European Integration And The European Union

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.

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.

With regards to the claim that the European Parliament is too weak (the second of Weiler's standard version claims), Moravcsik (2002; 2003) emphasises the fact that during the last twenty years, the European Parliament is the institution which have experienced the most reforms, regarding its increase of powers, compare to the Council and the Commission. The latter argument is in fact accurate because ever since the Single European Act (1986), the European Parliament gains more and more power by reforms in every signed Treaty (Moravcsik, 2003, p. 7). Despite that, however, the Parliament is still considered to be weak compared to the other institutions, as it will be analysed later in the essay.

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

In this assignment I will be assessing the democratic accountability of the European Union. I will begin by briefly describing the institutions, their functions, compositions and discuss how they work as check and balance system to ensure democratic accountability further to look on to how laws are made and what they are In order to establish whether or not the EU is in fact answerable to its citizens.

From a macro scope it is evident the EU is strong promoter democracy and has deeply embedded democratic features, however, as Peterson and Shackleton point out that “understanding politics always begins with understanding institutions not at least the EU”. Taking this advice the essay will seek to examine the two main legislative bodies within the EU,

Europe was a politically and fragile continent after the Second World War that claimed millions of lives. It is in that background, that the first steps to European integration were taken with the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The celebrated Schuman Plan, laid the foundation for the first real supra-national economy in the world, that is, the ECSC. The European integration continued through the decades with the establishment of the European Economic Community (ECC) and the European Union (EU). In the recent period, the EU has come under intense questioning with the economic crisis in Europe starting 2007. The recent Brexit vote has put further questions on the future of the EU. This essay considers the process of European integration through the decades and also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the union.

In order to give an answer to the question above, it is worth mentioning that the two key points that this essay will analyse [the EU and the notion of sovereignty] are both really hard to define from just one point of view, therefore different theories will be taken into account to give a complete and fulfilling outlook of the effect that the creation of the European Union had given to the concept of modern sovereignty among its member states. The essay will start with an introduction of the creation, shaping and then integration of the European Union, it will then move on trying to define what the EU and sovereignty really are, underlining the changes

Alternatives such as the European Union, which remains “…the most successful experiment in political institution-building since the Second World War.” Andrew Moravcsik goes on to say the EU cannot replace or aspire to the democratic status of nation states, yet their role remains embedded in monitoring accountability and extensive checks and balances upon its member states. Emerging actors such as the EU again demonstrate the changing environment and clearly indicate realist theories, must by reconsidered.

Legitimacy in the European Union”, JCMS, 40/4, 603-24. ] This concept of a “democratic deficit” first emerged in the draft treaty for the European Union which as we know led to the establishment of the Single European Act of 1986 whose main purpose was to “rectify the democratic deficit in the community decision making process”[ Zweifel, T, “Who without Sin Cast the First Stone: the EU”, p812-40, Democratic Deficit in Comparison.” 2002. Journal of European Public Policy]; already it is apparent the enormous debate around the European Union and a democratic deficit stretching as far back to 1986. Following the numerous unsuccessful attempts to harmonize the change in the Union’s structure, the democratic deficit argument really began to gain power and rumours of its collapse became more dominant than ever. This debate has deepened drastically over the past two or so decades, with scholarly commentators as well as members of the European public all in agreement that the European Union is in fact

We can assume that a common European identity should construct a parallel between the Union’s institutions and the citizens, making them feel that the economic and administrative regulations of the Union are something that have to do with their rights and duties, with their identity. As the

The European Union is an entity that is seen nowhere else in the world. It is not a government, it is not an international organization, and it is not just an association of states. The European Union members, instead, have decided to turnover part of their sovereignty to the Union so that many decisions can be made at the institutions leadership level. This partnership includes 28 diverse democracies built together on the basis of complex treaties. Although the goals of this organization were to assist with expanding economic prosperity, peace and stability throughout its member states, the European Union has been faced with ever-pressing concerns in the recent past that are very serious and may in fact become fatal to the continued coalescing between members. These problems can be categorized into three categories; economic, social, and political.

In the midst of an influx of migrants and an ongoing Euro crisis, the disunity of the current European union has become apparent. The implementation of a “United States of Europe” - a partially federalized system with a popularly elected president - has been proposed. The alternative to this system is the potential abandonment of the Euro, and consequently European integration altogether. In contrast, some argue that deeper political and fiscal integration is impractical, and that the existence of a United States of Europe is not within the political reality of various European states. The European Union as it currently exists is a half-hearted attempt at integration; both arguments ultimately advocate change. The existence of a United States of Europe would result in a detrimental loss of state sovereignty and presents an insurmountable challenge of unification on political, societal, and cultural levels.

After the World War II, federalism exerted a significant impact on the European integration progress. One of the most significant federalists, Altiero Spinelli, has given strongly impacts on the processing of European integration after the World War II. In his idea, the federalism is a theory for political integration, which advocates integration by drawing up a federal constitution to build a supranational framework and in order to keep national or regional peace and stability. This Article shows Altiero Spinelli as a significant federalist pushing the European to be a unity and his major contributes in the process of European Union integration and where it was successful, when it faded during the few developed decades.

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