The Pros And Cons Of The European Union

“I don’t buy the argument that the European Union is too big to fail. But I do buy the case that it is too important to fail” (David Miliband, 2013). Miliband, a previous Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom, said in 2013, another opinion to a question on the world’s mind. Is the EU too big to succeed? More importantly, can it function as a democracy and is there any economic or political advantages to its size?

The European Union, a political and economic partnership amongst 28 countries in the continent of Europe, represents a form of cooperation for mutual benefit amongst a large number of countries of varying domestic development. Initially founded amongst six countries in Europe after World War Two, the purpose of the Union was to promote shared sovereignty in coal and steel-at first- but later moving onto economics, trade, nuclear energy, etc. The union espoused interdependence amongst European countries in order to make another war in Europe impossible. Since the 1950’s, the EU has expanded rapidly into now what is an international “common market.” This means that each of its members have signed and become a part of a free-trade agreement, a joint external trade policy and allowed for the free movement of

However, in recent years, with 28 members, “the idea that all countries are equal has lost credibility” (CFR, 2010). Due to the sheer number of members, it has become increasingly difficult to reach a consensus. Additionally, leaders of the bigger countries usually talk to each other first in order to reach an unofficial agreement before the actual