The European Union (EU) is a collaborative effort between 27 European countries to form a mutually beneficial economic and political community. The EU has worked to boost economies and spread human rights advances around the world. The EU’s goals include uniting Europe towards common goals and providing aid to developing nations. The creation of a single market economy and the adoption of the Euro are among the EU’s greatest successes. The EU also sets member policy on a variety of social and political issues.
The European Union, or EU, is a collaborative effort between 27 European countries to form a mutually beneficial economic and political community. Since 1993, the EU has worked to boost economies and spread human rights advances around the world. The region’s goals include uniting Europe towards common goals and providing aid to developing nations.
After World War II, Europe was a fractured area, divided by political and cultural differences. Several attempts to promote a regional governing body have met with varying success, including the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Community. Due to ideological and power political differences between Western and Eastern Europe, a real community could not form until the end of the Cold War.
In 1992, the Maastricht Treaty was signed by the member countries, bringing the European Union into force. The treaty outlined three pillars of the union: the European Communities, the common foreign and security policy and justice and home affairs. The treaty also provided for the admission of many Eastern European nations. In 2001, the Treaty of Nice further expanded the provisions for new nations.
To become a member of the European Union, a nation must comply with a set of standards called the Copenhagen criteria. These detail the geographical and political needs for the member nations. The standards included dictate human rights laws, democracy, protective law for minorities, and a market economy. As of 2008, three states are candidates under review: Turkey, Croatia and the Republic of Macedonia. Several other nations are identified as potential candidates for future admission, including Albania and Serbia.
One of the greatest successes of the European Union is the creation of a single market economy. Between member countries, trade is largely unlimited. While nations maintain separate laws on taxation and trade standards, EU members agree on basic trade laws between their countries. Almost all products created by one nation are legal for trade in all other countries.
Most of the countries belonging to the EU have adopted a common currency, called the Euro. The euro is overseen by the European Central Bank in an effort to promote all economies that incorporate the use of the currency. As of 2008, 15 nations use the euro, collectively called the Eurozone. Other EU members must meet specific financial and economic standards before they can adopt the currency. Slovenia was the first of the 2004 expansion countries to meet the euro criteria.
In addition to increasing economic stability, the European Union sets member policy on a variety of social and political issues. Agriculture, energy policy, counter-terrorism efforts, environmental issues and education are among the serious areas covered by various EU committees. The EU’s goal of creating a Community of Neighborhood Nations is still in its infancy, but measurable impacts are already evident in the economic and social arenas.
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