The European Union : The Euro Crisis

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 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

The European Economic Community was an organization started in 1957 by France, West Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Luxembourg, in post War World II torn European. This organization was a union between the Steal and Coal Community and The European Atomic Energy Community. The goal of the organization, heavily influenced by John Monnet one of its founders and National Liberation Committee member at the time, was to build a stronger cohesive Europe through collaboration and economic ties to bring mutual prosperity. This organization and its ideals developed into the well know European Union of today, that currently sits with 28 members. However, one controversial possible membership has increased in importance over the years.

The end of the Cold War meant change around the world, mainly in Europe. We have since seen the unification of Germany, the work of unity within other countries and possibly a balance of power. Our relations with other nations may have continued to develop or diminish but the Cold War had changed Europe’s future. Many had questioned what role the EU would have in international politics, whether the formation would succeed and what this meant for the transatlantic relationship? The US and EU relationship is a complicated one. The EU has always been seen as a loyal ally of the US but it has also been seen as one of the US’s many competitors. Witnessing the relationship change

The European sovereign debt crisis, which made it difficult or impossible for some countries in the euro area to repay or re-finance their government debt without the assistance of third parties (Haidar, Jamal Ibrahim, 2012), had already badly hurt the economies in “PIIGS”, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain. This financial contagion continues to spread throughout the euro area, and becomes a dangerous threat not only to European economy, but also to global economy.

The European Union is not perfect. It has its own weaknesses and faults as well. Therefore, now I would like to write a short description about the mistakes of the monetary union. Then I put a question to all of us if the Eurozone, and especially the Euro, need to be reformed after the last years experiences. Finally – at the end of this subsection – I briefly summarize the negative effects of the crisis on the EU as a single currency area.

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

Since the inception of the European Union, it has been plagued with numerous problems and currently it is facing in of the biggest problems right after dealing with an economy in recession to a point where Greece had to be bailed out. There is unrest like none other among the European Union member countries to withdrawing from the union led by the United Kingdom. This is in the wake of eastern European being buried in civil war as is the case with Ukraine and the war threatening to spill over to Poland. Its unending war with Russia is leading to the unrest worsening. The United Kingdom as the main driver of the European Union policy driver has been meddling in the affairs of Russia and Ukraine leading to Russia threatening to cut off its oil supply to Europe as it is the main producers and supply of oil to Europe.

The European Union is faced with its impending decline, which has accelerated in recent weeks with anxieties regarding the British referendum, which is becoming a primary concern on the continent. A possible “Brexit” could possibly lead to the fifth largest economy in the world and the second largest economy in the Eurozone from leaving the European Union (E.U). The “Brexit” is the most contested issue both within the United Kingdom (U.K) and the European continent. In the wake of a rampant security and refugee crises in Europe, Europe’s need to keep an economically strong member of the E.U in the organization, is needed to combat the difficulties the continent is facing, particularly the Mediterranean members of the E.U. These

In March 2014 the Russian Federation (Russia) annexed the Ukrainian territory of Crimea following escalating tensions and conflict within Ukraine. The European Union (EU) considers the annexation of Crimea “a clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity by acts of aggression by Russia”. Russia considers the inclusion of Crimea within its territory as an expression of the democratic free will of the people following a local referendum on 16 March 2014.

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

One of the main objectives of the European Union (EU) is the establishment of the internal market, which shall consist of “area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured. The internal market is based upon a customs union achieved through the abolition of the imposition of customs duties and charges having an equivalent effect and the prohibition of discriminatory taxes on intra-EU imports. The internal market is enhanced by the provisions on free movement of workers, freedom of establishment, free movement of services, and free movement of capital. Whereas Articles 28 to 30 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) provide for the establishment of an EU common external tariff and the elimination of customs duties, Articles 34 and 35 of the TFEU (with exceptions under Article 36) go further, and prohibit quantitative restrictions and measures having equivalent effect. Taken together, Articles 28 to 32 and 34 to 36 serve to ensure the free movement of goods within the EU and to facilitate the operation of the internal market.

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 European Union is a political community constituted as an international organization whose aim is to promote integration and a common government of the European people and countries. According to the Article 3 of the European Union Treaty, Union’s aim is to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples. It is based on the values of freedom, democracy, equality, law enforcement and respect for human rights and dignity.