European Union
The European Union or EU is an international organisation of European
states, established by the Treaty on European Union (the Maastricht treaty).
The European Union is the most powerful international organisation so far in
history. In some ways it resembles a state. Some legal scholars believe that
it should not be considered as an international organisation at all, but
rather as a sui generis entity.
Current Issues
Major issues concerning the
European Union at the moment
include its enlargement south and Officiallanguages² English,
east (see below), the European Francais
constitution proposed by the (French),
Italiano
Convention, the Union's (Italian),
relationship with the United States Nederlands
of America and participation in the (Dutch),
Euro by those member states Portugus
currently outside the Eurozone. (Portuguese),
Suomi (Finnish)
Origins Svenska
(Swedish)
The original impetus for the
founding of (what was later to Capital Brussels
become) the European Union was the Italy (Prime
desire to rebuild Europe after the Minister:
disastrous events of World War II,
and to prevent Europe from ever President of the Silvio
again falling victim to the scourge European Council Berlusconi)
(until
of war. December 31,
2003)
Methods President of the
European Commission Romano Prodi
To accomplish this aim, the
European Union attempts to form President of the
infrastructure that crosses state European Parliament Pat Cox
borders. The harmonized standards Ranked
create a larger, more efficient Area 8th³
market, because the member states - Total 3,191,100 km2
can form a single customs union - % water xx% /
without loss of health or safety. Negligible
For example, states whose people
would never agree to eat the same Population Ranked
food might still agree on standards - Total(2003) 3rd³
for labelling and cleanliness. - Density 378,560,000
117.5/km²
The power of the European union Maastricht
reaches far beyond its borders Formation treaty
because to sell within it, it is - Declared February 7,
helpful to conform to its - Recognised 1992
standards. Once a nonmember November 1,
country's factories, farmers and 1993
merchants conform to EU standards, Currency Euro (EUR)4
most of the costs of joining the
union have been sunk. At that Time zone UTC 0 to +2
point, harmonizing laws to become a EU anthem Ode to Joy
full member creates more wealth (by
eliminating the customs costs) with Internet TLD .EU.INT, .EU5;
only the tiny investment of
actually changing the laws. In Calling Codes In zones 3 and
4
Internet terms, the EU is a "viral
state." (1) Not official, this is the motto
proposed in the constitution, see
History European motto.
(2) Official languages of the Union,
The body was originally known as not in the Union. Member states set
the European Economic Community official language(s) in their
(informally called the Common territories. Some territories have
Market in the UK), this later official languages that are not
changed to the European Community official languages of the Union.
and then to the European Union. The (3) If the EU is counted as a singular
EU has evolved from a trade body country
into an economic and political
partnership. (4) The Euro is the currency of the
Union and of all Member States
excluding Denmark (DKK), Sweden (SEK)
and the United Kingdom (GBP).
(5) The .eu TLD has been approved by
ICANN and the EU, but is not currently
Member States active.
At present, the European Union comprises 15 member states. In 1950 the six
founding members were:
* France
* West Germany
* Italy
* Netherlands
* Belgium
* Luxemburg
Nine further states have joined in successive waves of enlargement:
* in 1973: Ireland, the United Kingdom and Denmark
* in 1981: Greece
* in 1986: Spain and Portugal
* in 1995: Finland, Sweden and Austria
Note: In 1990 the European Union territory was effectively enlarged when
East and West Germany were united.
EU territories outside Europe
* France: the four overseas dpartements d'outre-mer (DOM) of French
Guiana in South America, Guadeloupe and Martinique in the Caribbean
Sea, and La Runion in the Indian Ocean.
* Spain: Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, Ceuta and Melilla, in
Africa.
* Portugal: Azores and Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean.
Note: Ceuta, Melilla, Gibraltar and the land Islands are in the EU but not
the customs union.
All other member states territories not in Europe are not in the EU (and not
in the customs union), partial list:
* France: French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia, Saint
Pierre and Miquelon, Mayotte and uninhabited territories...
* Denmark: Greenland, Faroe Islands.
In addition, the British crown dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle
of Man (which are not territories of the United Kingdom) are not in the EU
proper, but are included in the customs union.
Extension of the EU
The total area of the European Union is 3,235,000 km². Were it a
country, it would be the eighth largest in the world by area. The number of
EU citizens (all EU member State citizens are EU citizens under the terms of
the Maastricht treaty) is approximately 379 million as of October 2001. This
is the third largest in the world after India and China.
See Enlargement of the European Union for details of future enlargement.
Economic Status
The EU, considered as a unit, has the second largest economy in the world,
with a 2002 GDP of 8,447 billion euro, second only to that of the United
States (9,239 billion euro, 2002 equivalent). The EU economy is expected to
grow further over the next decade as more countries join the union -
although the new States are usually poorer than the EU average, and hence
GDP per capita over the whole Union will fall over the short-term.
Main Policies
* Free trade of goods and services among member states (an aim further
extended to three of the four EFTA states by the European Economic
Area)
* A common external customs tariff, and a common position in
international trade negotiations
* Removal of border controls between its member states (excluding the UK
and Ireland, which have derogations)
* Freedom for citizens of its member states to live and work anywhere
within the EU, provided they can support themselves (also extended to
the other EEA states).
* Freedom for its citizens to vote in local government and European
Parliament elections in any member state
* Free movement of capital between member states (and other EEA states).
* Harmonisation of government regulations, corporations law and trademark
registrations
* A single currency, the Euro (excluding the UK, Sweden and Denmark,
which have derogations)
* A large amount of environmental policy co-ordination throughout the
Union.
* A Common Agricultural Policy and a Common Fisheries Policy.
* Co-operation 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
* A Common foreign policy as a future objective, however this has some
way to go before being realised. The divisions between the member
states regarding the Iraq crisis in 2003 highlights just how far off
this objective could be before it becomes a reality.
* A Common security policy as an objective, including the creation of a
60,000-member Rapid Reaction Force for peacekeeping purposes, an EU
military staff and an EU satellite centre (for intelligence purposes)
* Common policy on asylum and immigration
* Common system of indirect taxation, the VAT, as well as common customs
duties and excises on various products
* Funding for the development of disadvantaged regions (structural and
cohesion funds)
* Funding for programmes in candidate countries and other Eastern
European countries, as well as aid to many developing countries
* Funding for research
The trend has been for political power to shift from the individual states,
mostly upwards to the EU but also downwards to the European regions.
Many of these objectives depend on the harmonisation of laws across the
member states and so European Union Law is increasingly present in the
systems of the member states.
All prospective members must enact legislation in order to bring them into
line with the common European legal framework (see also EFTA, EEA and Single
European Sky).
Structure of the European Union
How does the European Community (EC) fit in?
In practice, the European Community is simply the old name for the European Union.
Legally, however, they must be distinguished. The European Union has no
legal personality; it is not an international organisation, but a mere bloc
of states. The European Community is one of two international organisations
these states are members of -- the other is the European Atomic Energy
Community (Euratom). There was once a third organisation, the European Coal
and Steel Community, but it ceased to exist in 2002. These three
organisations used to have separate institutions; but in 1961 their
institutions were merged, though legally speaking they are still separate
organisations (ie: the single Commission acts for EC and Euratom, which are
legally separate organisations).
The legal system imposed by the EU is correctly called EC Law not EU law for
this reason.
Intergovernmentalism vs. Supranationalism
A basic tension exists within the European Union between
intergovernmentalism and supranationalism. Intergovernmentalism is a method
of decision-making in international organisations where power is possessed
by the member-states and decisions are made by unanimity. Independent
appointees of the governments or elected representatives have solely
advisory or implementational functions. Intergovernmentalism is used by most
international organisations today.
An alternative method of decision-making in international organisations is
supranationalism. In supranationalism power is held by independent appointed
officials or by representatives elected by the legislatures or people of the
member states. Member-state governments still have power, but they must
share this power with other actors. Furthermore, decisions are made by
majority votes, hence it is possible for a member-state to be forced by the
other member-states to implement a decision against its will.
Some forces in European Union politics favour the intergovernmental
approach, while others favour the supranational path. Supporters of
supranationalism argue that it allows integration to proceed at a faster
pace than would otherwise be possible. Where decisions must be made by
governments acting unanimously, decisions can take years to make, if they
are ever made. Supporters of intergovernmentalism argue that
supranationalism is a threat to national sovereignty, and to democracy,
claiming that only national governments can possess the necessary democratic
legitimacy. Intergovernmentalism has historically been favoured by France,
and by more Eurosceptic nations such as Britain and Denmark; while more
integrationist nations such as Belgium, Germany, and Italy have tended to
prefer the supranational approach.
In practice the European Union strikes a balance between two approaches.
This balance however is complex, resulting in the often labyrinthine
complexity of its decision-making procedures.
Starting in March 2002, a Convention on the Future of Europe will again look
at this balance, among other things, and propose changes. These changes
could in turn be adopted by an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC).
The Three Pillars
European Union policies are divided into three main areas, called pillars.
The first or 'Community' pillar concerns economic, social and environmental
policies. The second or 'Common Foreign and Security Policy' (CFSP) pillar
concerns foreign policy and military matters. The third or 'Justice and Home
Affairs' (JHA) pillar concerns co-operation in the fight against crime.
Within each pillar, a different balance is struck between the supranational
and intergovernmental principles. Supranationalism is strongest in the first
pillar, while the other two pillars function along more intergovernmental
lines. In the CFSP and JHA pillars the powers of the Parliament, Commission
and European Court of Justice with respect to the Council are significantly
limited, without however being altogether eliminated. The balance struck in
the first pillar is frequently referred to as the "community method", since
it is that used by the European Community.
Why the three pillars structure?
The pillar structure had its historical origins in the negotiations leading
up to the Maastricht treaty. It was desired to add powers to the Community
in the areas of foreign policy, security and defence policy, asylum and
immigration policy, criminal co-operation, and judicial co-operation.
However, some member-states opposed the addition of these powers to the
Community on the grounds that they were too sensitive to national
sovereignty for the community method to be used, and that these matters were
better handled intergovernmentally. To the extent that at that time the
Community dealt with these matters at all, they were being handled
intergovernmentally, principally in European Political Co-operation (EPC).
As a result, these additional matters were not included in the European
Community; but were tacked on externally to the European Community in the
form of two additional 'pillars'. The first additional pillar (Common
Foreign and Security Policy, CFSP) deal with foreign policy, security and
defence issues, while the second additional pillar (JHA, Justice and Home
Affairs), dealt with the remainder.
Recent amendments in the treaties of Amsterdam and Nice have made the
additional pillars increasingly supranational. Most important among these
has been the transfer of policy on asylum, migration and judicial
co-operation in civil matters to the Community pillar, effected by the
Amsterdam treaty. Thus the third pillar has been renamed Police and Judicial
Co-operation in Criminal Matters, or PJCC.
The Single Institutional Framework
The three communities, and the three pillars possess a common institutional
structure. The European Union has five institutions:
* European Parliament
* European Commission
* European Court of Justice (incorporating the Court of First Instance)
* Council of the European Union
* Court of Auditors
There are also two advisory committees to the above institutions, which
advise them on economic and social (principally relations between workers
and employers) and regional issues:
* Committee of the Regions
* Economic and Social Committee
There are also several other bodies to implement particular policies,
established either under the treaties or by secondary legislation:
* European Central Bank
* European System of Central Banks
* European Investment Bank
* European Investment Fund
* Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market
* European Environment Agency
Finally the European Ombudsman watches for abuses of power by EU
institutions.
