Since 1950 European Union (EU) was created it has promoted peace, prosperity and values among the member nations and its neighbouring countries. EU’s influential tools, has helped transform many European states into functioning democracies and prosperous countries. EU’s membership has grown from 6 to 28 countries (Enlargement, 2014), satisfying a historic vow to integrate the continent bringing in most states of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) by peaceful ideals.EU has anticipated the enlargement as an extraordinary opportunity to endorse political strength and economic success in Europe. EU’s extension policy is open to any European state that fulfils the EU’s political and financial criteria for membership; still the political process of inclusion of new state requires a unanimous agreement from all the existing 28 member states. Europe is considered to be more flourishing and safer place due to the promotion of democracy, anti-corruption policy and the single market policy.
The enlargement of the European Union (EU) in 2004 and 2007 has been termed as the largest single expansion of the EU with a total of 12 new member states – bringing the number of members to 27 – and more than 77 million citizens joining the Commission (Murphy 2006, Neueder 2003, Ross 2011). A majority of the new member states in this enlargement are from the eastern part of the continent and were countries that had just emerged from communist economies (EC 2009, Ross 2011), although overall, the enlargement also saw new member states from very different economic, social and political compared to that of the old member states (EC 2009, Ross 2011). This enlargement was also a historical significance in European history, for it saw the
To achieve an “ever closer Union” members of the European Union had to relinquish certain governance authorities to the Supranational Institutions of the European Unions. The accumulation of power in governance by the EU institutions over the past 50 years have shown that member states are willing to empower the Institutions in regards to their economic policies and social policies which had profound impact on the lives of the European citizens and raised their living standards dramatically. In order to maintain this progressive trajectory a cohesive foreign policy initiative was seen necessary. Major European member states were reluctant in giving up their sovereign right of making their foreign policies to the supranational institutions of the European Union. Therefore, a forum in which EU countries would come together to discuss and cohere their foreign policies was deemed necessary. As result, the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) was initiated to fulfill the desired role. The Common Foreign and Security policy have many weaknesses, which can have significant affect on the direction of future integration in its realm.
Part of the exceptional nature of the EU stems from the notion that nothing like it has ever been attempted successfully before. The European Union is an international institution with a single market and shared currency. It strives to maintain singular goals and make its way towards being an “ever closer union”. Today, the European Union has expanded to include twenty-eight member countries with an influence that reaches every continent. This institution has had an impressive history, but it has reached a point of concern. The golden years which held high hopes of a united supranational Union are long over. The EU faces destructive problems today, which could ultimately end their impressive era of cooperation. The Union has come
While early EU history is marked by efforts to abridge political and economic gaps between formal enemies, recent EU enlargement is a one of tensions between established and new member interests and broader interests of the organization itself. In recent decades, the most prominent issue of EU integration is the ongoing discussion in established member states on expansion prospects. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War opened the possibility for immense political and economic transformation for Eastern European states. The result of this transformation brought the unprecedented possibility for many post-communist states to join the EU. This possibility, however, is met with hostility on domestic level in some of the
First I examine how EU institutions promote linkage and leverage with the West with the newest members in Eastern Europe. In particular, I examine the role of EU policies and initiatives in promoting Western 1) linkage by guaranteeing security and 2) leverage through conflict resolution in Eastern Europe, since those are the two main issue areas that enabled Western presence and cooperation in the region. The predominant impression is that the majority of Europeans still favor defense from outside from structures like NATO; therefore, NATO is a significant source of linkage and leverage with the West in Eastern Europe.
The Southeastern European country currently has a republic and since the country’s integration with the rest of the world has been a positive impact. The 2014 Index of Economic Freedom currently has the country as an overall score of 59.4 which gives it a rank of 95, meaning it is the 95th freest economy. To put this into perspective the country has a 59.4 while the world average is 60.3. However, in the regional average 67.1. The country’s today score is still a considerable improvement from its former years where in the early 2000’s it was hovering below 50 and even just above 40. The political situation in Serbia is continuing to develop especially with the international community. Serbia applied for membership into the European Union in 2009 and EU accession negotiations are projected early in 2014. Admission into the European Union would provide tremendous improvement socially, politically, and economically.
Europe now, for the first time in modern history, is a partnership sharing common values and a commitment to harmony and cooperation. The dream of European integration, shared by the United States, is now being realized, leaving behind us the wasteful era of wars, hostility, and inequalities. We are on the road to a Europe enjoying a unity and
Based on the history of the EU it is easy to see how diverse and complicated it can be to effectively do business or deal in politics with the nations of the EU. However, the region has managed to develop a highly synergistic business environment. The ability to create stability in region has been accomplished even with such variations of culture,
There is an erroneous assumption in the world that the concept of the European Union, the notion of having a shared currency, and borderless pan-European continent is a relatively new idea. However, the idea of a pan-European identity as it is known today through the European Union was established after the end of the Second World War, as the need for a united Western Europe was needed to combat the possible threat of war with the Soviet Union. The policies of the European Union went through a long review through the establishment of multiple pan-European organizations, primarily the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), which provided the backbone of the modern European Union, through a number of treaties that encouraged European cooperation. It is through the combined efforts of the ECSC and the ECC that Churchill’s dream of a united Europe in 1949 eventually culminated in the creation of the European Union (E.U), an organization whose role is to protect the economic interests of aligned nations as outlined by the mandates of the ECSC and ECC.
This article reviews Albania’s association with the EU from the 1990’s to 2000. Argument is that Albania is one of the most under-developed countries in Europe and will face
Throughout the history of human civilization, many specific situations and conditions created space for countries to unite together and establish different unions in order to achieve a similar goal. The European Union is one of the most powerful and decorated united organizations of the world. Since its establishment, it has expanded into a unit of power and economic development, and has become one of the world’s largest collaborative forces (Jain, 2012, p.34). The organization has also won the Nobel peace prize for its advancement in the causes of peace. But is it truly a global power? In this paper, we will discuss the European Union’s exertion and influence of power in not only Europe but all over the world.
The European Union (EU) was established in order to prevent the horrors of modern warfare, experienced by most of Europe during the World Wars of the 20th century, from ever ensuing again, by aiming to create an environment of trust with the countries of Europe cooperating in areas such as commerce, research and trade (Adams, 2001). The EU has evolved into an economic, trade, political and monetary alliance between twenty-eight European Member States. While not all Member States are in monetary union (i.e. share the currency of the euro), those that are form the ‘Euro-zone’ (Dinan, 2006). The EU can pass a number of types of legislation, with a regulation, act, or law, being the most powerful. Its ‘tricameral’ (European Union, 2007)
People have created unions many times but not all of them were successful, specifically when we consider alliances among number of countries with different economics, political systems and culture. For instance, last century brought both the biggest collapse and the most promising union in the modern history. Although U.S.S.R has disappeared from geographical maps, some of its members joined another alliance. The European Union (EU) is an economic and political partnership that united 28 countries on the European part of Eurasia and represents a unique form of cooperation among members today.
The EU recognizes that developmental efforts applied to individual cultural entities induce stability and a pro-western belief system (CS L2, 2013, 17). This framework serves to foster the integration of international partnerships with neighboring states and global partnerships with international powers such as the United States, Russia, the African Union, and the United Nations to pursue global stability through political, financial, and military efforts. The EU has also developed plans to invest and integrate with international organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), (MERCOSER) and, Interpol to provide assistance in the foundation and continuance of an effective law and order structure, as well as fair trade principles within emerging democracies, and to assist recovering states with re-establishing financial and governmental integrity. These results will lead to an enhanced strategic position and level of security for the EU and its allies