EUROPEAN UNION
HISTORY
In 1944, before WWII’s end, there was a treaty, Benelux treaty, it was a political-economic union
between three neighbouring states: Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. It was designed to
promote the free movement of workers, capitals, services and goods between these Countries.
The early success of Benelux encouraged other countries to consider the benefits of political and
economic union.
After the Second World War much of European continent was devastated.
The continent economic structure was disastrous and millions of people were homeless.
The states that joined, created the EU because they wanted to promote a more integrated system.
The first step to achieve European integration was made in summer 1945 at the Potsdam
conference, between Soviet Union, UK and USA, where hey decided to divide Germany in four
areas because their idea was: “if you split Germany up in little sections, Germany will have less
power, so there will be less risk of war”.
Another step was made in 1948 with the Marshall Plan: it was one of the political-economic plans
of USA to support the reconstruction of Europe after WWII.
In 1948 the Countries that participated at the Marshall plan officially came together to form the
Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), most of these Countries are members
of EU today. While Western Europe began to take shape the Soviet block was doing the same.
In 1949 the US formed the NATO. Members states agreed to a policy of mutual defence in
response to any attack by external parties. As a reply, Stalin created an union with eastern block,
the COMECON and, in the same year (1949), the soviet exploded the first atomic bomb.
In 1950 Shuman presented the proposal for the creation of an organized union, it became known
as the Shuman Declaration. It was a modern international partnership that replaced the old postcolonial model. It redefined the relationship between Europe and developing countries; it
addressed more political issued and cultural cooperation.
In 1951 Shuman initiative led to the founding of European Coal and Steel community, this has six
members, the original Benelux countries, France, Italy and western Germany.
A few years later, in 1957 the treaty of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC,
common market), whose aim was to make easier to buy and sell a wide range of goods inside
European Countries.
In 1955 the Countries under Russian influence, joined together in the Warsaw Pact.
In 1961 the Eastern Germany, under instructions from the Soviet Union, began the construction of
Berlin Wall, which would become the symbol of the Cold War.
In 1963 American president John F. Kennedy came to Berlin and made one of his most famous
speeches, this was a great moment for West Berliners. In 1973 the six members of EEC became
nine, because Denmark, Ireland and the UK joined.
In 1979 there was the first democratic election of the European Parliament.
In 1987 Ronald Reagan came to Berlin to make a ground-breaking speech. In that speech he
issued a direct challenge to the Soviet General, Gorbachev.
In 1989 Berlin Wall has been destroyed.
The need for a common foreign policy became more pressing as well as the one for a common
foreign and security policy. Both has been formalized in 1992 by Maastricht treaty.
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In 1993 Maastricht treaty officially renamed the EEC as European Union (EU).
In 1999 eleven countries adopted the Euro as a virtual currency, while the real currency came into
circulation on Jan 1st, 2002.
In 2007 it has been signed the Lisbon Treaty that, among other revisions, introduced the possibility
to leave EU. In 2007 the EU has expanded to 27 members states and in 2013 Croatia joined,
bringing Members’ States to 28.
Today the EU is the world’s largest donor of development assistance, support of human rights and
promotion of democratic values and freedom, throughout the World.
MILESTONES
1944 Benelux Treaty: Belgium, Netherlands, Luxemburg formed the Benelux Economic Union.
1945 End fo World War II. The economic structure of the continent has been ruined and many
people were homeless. Industrial production was low and agricultural production was
devastated.
Potsdam conference divided Germany in four sections (one controlled by the Soviet and
the other three under the influence of France, UK and USA)
1948 Marshall Plan: USA helped the European economy to become prosperous again.
1948 Countries joining Marshall Plan formed the OEEC (Organization for European Economic
Cooperation).
1949 USA created NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation): an organisation between USA,
Canada and all the countries of western Europe. Member states agreed to a policy of mutual
defence in response to any attack by an external party
As a consequence of NATO Stalin created a union between the countries of his block, the
COMECON (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance)
1950 Schuman declaration: The French foreign minister (Robert Schuman) proposed to create
an organization of European States.
1951 Treaty of Paris: born the European Coal and Steel Community, it was made up of six
states (Belgium, Luxemburg, French, Italy and Western Germany) and its aim was to pool
the productions of these two raw materials
1955 Warsaw Pact: military alliance between the countries of the Soviet bloc
1957 Treaty of Rome: created the European Economic Community (EEC)
1961 Built up Berlin Wall
1973 UK, Ireland and Denmark joined the EEC
1979 Born European Parliament
1980 Greece, Spain and Portugal Joined the EEC
1986 Schengen agreement: it reduced barriers to trade between the different Countries of the
EEC and people can travel without passport
1989 Fall of Berlin Wall
1992 Maastricht Treaty: Born the European Union and Member Countries unified foreign and
security policy and started to cooperate in justice
1999 the Euro has been introduced as common currency (virtual)
2002 the Euro has been introduced as real common currency
2004 Ten countries joined the European Union
2007 it has been signed Lisbon Treaty; introduced the possibility to leave EU.
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GENERALITIES
The EU is a unique economic and political partnership between 28 countries
The number of European citizens is the third largest in the world, after China and India.
Europe’s combined GDP is also greater than that of the USA, and the UE is the world largest
exporter of goods.
It covers 7.3% of the world population and it generates a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of
approximately 25% of World nominal GDP.
The EU operates through a system of supranational institutions and intergovernmental-negotiated
decisions by the member states.
The EU has developed a single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all
member states. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and
capital and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture and regional development.
Three important things of EU:
1. Countries pay membership dues
2. Countries vote on laws
3. Citizens of countries are EU citizens, this means that if you are a citizen of any countries you are
free to live and work or retire in any of the others.
EUROPEAN UNION FLAG
The European Union flag represents Europe’s unity and common identity.
The flag is composed by 12 stars, because this number is traditionally the symbol of perfection,
completeness and unity, they form a circle because it represent solidarity and harmony.
The European Union flag is recognized throughout the world.
It was designed to signify Europe’s unity.
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European Union
It is formed by the 28 Member Countries:
Austria, Italy, Belgium, Latvia, Bulgaria, Lithuania,
Croatia, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Malta, Czech
Republic, Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Estonia,
Portugal, Finland, Romania, France, Slovakia,
Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Spain, Hungary,
Sweden, Ireland, Croatia.
The edges of E.U. will probably continue to expand
further out as there are other countries in various
stages of trying to become a member
European Economic Area (EEA)
It is formed by EU + Iceland, Norway and
Lichtenstein.
These three Countries pay taxes to EU in order
to have certain rights, such as freedom to move
in other European Countries and facilitations in
trade
The Schengen Area is an agreement between
countries related to the free circulation of people;
in this Area international boundaries look like this:
no border officers or passport checks of any kind.
The EU has its own currency, the Euro, used by
the majority, but not all the EU members. This
Economic union is called Eurozone. There are
some requirements for Eurozone members:
1. Inflation less than 1,5% higher than the
average of the lowest members
2. Debt to GDP ratio less than 60%
3. Government deficit less than 3%
Four tiny European countries: Andorra, San
Marino, Monaco and Vatican City use the Euro
as their money despite not being in the
European Union at all.
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THE EU ORGANS
EUROPEAN COUNCIL (first informal meeting: 1975, formally established: 2009)
It is located in Brussels. It comprises the heads of State of the member states as well as the
president of European Commission. Since 2014 its President is the Polish Donald Tusk.
It meets four times a year but they have an important biannual meeting that is called EU Summit.
The European Council gives direction to the EU; it defines the EU's policies and strategies.
It is the Union's "supreme political authority".
The European Council uses its leadership role also to solve political crises.
It acts externally as a "collective head of state" and ratifies important documents (for example,
international agreements and treaties). It does not have legislative power
EUROPEAN COMMISSION (established in 1958)
It is based in Brussels and it is composed by 28 commissioners (one for each member state).
Since 2014, its President is the Luxembourgish politician Jean-Claude Junker.
The European Commission is the executive body and has the power to propose new laws, but they
must be approved by Parliament. It is also responsible for implementing policy decisions by the
legislative bodies, it manages EU programs and funds.
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (first meeting: 1952, first election: 1979)
The European Parliament is located in Strasbourg and Brussels, where plenary sessions take
place. Committee meetings take place only in Brussels. General Secretariat and administrative
offices are located in Luxembourg.
The current President is the Italian politician Antonio Tajani (since Jan 2017), before him; there
was the German Martin Schultz. Presidents remain in office for five years.
The Parliament is directly elected by the citizens and it represents them, it has the legislative
power and controls the operations carried out by the European Commission, it controls the budget
and it also elects the President of the European Council. The European Parliament forms one half
of the EU's legislature (the other half is the Council of the European Union).
COUNCIL OF EUROPEAN UNION (it existed in different forms since 1957; as it is: since 1993)
Located in Brussels, the Council of European Union (also called the "Council” or "Council of
Ministers") forms the other half of the EU's legislature. It consists of a minister from each member
state and meets in different compositions depending on the policy area being addressed. Despite
its different configurations, it is considered to be one single body. Therefore there are no
permanent members. Country named as President changes every 6 months (current one: Malta).
In addition to its legislative functions, the Council also exercises executive functions in relations to
the Common Foreign (it concludes international agreements, it decides the foreign policy) and
Security Policy (it defines defence policy, it controls the other institutions, it coordinates member
countries’ policies).
EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE (established in 1952)
It is the judicial branch of the EU, based in Luxembourg; it consists of three courts: the Court of
Justice, the General Court, and the European Union Civil Service Tribunal.
Together they interpret and apply the treaties and the law of the EU.
The Court of Justice interprets EU laws and settles disputes between countries and EU organs as
well as between citizens/companies and decisions/acts of the EU.
It’s composed by one judge from each Member country.
EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK (established in 1998)
The central bank is based in Frankfurt and it is independent from national government.
Since 2011 its president is the Italian Mario Draghi (former Governor of Banca d’Italia)
The central bank takes care of monetary policy of Eurozone.
The primary objective of the European Central Bank is to maintain price stability, Euro purchasing
power and keep inflation under control.
The ECB has the exclusive right to authorise the issuance of euro banknotes.
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EU LAWS
The main legal acts of the EU come in 3 forms: regulations, directives, and decisions.
Regulations, directives, and decisions are of equal legal value, without any formal hierarchy.
REGULATIONS
They become law in all member states the moment they come into force, without the requirement
for any implementing measures, and automatically prevail conflicting domestic laws.
DIRECTIVES
They require member states to achieve a certain result while leaving them discretion as to how to
achieve the result. The details of how they are to be implemented are left to member states. When
the time limit for implementing directives passes, they may, under certain conditions, have direct
effect in national law against member states.
DECISIONS
They are an alternative to the two above modes of legislation.
They are legal acts that only apply to specified individuals, companies or a member State.
NOT PART OF E.U. ORGANS
COUNCIL OF EUROPE (founded in 1949)
It is a international organisation which promotes human rights and democracy in its 47 member
states (all the 28 of the EU are included). Headquarters are in Strasbourg.
Unlike the European Union, the Council of Europe cannot make binding laws. The Council of
Europe works as an advisory body to facilitate cooperation between European countries
The best-known body of the Council of Europe is the European Court of Human Rights, which
enforces the European Convention on Human Rights.
UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE - ECE (established in 1947))
It is one of five regional commissions under the administrative direction of United Nations
headquarters. It has 56 member states, and reports to the UN Economic and Social Council
(ECOSOC). Besides countries in Europe, it also includes Canada, the Central Asian republics,
Israel and the United States of America.
It was established as a UN commission, in order to help Europe to re-build up after World War II.
Today, its aim is to encourage economic cooperation among its member states (i.e.: transport
regulation, international agreements, studies to realize infrastructures, etc.).
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