preview

Advantages And Disadvantages Of The European Union

Better Essays

In this essay, I will be discussing why and how the European Union was set up and the advantages and disadvantages of membership in its historical context.
The European Union was built in the aftermath of the Second World War. This was to create peace and end frequent and bloody wars between neighbouring countries that culminated in the Second World War. “Autarky and protection, fragmenting Europe’s economy, had caused economic malaise and political antagonism.” This portrays how fragile the European Union was during the Second World War especially with the conflict between France and Germany. These two super giants had gone to war “three times in less than a century and twice had been at the centre of terrible world wars.” There was a …show more content…

Countries that were not effected as highly economically combined with the United States to contribute gold and currency to those among the EU to fund for basic government needs and help pay of their debts. This was an immensely positive gesture as it had come with no repayment plan.
The Marshall plan was introduced by an American general named George Marshall. Its aims were to spark economic recovery within the EU. Although this plan had channelled over $13 billion to help economic recovery between 1948-1951 the Soviet Union had refused to participate. This was due to the Soviet Union portraying this to interfere with internal affairs between states. This had led to the Soviets refusing Poland and Czechoslovakia to interfere. However, although the Soviets decided not to interfere the United States had taken the opportunity to remake the European economy in the image of their own.
During 1949, the Americans along with 11 other states had decided to form a pact which was then named NATO. The Soviets then decided upon themselves to form their own pact with other allies in eastern Europe and rival NATO thus it introduced the Warsaw Pact. Nearly every European country was divided into one of these two pacts and this had created political division. NATO had continued expansion of their pact beyond the cold war and it had grew bigger with more member states joining during the

Get Access