The Controversy: The European Economic Community

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.

EEC (1958) was the European Economic Community, originally consisting of France, (then West) Germany, Italy, and the Benelux nations (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg).

Since 1973 when the British first joined the European Union their membership has been a controversial issue. When conservatives in the United Kingdom won the general election in 2015, their election manifesto promised to hold a referendum on whether or not the United Kingdom should stay or leave the European Union. The referendum also referred to as “Brexit” is scheduled to take place by the end of 2017. The United Kingdom initially joined the union to be part of the common market for the purpose of trade and to develop international relationships. The main argument for those who are pro Brexit is that being part of the European Union is too costly for the United Kingdom, that the EU has grown to large, has interfered to far into

First with western Europe, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, with the east as well. Many of these attempts were successful. One of the first of these attempts was the Marshall Plan which was used as an instrument to restore the economies of western Europe and to establish democracies. The plan would provide economic aid to fight the post war affects of poverty and in return expected cooperation for mutual benefit. The plan strengthened western Europe not as allies with each other and not against anyone. Another internal cooperation efforts was the formation of the European Economic Community(or Common Market) in 1957. The six original members were very successful and managed to eliminate all tariffs within their countries. After seeing this success, other nations applied for membership and EEC became what is presently know as the European Union. The European Union has been very successful in its endeavors to mutually help the member economies. One of these successful endeavours was the implementation of a common currency. As of 2002, seventeen countries now share the euro as their currency. This unifies where language and culture are barriers but money is not. Another major success in unification was the addition of ten members of the European union in 2004. Most of these additions were former Soviet bloc countries who had just a little over a decade free from Soviet influence. While this was a

== = On it's formation in 1957 the European Economic Community Treaty[1] was seemingly another international treaty to which the six original Member States[2] had signed. In the realm of international law such treaties are binding merely on the governments of Member States which have signed them. In it's essential provisions, the Treaty made reference only to the Member States who themselves had no reason to believe this Treaty would be any different.

After World War II, it was clear that Europe was in need of economic restructuring. The European Community (EC) originated in 1957 an d eventually became the European Union, now made up of 28 member states. (Gerber , 2014). The EU trade bloc allows free movement of goods,

The Second World War is considered to be the bloodiest conflict in the history of mankind with over 60 million deaths in a span of six years. After the end of the war in 1945, many people, Europeans, were determined to prevent any more bloodshed and destruction of that scale from happening again. The first step towards communion between the European countries was to implement economic cooperation. Economic cooperation is the cooperation between countries in terms of imports or exports of goods and borrowing or lending of capital and payments. This soon led to the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1958. This increased economic cooperation between Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium. Over time, this economic union became an organization that was involved in the environment and aid. The EEC soon changed its name to the European Union (EU). So far, the EU has been successful in maintaining peace in Europe. It has brought many benefits to its member state. Since its creation, peace has been maintained and outbreak of a war has been prevented. The Lisbon Treaty came into effect in 2009 and was signed by 13 of the EU’s member states. The states benefited from a common foreign and security policy. The civil and political rights of its citizens are being protected under the European Court of Human Rights. However in the economic field, the EU has some problems. The Eurozone Crisis showed the inability of the member states to manage

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.

There are few glaring events that will go down in history as the defining geopolitical events of this century. Great Brittan’s recent results from a referendum heldon on June 23, 2016 to decide if it should leave the European Union (EU) is one such glaring event. Brexit, the acronym for this referendum, is synonymous with the contemporary populist sentiment supporting nationalism, economic autonomy, curbing immigration, and defying elitist politicians who do not understand the reality of the working classes. As a result of feelings of lost power and economic insecurity by the working class people, the citizens of Britain voted 52% to 48% to leave the EU in hopes of industrial reform. It was a surprise even to those who voted yes to the referendum. Britten has a new Prime Minister, Theresa May, who still needs to work out how the exit will be negotiated within a two year time period.

Inflation, crisis, recession, fear, unemployment rise, debt, and depression are some of the commonly used phrases in relation to failing economies. There are many different factors that contribute to the downfall of an economy, whether it be the political structure, the aftermath of a war, or the role of government itself. A failing economy’s severity can vary based on the specific country’s situation. In comparison to the world, there have been a few countries under the European Union that have continually worsened economically through the years: Greece and Spain.

Greece knew they were in trouble and they had to receive money from an outside source to keep going as a country and also be able to pay back their creditors. However, Greece was unsure of how to. Greece was interested in paying their creditors back but were not interested in all of the austerity cuts the EU wanted Greece to implement because these cuts would upset some of Greece’s citizens. The EU’s top priority from these negotiations was to make sure Greece would reduce the amount of debt they would be taking on each year. The way the EU was going to make this happen was by making sure Greece implemented austerity cuts. The IMF was not really interested in making Greece implement austerity cuts. (IMF and EU

In the aftermath of the 1957 Treaty , the European Economic Community (EEC) was established and customs barriers between the member states have been abolished. Member States throughout the Community, can “promote a harmonious development of economic activities, a continuous and balanced expansion, an increased stability, an accelerated raising of the standard of living and closer relations between them”. Therefore, in order for a common market to be established between Member States, the Community enacted some legislative provisions which aimed to a true harmonization of laws; incorporate different legal systems under a basic legal framework. The main issue arising is whether these legal provisions in accordance with the case law, ensured the free movement of goods within this market.

Brexit is a an abbreviation of “ British Exit “ out of European union which refers to a referendum held in United Kingdom wherein all the eligible voters of UK were asked if they want UK to be part of the European Union or Leave the European Union. 51.9% voted to leave and 49.1% voted to remain in European Union.

The conformity assessment of the goods baring the CE marking can only be effective in a transnational level between the member states of the EU and EEA. Under the scope of the relevant EU Regulations and Directives each member-state, or any other state that has concluded a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRAs) and Protocols to the Europe Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (PECAs), can delegate competent Authorities (notifying authorities ) with the duty to designate notified bodies, and further on be notified by the European Commission . For example in the UK the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulation Agency (MHRA) is the designating authority for NBs

In the aftermath of the 1957 Treaty , the European Economic Community (EEC) was established and customs barriers between the member states have been abolished. Member States throughout the Community, can “promote a harmonious development of economic activities, a continuous and balanced expansion, an increased stability, an accelerated raising of the standard of living and closer relations between them”. Hence, in order for a common market to be established between Member States, the Community enacted some legislative provisions which aimed to a true harmonization of laws; incorporate different legal systems under a basic legal framework. The main issue arising is whether these legal provisions in accordance with the case law, ensured the free movement of goods within this market.