creation of European Union

• Treaty on European Union was signed in Maastricht in 1992

• add to the existing “Community” system• inter-government cooperation between

member states– justice and home affairs– foreign and security policy

Single Market

• free movement of– goods– services– people– and capital

• formally completed by January 1, 1993• passport and customs checks were

abolished at most of the internal borders

Single Currency

• Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)– exchange rate stability– interest rates, the budget deficit, the inflation

rate, and the debt-to-GDP ratio• When the euro was launched in 1999, the

European Central Bank (ECB) took over full responsibility for monetary policy throughout the euro area

Monetary Union: Stage III

• European Central Bank be set up• exchange rates between participating

currencies be fixed once and for all• single currency be introduced for the

administrations and the banks• coins and notes of the single currency be

in circulation on January 1, 2002 at the latest

Introduction of the Euro

• 2002-01-01

EU enlargement

• Three main criteria that countries have to meet before being eligible to begin negotiations to join the EU (1997)– establishment of a functioning and stable

democratic regime– market-oriented capitalist economy– acceptance of the 80,000 pages of laws and

regulations already on the EU’s books

EU enlargement

• Ten countries joined the EU in 2004• former communist countries

– Poland, Hungry, Czech, Slovakia, & Slovenia• former Soviet republics

– Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania

• Mediterranean islands– Cyprus and Malta

• Two countries joined the EU in 2007

EU applicant countries

• Two candidate countries– Turkey and Croatia– Entry negotiations formally began in 2005

• An application for membership submitted by Macedonia was formally accepted by EU leaders in 2005

• The EU is now looking at further enlargements in the Western Balkans

Other problems

• Few people identify themselves first as European.

• Key EU organizations are still superficial• Democratic deficit• Lack of common language