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Advantages and disadvantages of eu membership
European Union formation
The advantages and disadvantages of being an EU member state now and in the past
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In its historical context discuss why and how the EU was set up and the advantages and disadvantages of membership. The European Union (EU) was founded in 1957 and is constructed of 28 member countries comprising a total population of half a billion people with a collective currency – the Euro, and economy worth £11 trillion . There are 21 million companies operating within the EU zone generating a GDP of £10.9 trillion in 2012 . The magnitude of the EU’s global presence spans immensely from economic and political policy to health, safety and regulations – both as an enterprise and an individual, human rights legislations, and trade, but mainly through the 70 years that the world has been free from war. However, understanding and analysing the complexity, its growth, its aims and its continuation owe to the social, ideological, and economic contexts during the time that it was formed. World War 2 (WW2) left widespread atrocities spanning across all of Europe. Countries were devastated with the human costs of the war surging into the 50 millions, industries in turmoil and there was a collective consensus that future wars had to be prevented. The amount of wartime spending left Europe with mass instability; both economically and politically, with spending from the US government amounting to $350 billion, which, in turn had detrimental effects on the economy’s of the Super Powers. A …show more content…
Since it’s formation, countries have joined in waves and groups, and sometimes this is due to current affairs or world events such as, the fall of the dictatorships in Spain, Portugal and Greece. However, each country must satisfy the pre-requisite entry criteria set by the Union. These conditions are known as the ‘Copenhagen criteria’ and include a free-market economy, a stable democracy and the rule of law, and the acceptance of all EU legislation, including the
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.
This was definitely a tough predicament for Europe to be in. In the aftermath of World War I, literally tens of millions were mortally wounded and missing, there were devastating effects on morale and view towards war, which would make most any weakened society ...
To answer this question I will firstly explain how EU law became incorporated within the member states I will then explain the various types of EU legislation's in circulation. This is important to define as the various types of methods will involve different enforcement procedures. Finally I will explain how EU law is enforced and the ways EU law will effect the member state and individual businesses. I will summarise my findings at the end of the essay, this will give details of all the key ideas I have ut across.
United we stand, divided we fall.After being bombed in various parts, ruined economically, politically, and culturally, and shocked after World War 2, Europe decided to make a union/ supranational organization named the EEC (later known as EU(European Union)) consisting of 28 nations.If you are a citizen in one of these territories, then you have some exclusive rights: you can work, travel, retire, study, etc. in any of these 28 nations, plus all of these countries have the same currency, the euro, so you do not have to switch currencies every time you travel.However, some countries such as Norway did not join, because of the fear of losing their sovereignty or control of own affairs and not give up their unique cultures of cuisine ,
The result of World War II had tragic results for Japan, Germany, and also Italy. The United States and the Allies came out victorious once again but the cost of war greatly affected all the countries. Germany, Japan, and Italy now have more debts to pay and also lost much of their territory once again. The war took many lives and also ended up destroying many beautiful cities. World War II showed how not just the soldiers were affected in the war, but everyone in all the different countries were affected by the war.
Britain has always had a difficult relationship with the European Union, initially refusing to become a member before reluctantly joining, there seems to be a level of distrust of the European policies. I will explore this distrust within this essay. This essay will also give an insight into the history of Britain, the EU and identify any changes in British government’s policies since becoming a member.
The first World War is recorded down as one of the “deadliest conflict in human history”. With over 16 million dead, it was one of the first wars with a high amount of casualties. However, the one that tops the list with around 60 million deaths was World War II. What caused such a large scale war to happen in the first place? Seven and a half months after World War I, a treaty was signed between the victorious countries, Great Britain, France, United States, and Germany (Overview). It was created with the intention to create peace Europe and ensure that another war like World War I doesn’t happen again. However, the peace was short lived before the second World War engulfed Europe and the rest of the world in a brutal bloodshed. Instead of lasting peace, the Treaty of Versailles contributed greatly to the cause of World War II as it caused humiliation and anger within Germany. The pent up emotions eventually led to the rise of the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler, who were angered by their loss in territory, military restrictions, economic reparations, and the war guilt clause.
To start with, what is the meaning of the Single Market? According to European Commission website, Single Market indicates the EU as one territory that has no internal borders or any other controlling complications that lead to the free movement of booth services and goods (The European Single Market - European Commission, 2017). According to the same source, single market has great benefits. It encourages competition and trade, increases efficiency, promotes quality, as well as helps in cutting the prices. In addition, the same source considers the European Single Market as one of the EU’s ultimate accomplishments that powered the economic growth and made the everyday life of European businesses and consumers easier (The European Single Market - European Commission, 2017).
World War II, known as the largest armed conflict in history, began in Europe in the 1930s and led to effect many people. The war resulted in not only the involvement of more countries than any other war but also introduced powerful, new, nuclear weapons that also contributed to the most deaths. As Hitler rose to power in 1933 the Holocaust began, his quest for the ‘perfect’ race resulted in the use of concentration camps, which would help to create the largest genocide of people in history.
...: Reassessing Legitimacy in the European Union. Journal of Common Market Studies, 40 (4), pp. 603-24.
The European Union (EU), since the initial foundation in 1952 as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and throughout periods of development, has been considered one of the most advanced forms of regional integration. It, based on numerous treaties and resolutions, has strived to promote values such as peace, cooperation or democracy, and in 2012 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for having “contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe” (Nobel Media AB, 2012). Despite its struggle for promoting democracy, the EU itself has long experienced scholarly criticisms that it suffers the democratic deficit, from which its democratic legitimacy is undermined by observable problems in political accountability and participation. As the importance of legitimacy in a democratically representative institution is hardly debatable, the criticism of whether and why the EU lacks democracy has been given a considerable gravity in academia.
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
During the Twentieth-Century, there were several dramatic economic changes and events. Going from being a complete agricultural nation to being an industrial super, enduring a great depression, having a civil rights movement and so many more, the 20th Century carries the names of some of the world’s most important events. Although history has flourished with all of its game changers, the solute most important event of the 1900’s was World War 2. The second world war, just decades after the first, “was the most widespread and deadliest war in history, involving more than 300 countries and resulting in more than 50 million military and civilian dead,” according to History.com. After World War I had ended, the peace settlement known as the Treaty of Versailles, created in 1919, had a purpose of obligating Germany to relinquish territories to Belgium, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. However these new territories were very susceptible to aggression from its neighboring countries, Germany and the Soviet Union. During this time there was still a great deal of tension between the countries/ territories. Italy and Japan viewed the treaty as a failure to acknowledge the status of the two’s world powers. Also Germans saw that rather than being defeated at the close of World War I, they were betrayed. With the economy being exceptionally deprived and a great deal of political instability, this set the stage for dictatorships that according to Twentieth-Century America “offered territorial expansion by military conquest as a way to redress old rivalries, dominate trade and gain access to raw materials”. Countries such as Japan began making use of propaganda’s stressing that Japans “greatness” must be reassured. Italy’s Fascist dictator, Benito Mus...
In order to be a member of the European Union, an applying nation must first meet the requirements of membership as described in the Copenhagen Criteria. There are geographic, democratic and economic criteria. Geographically, the applying nation must be classified as a European nation, as exemplified by Morocco’s rejection. The applying nation must also have a secure and functional democratic government that only acts in accordance with the law. This means that any citizen should be able participate in the political system and that there are free elections with a secret ballot. The government must also respect human rights and have protection policies for minorities, meaning that a persons’ inalienable rights are protected by law and minority groups can retain their culture and language without discrimination. Economically, a country must have a functional market economy on which it can feasibly support itself and other member nations if need be. The country’s economy needs to be able to compete on a global scale and deal with economic pressures. There are also separate guidelines for countries wanting to convert to the Euro. Finally, countries that want to join must agree to uphold laws and regulations t...
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...