The European Union calls itself “a unique economic and political partnership between 27 democratic European countries” (1) which apparently aims to promote “peace, prosperity and freedom for its 495 million citizens – in a fairer, safer world” (1). While this may be a noble sentiment, in reality the EU is an inefficient, bureaucratic mess. It is my belief that, while the European Union is fundamentally a good idea, it is turning into an undemocratic kleptocracy that will gradually begin to remove our civil liberties while causing great damage to many areas including the environment and society.
One key issue is that the European Union is undeniably unnecessary, especially at the current cost to us. For example, countries under the separate (but linked) European Free Trade Association and Switzerland enjoy the same free trade and movement as EU member countries, without having to pay the tremendous costs. Another example of this is the company called EADS, which makes Airbus, Eurofighter and Eurocopter aircraft. EADS is indeed a brilliant, very profitable, European company that was formed from the merger of almost all aerospace companies within Europe, but it was formed without much help from the EU thus this, is another example that shows the expensive European Union is unnecessary and unhelpful.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the EU again shows the lack of necessity of the EU. The CAP was designed to make Europe self-sufficient for food after low agricultural productivity due to World War 2. By 1970, it had more than reached this goal, mainly through the highest agricultural subsidies in the world (2). These subsidies usually end up going to the biggest, richest farms, such as €58billion going to just 18% of farms e...
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... fruit' rules. BBC News. [Online] November 12, 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7723808.stm.
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8. Ghiatis, Georgios. Budgetary control : 1996 discharge raises issue of confidence in the Commission. European Parliament Election. [Online] 1999. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/election/bilan/en/pf1901en.htm.
9. EU accounts failed for 13th year. BBC News. [Online] BBC, November 13, 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7092102.stm.
10. Klaus, Václav. Conference of the Presidents of the European Parliament. December 5, 2008.
11. Q&A: The Lisbon Treaty. BBC News. [Online] BBC, November 24, 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6901353.stm.
12. Smyth, Patrick. This is no 'self-amending' treaty. The Irish Times. [Online] September 28, 2009. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0928/1224255367818.html.
The benefits of the European Union outweigh the costs. Ever since the end of World War II, countries in the EU have been helped economically, politically, and culturally.
Furthermore, Norway didn’t join because they do not want to give up their independence. Small countries such as Portugal, Greece, Italy joined so they could be more powerful and wants more money. Still, does do the advantages of being in the EU excel the sacrifices? Honestly, I would say yes; essentially for economic competition, peace and security, and cultural diversity.
Petr, P., Sirpal, R., & Hamdan, M. (2012). Post-Crisis Emerging Role of the Treasurer. European
A Democratic Deficit in the EU The question over the legitimacy of the EU has been a nearly continuous debate and many commentators appear to agree that the EU suffers from a severe ‘democratic deficit’. There are many reasons why this perception is so widespread. As a multinational body it lacks the grounding in common history and culture upon which most individual polities can draw.
...: Reassessing Legitimacy in the European Union. Journal of Common Market Studies, 40 (4), pp. 603-24.
Thomassen, J. 2009. The Legitimacy of the European Union after Enlargement. In: Thomassen, J. Eds. The Legitimacy of the European Union after Enlargement. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 67-86.
The EU is a union of sovereign European states who share sovereignty based on treaty. The union also possesses competences in policy sectors with exclusive jurisdiction in the area of Economic and Monetary Union while others are shared with Member States (MS), the other powers belong to MS as derived from the conferral of powers art 5(2) TEU, 2(1) TFEU art.3 & 4 TFEU additionally other powers have been offered by the decisions of the European Court for direct effect on citizens
To really begin to understand this complex topic a person really needs to understand the basics of agricultural subsidizing. A subsidy is defined as a grant by a government to a private person or company to assist an enterprise deemed advantageous to the public (Mish, 2003). More specifically, in the agricultural industry the government provides financial assistance to producers in the farm industry in order to prevent decline in production. The government does this by providing financial assistance to farmers and by managing the cost and supply of certain commodities. There a few reasons for this. One reason is to provide assistance to family sized farm owners who have trouble competing with commercial farms. This is supposed to maintain an efficient market balance. Another reason is to control the prices of commodities and keep the global food prices low. There are two main ways that payments are made. The payments may be made directly based on historical cropping patterns on a fixed number of acres. Or they can also be made depending on current market prices. Farmer’s may be guaranteed...
One of the most controversial debates in the history of European Union (EU) is if there is a democratic deficit in the EU. On the one hand, many scholars argued that the democratic deficit exists in the EU. On the other hand, there are other scholars who claimed that there is not a democratic deficit in the EU. In this essay, the writer will support the argument that the democratic deficit in the EU exists and will propose how this deficit can be reduced. In the first part of this paper the arguments, which support the existence of the democratic deficit, will be discussed. After that, this essay will present the claims that there is no democratic deficit in the EU. Finally, as the argument of this essay is that there is a democratic deficit in the EU, is to present some ways, which can reduce the democratic deficit in the EU.
Switzerland is one of the most prosperous countries in Europe. With a stable government, sound economy and highly skilled labor force and strong tourism, Switzerland is driving force in the world economy. However, in the coming years Switzerland will face three challenges that threaten their positive economic outlook, they are 1) agriculture protectionism,
And, because food now comes at a low cost, it has become cheaper in quality and therefore potentially dangerous to the consumer’s health. These problems surrounding the ethics and the procedures of the instantaneous food system are left unchanged due to the obliviousness of the consumers and the dollar signs in the eyes of the government and big business. The problem begins with the mistreatment and exploitation of farmers. Farmers are essentially the backbone of the entire food system. Large-scale family farms account for 10% of all farms, but 75% of overall food production (CSS statistics).
Hix, S. 2011. The EU as a new political system. In: Caramani, D. eds. 2011.Comparative Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Senior, Nello Susan. "Chapters:4,15." The European Union: Economics, Policies and History. London: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.
Europe has a history of war and conflict that predates living memory and the idea of a united Europe is something that appears repeatedly in that history. Hitler, Napoleon, and the many Roman Emperors all sought a united Europe. Their quests although in many ways motivated by a horrifying desire for power sparked the minds of philosophers and other political thinkers to imagine Europe united in harmony and peace despite national differences. Today we have the European Union which is quite unique. After the horrors, bloodshed, and economic disaster of the twentieth century, in a desire for peace and harmony and economic and political prosperity twenty-seven states have limited their national sovereignty.2 With national interests and ambition still in mind these countries see the European Union and supranational governance and the benefits of peace and prosperity therein as something worthwhile. However, in the history of European integration there has been much conflict and Euroskepticism. Some see unity in diversity and diversity in unity as impossible, and the existence of differentiation in the EU as highly problematic. However, differentiation in the European Union’s integration process is not the hindrance it is often defined as, rather it creates further cooperation in Europe bringing the European Union closer to its objectives of peace, and economic and political growth, resulting in a more effective and efficient bureaucracy. Differentiation in the EU’s integration process has created more successful integration as it allows the nations who wish t...
...ation of specialized commissions to regulate and control the industry. The United States and the European Union have similar vested interests in stability and terrorism prevention and trade. Some of the Consequences of the EU and the United States interaction for international politics are, in most cases that going into conflicts may ultimately delay the effectiveness of the nation-states ability to influence as a world leader.