After WWII the economies of the most of European countries were ruined and there was a danger of Soviet Union political influence – communism was spreading through the eastern countries.
To face these challenges the western countries had to cooperate and organize themselves.
Jean Monnet (French statesman) and Robert Schuman (French foreign minister) persuaded 6 wartime enemies (France, West Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg), to come together and discus how the terrible events could be prevented.
1951 – The Treaty of Paris
· The Coal and Steel community was established to
connect heavy industries of 6 nations.
· Schuman: “If you do not have full control over energy and steel, you cannot declare
war”
· The main target was to sustain peace
· It was set up to establish single common market for coal, steel and iron ore to
ensure security of supply, improve production…
1957 – The Treaty of Rome
· European Economic Community and
the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) were established
· It was established to create common market and coordinate development of
nuclear energy industries of member states
1967 – ESCS, EEC and EURATOM were combined and they came into being as the
European Community – 6 members
1973 – The first enlargement process – Denmark, Ireland and the
United Kingdom were accepted
1981 – Greece joined in
1986 – Spain and Portugal joined in
1992 – The Maastricht Treaty
· EU was officially founded
· Two main targets:
o
European citizenship – every citizen can travel and work in the Union, can vote in European elections
o Shared
prosperity – EU wants to create wealth and share it with poor regions – in order to achieve it they have to give more power to EU
parliament
1995 – Austria, Finland and Sweden joined in
1st January 1999 – the Euro was launched to make it easy to
travel, trade and work in another member state
· EU has its own flag - a circle of 12 gold stars on a blue
background, the stars represents 12 original countries
· It has its own anthem – Ode to the Joy by
Beethoven
· Europe Day is celebrated on 9 May
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ADVANTAGES
· Joining the EU brings a lot trade
simplifications, it simplifies traveling within the EU…
COPENHAGEN CRITERIA
· Set of political and economic
conditions for entering EU
· Criteria were established in Copenhagen in 1993 at the European Council
· It says what country has to
achieve to become a member (the stability of institution, democratic law, protection of human rights and minorities…)
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· The European Council
o the supreme political body,
establishes the goals of the Union
o heads of states meet at least twice a year
o each member state holds the presidency for 6
months
· The Council of EU
o The supreme law making body
o Called Council of Ministers
o They discuss
European law, budget, foreign affairs, agriculture, industry…
· The European Commission
o The executive body
o
20 members – they don’t depend on national governments
o Proposes European laws and ensures their application
· The European Parliament
o Members are elected every 5 years
o Aren’t group by nationality, but by political party
o Meet in
Strasbourg for a monthly session and in Brussels for committee meetings
o Helps to adopt European laws and budget
· The European Court of Justice
o Supreme court of EU
o 15 judges
o It settles conflicts in EU
o Ensures that the treaties are
respected and applied
· In 1996 – we applied for the entry to the EU and we were recommended by the European Commission to be accepted.