A Brief Note On The European Union ( Eu )

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.

Jose Bové explains, “Over 90 percent of food is produced where people live. So, we don’t understand – and nobody can explain to us – why we need to have free trade for food” (136). It does not mean that Bové and farmers are against trade, but the priority for them is to feed, “Their own families, also the local markets, and then the national markets” (P135). I agree with Bové, because locally grown food is safer, fresh, and tastes better. Instead, imported food could be contaminated with pesticides or other hazardous materials. In addition, there is no reason to buy expensive imported food when enough products are locally gown and are

The dominance of the market-economy worldwide, along with the subsequent rise of the Green Revolution, eventually led to the mass-shipment and globalization of food. In today’s interconnected society, the third- world produces for consumers within western Europe and the United States.(Guptill, Food Access) This market-driven desire to indulge in out-of-season crops fuels demand towards an industrial agricultural system that focuses on cash-crop monoculture (Guptill et al.,Global Food, 125-130).

For a long term, this policy will seriously distort the international food trade. A large amount of

The 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC) was the worst crisis in history, and has wide range and deep effects on the world financial system and relations (Peihani 2012). The vulnerability of the world financial system was exposed from the 2008 GFC (Mohamed 2011). Hence, countries are trying to find a solution for the heavily market-relied global financial system, and protectionism has drawn the attention from a great portion of countries and researchers (Viju and Kerr 2011). Mohanmed (2011) defines protectionism as to support domestic production development, and protect it from global competitions, normally through the methods of Quota and Tariff.

It is argued, that if the global north is able to dominate the increases in agricultural trade due to free trade, specifically infiltrating globally southern markets, it will perhaps negatively effect improvements of efficiency in global south agricultural spheres (Beachy 2011). Additionally, it is argued, that due to the U.S., as well as other globally northern nations using subsides, they are able to sell their own nations product at lower prices, and effectively close off trading markets for developing nations (Clemmitt 2008). An example of this practice in the real world involves analyzing corn trade in North America. Since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has been put in place, Mexican corn farmers have seen losses in their business (Beachy 2011). Additionally, the U.S. has seen larger gains in corn exports, specifically inside Mexico (Wu and Guclu 2013). This is a real world example, which represents one of the major concerns in expanding free trade, that it will ultimately be exploited by nations in the global north. Additionally for these smaller farmers, especially in developing nations who cannot compete with these conditions, poverty has been seen to increase for these people (Kendall and Petracco 2009). Beachy argues this to be one of the major indictments of the free trade system in improving food security, a greater number of citizens in the developing world

In light of this, I would like to explore research frontiers in the area of the challenges of managing food and farm businesses in a global setting of the 21st Century. In our society beleaguered by agricultural problems that ranges from economic to environmental problems such as weather and global warming, issues concerning trade and management of agricultural enterprises has been the topic of debate for the past decade. Many developing/poor countries who earn their living from agriculture continuously suffer from poverty and hunger as a result of the increasing pressures on the world's resource base. Policymakers are gripped with finding solutions to problems such as structural and technological constraints, inappropriate domestic policies and an unfavourable external economic environment. As a result, the growth of these economies has been slow, undernourishment has been increasing and the marginalization of these countries in the global economy has continued. This trend has created problems for developing countries over the past decade. Economic and financial

Figure 2 shows the exports of cereals (tons) for Canada, the EU, Northern Africa, Southern Africa, USA and then for the whole world, between year 1990 and 2010. This graph intends to reveal the huge amounts traded on international markets. From the world’s graph can be observed the 50% increase in the exports of cereals over the last 20 years, although the individual exported quantities for the selected regions and countries differ extremely. For instance, the US has exported approximately 20 times the exports of Northern Africa. As a conclusion, the data shows that the greatest share of total exported cereals has been traded by the major economies like the EU, the US and Canada. These large economies have thought for a long period of time

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), is the most complex example of common policy in the European Union. Introduced from 1958 to 1968 and still in existence today, it has brought controversy, dispute and political tension within the EU and with the rest of the world. It is also a remarkable example of the movement toward the unknown realm of integration in Europe. However, subsequent reforms have been slow in arrival and have not always achieved the success expected of them. With the new difficulty of enlargement, challenges will require yet more reform of the CAP. The changing situations and context of the policy will be considered in terms of its effectiveness, as will the reforms of

The European Union (EU) is not a typical international organization. The mix of intergovernmental and supranational institutions makes the EU a unique, distinctive political, and economic system. As Europe has spiraled from one crisis to the next, difficult discussions haves arisen about how much more power should be delegated to Brussels. Even though the EU advocates for “ever closer union”, through increased integration, states are becoming hesitant to relinquish power to the EU. This is due to the fact that state sovereignty has become threatened; it is being compromised by a combination of the lack of effective democratic institutions and the loss of states have lost control of law-making to legislation power to EU institutions. Euroenthuthiasts argue that state sovereignty is enhanced, not threatened, by reallocating power to EU institutions. However, Eurosceptics dispute that too much control has seceded to the EU making is a threat to state sovereignty. My position aligns with Eurosceptics, for the EU has weakened state sovereignty do to increased centralization of power in EU institutions that lack legitimacy. The European Project has obtained a copious amount of jurisdiction from states and eroded a basic fundamental freedom of the modern state- sovereignty. Since the EU has with goals to deepen and widen integration it’s clear that forfeiting state sovereignty will only intensify. My essay will start with a brief history of the European Union and a short

Globalization isn’t a widely discussed topic, it is therefore not all that easy to explain such a complicated term in simple terms. Advances in technology such as mobile phones, aero planes and the internet have made the growth of transport and communication networks possible. This means that people and countries can exchange information and goods more quickly and in a less complicated way this process is called Globalization.Globalization comes from

One of the main objectives of the European Union (EU) is the establishment of the internal market, which shall consist of “area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured. The internal market is based upon a customs union achieved through the abolition of the imposition of customs duties and charges having an equivalent effect and the prohibition of discriminatory taxes on intra-EU imports. The internal market is enhanced by the provisions on free movement of workers, freedom of establishment, free movement of services, and free movement of capital. Whereas Articles 28 to 30 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provide for the establishment of an EU common external tariff and the elimination of customs duties, Articles 34 and 35 of the TFEU (with exceptions under Article 36) go further, and prohibit quantitative restrictions and measures having equivalent effect. Taken together, Articles 28 to 32 and 34 to 36 serve to ensure the free movement of goods within the EU and to facilitate the operation of the internal market.

When considering the challenges and opportunities posed by EU non market policies, we must look at both the food producer and the manufacturer as both can have positive and negative reactions. Going forward, global warming is now high on the agenda of policy makers. With agriculture a high contributor, it is unsurprising that measures are being introduced that have effect on the producers’ and manufacturers’. The buzz word now associated with the future of the environment and the food industry is “sustainability”. This refers to sustainable growth as the producers (farmers) try to maximise output. Moreover, with world populations set to dramatically increase up to 2050, the EU and the world must find ways to promote food production. Therefore, policies are now becoming more difficult and multifunctional. This is symbolised through the increasing awareness of the environment and it becoming more and more apparent in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). “The industry realises the need to protect and, where possible, improve biodiversity. Given that the industry’s raw materials are grown in the natural environment, and the industry purchases and processes 70% of EU agricultural production, it is essential that agricultural practices are sustainable.” FoodDrink Europe. (2011). It is here in the CAP that I have found non-market policies to have impacted both positively and, at times, negatively on the food producers and manufacturers operating in the EU. The

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.

Political factors impact the agricultural sector in factors relating to regulation, distribution, and consumption of foods in a given country. Government policies and imposed regulations have a direct effect on nutritional choices that a consumer makes, and this, in turn, affects the agriculture market (KPMG, 2012). For example, policies governing food prices or the amount of information that a consumer will receive affects the choice of the consumer. Food regulation and safety measures implemented influence the supply of food products, and ultimately determines the market choice for consumers (KPMG, 2012). Economic factors have a direct effect on the agricultural industry. On one hand, the input cost such as the price of seeds, fertilizers, and cost of labor affect the productivity of the industry. The economic status of a country also affects the industry’s productivity. For example, in developing countries, the agricultural sector is less developed owing to limited resource input and poor infrastructure (KPMG, 2012).