The European Union
Abstract
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This paper is about the EU, its major policies, the key objectives,
legislations, instruments for implementing those policies, who the
members are, and the institutions involved in the implementation of
the trade goals.
Key word: European Union; Mission of the EU.
Introduction
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The establishment of the EU intended to work toward common goals of
European countries. This free trade zone or economic community was and
is very successful which seeks special purposes such as political
dialogue, free trade and freedom of movement, economic, financial, and
cultural cooperation. Special attention was focused on the trade laws,
regulations, and other issues (Kotler, 1999, p. 371).
The key objectives are to keep market open, ensure fair trade, enforce
the legislation objectively and transparently, ensure trade partners
respect WTO legislation, and promote improvements to the system
(European Union). The EU provides sovereignty to its Members to act as
independent ones on behalf of the EU or in other words to welfare and
interest of the Union as a whole (European Union).
The integration of the EU after 2nd World War enabled the EU is to
raise standards of living, build an internal market, launch the common
currency - euro, strengthen the Union’s voice in the world. To realize
these goals the EU has been implementing several trade defense
instruments:
1. Anti – dumping policy
2. Anti – subsidy policy
3. Regulation on trade barriers
4. Protective measures.
The EU even uses a common currency, the euro monetary system which
tend to make the trade zone more effective and compatible in the
international market (European Union). The EU has such a structure
that there are 5 institutions and each of them is responsible for a
respective objective (European Union).
Today the EU is one of the influential and largest trade blocs or
single markets that includes 15 member countries. Those 15 member
countries totally have more than 370 million consumers and account for
The European Union today is a political and economic entity that controls in a single market located mostly in Europe exploiting Euro as a single currency uniting the vast majority of its members. The market that all European Union members share provides free trade of goods and services as well as a common external tariff. One might argue that the European Union would not perceptible its current influence had it not been for the introduction of the Euro. Speaking of the benefits of the Euro, one can name the elimination of exchange rate problems, creation of a single financial market, providing price stability, low interest rates as well as being a political symbol of unity and commitment to the Union. Today, Euro is the second reserve currency in the entire world - a fact that clearly speaks for itself of its value in the global market.
In the 21st century, the European Union has realized the importance of changes and advancements in their trade policies, where they need to become more advance and faster in economic policies to compete with rest of the world and stay ahead of them, due to which, they have introduced Free Trade Agreements (FTA’s) especially with emerging markets such as Asia to promote more bilateral trade and business. The stages in regional trade agreement are as follows:
The book we are discussing in this essay is called ‘The European Union: Economics, Policy and History’ by Susan Senior Nello. This book takes into account the different disciplines of economics, policy-making and therefore including a great deal of politics, and the history of the institution of the European Union as we know it today. The broad multi-disciplinary perspective makes this a comprehensive book that combines different aspects together making this particularly useful in the current debate about the future of the European Union. The main focus of the book are the policies of the European Union which is the authors’ speciality having worked on various projects for the European Institute in Florence and having advised the European Commission (McGraw – Hill). This book is a good introduction to the on-going debate concerning the progress and developments of the European Economic and Monetary Union. The author does not use a lot of technical terms and if she does they are explained which makes this book perfect as a study-book for students who want to enter this debate and want to be able to carefully structure their arguments. The authors’ main argument is question if the European Economic and Monetary Union is an optimal currency area. Robert A. Mundell is usually seen as the theorist behind the Optimum Currency Area theory. He defines an optimal currency area as “a domain within which exchange rates are fixed.” (177). Susan Senior Nello uses the Optimum Currency Area theory’s criteria whether the European Union is an optimal currency area and addresses what the advantages and disadvantages of being part of a Monetary Union are.
...ifferent story of the EU that has not been focused on in other books or papers. This original, unbiased approach allows the reader to put the EU in a historical perspective that also helps understanding at least the changing forces. In addition, it seems that the author wants to make the public or his audience comfortable with the idea of uncertainty that has been affecting the EU. His second part shows how the current shape was not only the result of political or economic reasons, but also a response of a changing external environment. Moreover, the idea of purgatory as well as the philosophical references and analogies gives the book an exciting, unique demission that links politics, history, and philosophy. However, it would be interesting if the author has included technical analysis and incorporated political science theories to draw policy recommendations.
The pioneering judgement in Keck1 differentiated product requirements and selling arrangements. Justified by the effect on market access, the latter was held to be outside of the ambit of Article 34 TFEU, prohibiting all measures having equivalent effect to quantitative restrictions on imports2 between Member States. This was widely interpreted in Procureur du Roi v Dassonville3 to preclude the totality of trading rules implemented by Member States that are capable of either directly, indirectly, actually or potentially, hindering intra-Community trade, as measures having equivalent effect.4 In Keck, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) aimed to clarify case law5 after Article 34 was increasingly invoked by merchants challenging national trade regulations insofar as the impact on the free movement of goods was negligible.6 However, it received much criticism for its apparent contradiction of the application of EU laws of free movement of goods, most notably the judgements in Dassonville and ‘Cassis de Dijon,’7 which followed the Treaty’s objective of a single market. “The most authoritative assault ever mounted on the reasoning in that judgement,”8 Advocate General Jacobs’ (AGJ) criticism of Keck in Leclerc-Siplec 9, will be examined throughout in accordance with the differing theories concerning the approach of Article 34.
When World War II ended the final remnants of the old European order lay in ruins. With such devastation wrought upon the continent twice in less than fifty years, it was remarkable that Europe managed to recover. What is even more remarkable is the Phoenix that rose from these ashes, and the new feelings of unity that accompanied the ending of the war. Those nations of western Europe began to do what decades ago had been unthinkable: develop the blueprints for a common system of the United Europe.
One of the original European institutions is the Commission. Though it was one of the originals, the institution has tremendously changed from what it used to be when the European integration first began. The Commission is a supranational body responsible for legislation proposals and policy implementation. It continues to work toward a more democratic European Union every day with the new legislations and laws that it passes. In this paper I will establish why I believe the EU Commission to be a supranational body, it’s relevance to the European Union and some of the strengths and weaknesses of the institution for the citizens of the European Union.
The European Union economic and political union is divided between twenty-eight European countries that united to preserve the economy, of the union. This form of economic preservation allowed “an organization spanning policy areas, from climate, environment, and health to external relations and security, justice and migration” (EU 2018). First, to build the European Union every country within the union avoided conflict by trading goods with one another. The act of courtesy in trade amongst the countries promoted peace and economic growth between the European countries (EU 2018).
Would you seek to acquire a company within the European Union or outside of it? Why?
Eurozone crisis can be seen as the most important economic problem of the European Union in the history. Because of that crisis the currency union have faced the possibility of separation which is an extremely critical issue not only economically but also politically. Until the subprime crisis which became prominent by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in 2008, the economic level of the EU members were similar. When the bankruptcy occurred those countries started to differentiate in a very significant way. Total government debt and also problems of banking sector lead many countries to negative GDP growth, high unemployment rates and more importantly social unrest.
The enlargement of the European Union (EU) in 2004 and 2007 has been termed as the largest single expansion of the EU with a total of 12 new member states – bringing the number of members to 27 – and more than 77 million citizens joining the Commission (Murphy 2006, Neueder 2003, Ross 2011). A majority of the new member states in this enlargement are from the eastern part of the continent and were countries that had just emerged from communist economies (EC 2009, Ross 2011), although overall, the enlargement also saw new member states from very different economic, social and political compared to that of the old member states (EC 2009, Ross 2011). This enlargement was also a historical significance in European history, for it saw the reunification of Europe since the Cold War in a world of increasing globalization (EC 2009, Mulle et al. 2013, Ross 2011). For that, overall, this enlargement is considered by many to have been a great success for the EU and its citizens but it is not without its problems and challenges (EC 2009, Mulle et al. 2013, Ross 2011). This essay will thus examine the impact of the 2004/2007 enlargements from two perspectives: firstly, the impact of the enlargements on the EU as a whole, and thereafter, how the enlargements have affected the new member states that were acceded during the 2004/2007 periods. Included in the essay will be the extent of their integration into the EU and how being a part of the Commission has contributed to their development as nation states. Following that, this essay will then evaluate the overall success of the enlargement process and whether the EU or the new member states have both benefited from the accessions or whether the enlargement has only proven advantageous to one th...
At present, there are approximately 3,000 different interest groups that are formally recognized by the European Union (Kirchner 2011). These interest groups represent a variety of interests and vary in the amount of influence that they actually have on the policy making process. These groups represent the interest of multiple sectors of both social and economic life within the European Union. Interests range from AGRICULTURE to BIG BUSINESS to HUMANITARIAN AID. In a truly pluralist nature, these groups are competing, either directly or indirectly, with each one another to have an influence in the legislation that is produced by the European Union. It is without a doubt that these interest groups within the European Union play an important part of the decision-making process. The blossoming interest group community within the European Union has both beneficial and detrimental impacts on the democratic quality of the European legislative process. By providing a background of interest groups and their influence in the decision-making process and comparing the role of interest groups within the European Union to those within the United States I will demonstrate the positive and negative qualities of interest group participation in the democratic process. In this paper, I will argue that interest groups are indeed a double-edged sword in affecting the democratic quality of European Union legislation.
Britain's entry into the European Economic Community was a source of great conflict in Europe. There were suspicions that French President de Gaulle did not want Britain to enter in order to maintain his country's hegemony over the EEC. De Gaulle spoke of the cultural and institutional differences that would make Britain incompatible with the Six. The British governments motives were even questioned as to whether they only wanted to reap the economic benefits of the EEC. The following is my assessment of these situations according to the Salmon documents.
The link between internationalization, governance and democracy is a central problem for politics as well as for political science. Even if clear evidence on the nature of this link is not yet available, the literature seems to support the view that internationalization both undermines the capacity for governance and puts into question traditional forms of democracy.
The way I would see it, the European Union is on the one hand a very interesting set of international relationships which have gone beyond pure inter-state relations. Contemporary European Studies is an interdisciplinary field of study that focuses on current developments in European integration often in combination with modern languages. A Bachelor degree in European Studies is a degree program that covers a wide range of subjects, including European languages, fine arts and civilizations. People who studied this program have developed a comprehensive understanding of numerous European geographic regions, law, cultures, history, politics and philosophical dimensions . The reasons that clarify my enthusiasm toward this program are: