The Eu And The European Union

In its historical context discuss why and how the EU was set up and the advantages and disadvantages of membership.

European Union was formed with many expectations. Despite closeness and similarities, the various nations of the European continent fought bitter wars for thousands of years within themselves. After the devastating World War II, finally everyone saw the light and decided to give a chance to peaceful coexistence. However, EU’s path hasn’t been smooth. Many critical economic as well as political problems have emerged throughout the last decade, raising questions about its credibility.

An argument in this perspective could however receive a lot of opposition if one was to rely on the Common Market theory only but it is apparent however that despite the envisagement of the four freedoms related to common markets, the EEC has gone out of their way to limit the same. To this end, the EEC thus can be justifiably being seen to have been formed more as a political front rather than an economic one. They have thus gained more political mileage due to their significant economic might and have little else to do with the economic prowess of the member states. This assertion is supported by the realization that the single market, the Eurozone that has precipitated therein has been seen to be over the years as the largest economy in the world (Craig, 2002). This has thus been an indication of the continued search of a balance by the European states without a rather keen observation to achieving a common destiny.

European Union was formed with a lot of expectations. Despite closeness and similarities, the various nations of the European continent fought bitter wars for thousands of years within themselves. After the devastating World War II, finally everyone saw the light and decided to give a chance to peaceful coexistence. However, EU’s path hasn’t been smooth. Many critical economic as well as political problems have emerged throughout the last decade, raising questions about its credibility.

The main contribution the book is making is that the European Union can be easily understood by analysing each aspect of it. ‘The main argument of this book is that to help understand how the EU works, we should use the tools, methods and cross-systematic theories from the general study of government, politics and policy-making’ (Hix, 2005 p2). The book is split into different parts and each part assesses certain bits of the European Union, which is what this review will do. For example in one part, the focus is on the legislative branch of the European Union, the executive branch and the judicial branch. In another part the focus is on the political side of the European Union and looks at for example how the interests of citizens are represented to and throughout the European Union in addition to how democratic the

Considered to be one of the most advanced forms of regional economic integration, the European Union (EU) is an assemblage of 27 countries that share a common goal of mutual prosperity, cooperation and peace. There is no other such union in the world, although it in many ways serves as a model of integration that has so far has not been successfully replicated. Being part of the EU has many advantages and disadvantages for countries. The advantages include access to SEM; funds that aid in infrastructure building; and world representation by a larger entity that has more power than a small country alone. Among the disadvantages however, is having to give up a degree of sovereignty that sometimes impedes a country from

The European Commission is the Executive (governmental) body of the EU, initiating legislative proposals and also managing the EU’s budget (Europa, 2007). Each commission operates for a five-year period, with meetings taking place in Brussels every Wednesday. The Commission consists of a President of the Commission and twenty-eight commissioners (some vice presidents). Employees of the Commission are organised according to department (Directorates-General) and answer to a Commissioner. The Commission exists in order to represent the interests of the whole of the EU (thus arguably the whole of Europe), as opposed to individual Member States. The Commission represents the EU on a global basis and is the main participant in negotiations in areas such as trade. The appointment of Commissioners is the responsibility of the Parliament, with all having previously assumed senior positions in politics in their own country, usually within its national government. Proposals are drafted by the senior civil servant (Director-General. A proposal may be adopted if more than half of the Commissioners decide to adopt it. Once agreed, all Commissioners must give their unconditional support – similar to the collective responsibility held by the Scottish executives and the UK. The Commission works closely

Driven by the desire to prevent another World War, many of the founding fathers of the European union envisioned a federalist Europe. Monnet was adamant on the idea that the center of the community should exist a supranational body. Originally established after World War Two, what is now the European Union was formally the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The ECSC was established on the basis that trade and pooling of both commodities would prevent rearmament and another war. Established on the 18th April 1951, by the Treaty of Paris, the founding six member states ( France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) have expanded until it tripling in size. Today, after rapid phases and slower periods of integration, the EU is composed of 28 member-states after. Over 60 years of enlargement, the European union has yet to has still not reached its territorial limits, with numerous application still being processed. Undefined frontiers exist in the Balkans and Turkey, as well as in eastern Europeans regions. With economic interdependence, European countries have united economically and politically with the goal of maintaining peace. The question yet to be answered is, how far and deep should political integration go?

The EU previously known as the European Community can be defined as a unique partnership between 28 European member-states operating as the world’s largest single market. The union originated in 1957 through its successor – the European Economic Community (EEC) which at the time had six members. In 2013, the market had a population of around 505 million people and accounted for 23% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), amounting to €13.08 trillion (European Immigration Service, 2014).

5. The article is helpful for my research as it discusses the EU in a different light and tries to study its decisions based theory and non-theory terms. 6. The limitation set by this article is that it concentrate mostly on the political aspect of the EU and in relation to policy making and does not explain theory in relation to other sectors like economy and defense. 7. In conclusion, it explains how EU is abandoning the old school theories of institutionalism in favor of a more generic model and believes this can be done in the EU as its institutionalized system provides fertile ground for development. 8. This article is not a foundation of my research but a rather important ideology in understanding EU institutions and actors.

The European Union is a political and economical union that operates an internal market. This allows free movement of goods, capital, services and people between states that are members of the European Union. The European Union, normally referred to as the EU, is made up of 28 countries. These countries include, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK. (Countries in the EU and EEA)

European Union is a political and economics organization,which consist of 28 countries.It was established by 6 European Countries.The UK joined to EU 1 January 1973 with Denmark and Ireland.EU provides freedom movement of people services capital with standart legislation for member countries.All of these standarts could lead to opportunities such as,free movement.competitive trading(www.europa.eu-official website of EU).According to the official website ‘The EU’s economy measured in terms of goods and services(GDP:Gross Domestic Product) is now bigger than US’s:EU GDP in 2012 (i.b.i.d).All of positive features of EU,nevertheless Currently,It is loudly discussed to withdraw EU in the UK as Prime Minister David Cameron said in 2013 (newspapers).

The European Union has conveyed over 60 years of peace, soundness, and success in Europe, raised our natives ' expectations for everyday comforts, propelled a solitary European coin (the euro), and is logically fabricating a solitary far-reaching free market for merchandise, administrations, individuals, and capital.

The European Commission is the Executive (governmental) body of the EU, initiating legislative proposals and also managing the EU’s budget (Europa, 2007). Each commission operates for a five-year period, with meetings taking place in Brussels every Wednesday. The Commission consists of a President of the Commission and twenty-eight commissioners (some vice presidents). Employees of the Commission are organised according to department (Directorates-General) and answer to a Commissioner. The Commission exists in order to represent the interests of the whole of the EU (thus arguably the whole of Europe), as opposed to individual Member States. The Commission represents the EU on a global basis and is the main participant in negotiations in areas such as trade. The appointment of Commissioners is the responsibility of the Parliament, with all having previously assumed senior positions in politics in their own country, usually within its national government. Proposals are drafted by the senior civil servant (Director-General. A proposal may be adopted if more than half of the Commissioners decide to adopt it. Once agreed, all Commissioners must give their unconditional support – similar to the collective responsibility held by the Scottish executives and the UK. The Commission works closely with both

In order to establish common rules the European Union created public bodies which do not answer to any national authority. They created two institutions that make up that national authority, The European Commission and the European Parliament. They formulate and approve all European Union legislation, receiving little help from other member states. As the European Union 's scope has broadened the amount of legislation has increased. Today, more than half of the United Kingdom’s legislations and acts come from Brussels’ legislation.