European Union

In the depths of European an observer will find the diverse and rolling European Union (EU). Consisting of 27 countries, the E.U accounts for nearly 500 million people (Kahn 42). It can be compared to the United States of America. Like the U.S, the E.U consists of a large governmental body that also includes small countries that partially govern themselves, like the states in America. The roots of the E.U date all the way to when the countries of Europe were in unison with the European Steal Company in 1957. Although the continent of Europe is so unified the languages are so diverse. The most common spoken language is English, 19% of the inhabitants speak English. As one may expect, the demand for translators is high (43). The formation of the Union did not come easy. It took various treaties and agreements to complete the largest federation of countries in the World. Once the union was fashioned, currency was a major dilemma. They could not agree on what to name the collective currency. Every country wanted to use their own money so this created a conflict. Overall once it was in fact unified, the Union was one of the most sophisticated structures in World history. For the formation of the greatest and massive Union came conflicts: the formations took years and required many treaties and agreements, the currency was a cornerstone conflict, and when all set and done it was worth it, making for the most elite structures in the World.

Like any other organization the European Union struggled to unify and struggled to form a joint organization. The Treaty of Paris was a key role in establishing the European Coal and Steal Community. The E.C.S.C ultimately led to the European Union (Smith 9). The treaty single-handedly produced diplomatic and economic stability in Western Europe after World War II. The significance of the treaty was that countries that were once war enemies were now trading coal and steel among themselves. In the early 1940s nobody could have thought that France, Great Britain, and Germany would have ever been trading to increase the economic powers of these countries. The E.C.S.C put the thought into governmental leaders in Europe that a union of European countries would be possible. Furthermore, the treaty called for a democratic government and helped to put an end to any fascist movement ideas. The treaty lasted into the early part of the 21st century, but only played a vital role in Europe till 1957 when the treaty of Rome was put into effect (12).

The Treaty of Rome, an even more vital role in the European Union then the Treaty of Paris, was issued and signed in 1957 (Overturf 2). The treaty spoke decisively on the nature of the free flow of goods, services, and factors that would contribute to a common market. The treaty of Rome had many impacts on the European economy. The major parts of the treaty were that is established a prohibition of monopolies some transport common policies, and that it grants some commercial privileges to the colonial territories to the member states (4). The treaty even more unified that countries, but this time the unification was all economic which was needed due to the deep financial struggles after World War II.

After the United States atomic bombings on the Japan the World was uneasy on the topic of atomic warfare. The European Atomic Energy Committee was issued in the same year of the Treaty of Rome, in 1957 (Biskup 46). The treaty called for a “no-secret” policy when it came to nuclear energy and any other new innovations dealing with nuclear products. The main purpose of the E.A.E.C was to protect humans and to protect the environment in which they live. The Committee further went on to call for any surpluses in nuclear power to be split up evenly to the countries that fall short of their own countries’ distinct goals (47). In the end, the Committee’s most positive effect was that it unified the countries even more and that the idea of a complete union seemed even more possible and would soon follow.

Ever since the fall of the Soviet Empire in 1991 the European Union could become a strong organization and have most of Europe in favor of it (Bashfield 128). After the fall of the empire the European Union stepped in an established the stronghold in Europe. Now that Russia was in shambles the E.U was needed for political and economical stability. Now with all these treaties and untied cords, something had to give and it did.

The Treaty of Nice was essentially the ending point to the treaty of Rome, the treaty of Paris and European Atomic Energy Committee. It was signed in 2001 and put into effect on February 1st 2003 (Press 16). The Treaty of Nice reformed the European Union to withstand eastward expansion. The treaty set up provisions for further expansion. It also called for all decisions to be made on the basis of a majority rules all. The treaty that took 330 hours to finalize, all said that once the amount of nations reached 27 the total number of commissioners would be capped (17). Now that the European Union was popular and established, everybody wanted to join. The problem was how can the Union decide when to stop let nations in?

To end the thoughts of a World Order, the European Union decided to limit the amount of countries aloud to join. The committee agreed to only invite countries in the geographical Europe. This idea makes sense because it is called the European Union. The border is north of the Mediterranean Sea, east of the Black Sea, east of Russia, and anywhere within the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans (Press 13). Now that all the countries are set the debate on the type of currency would prove to be huge and long lasting debate.

With the European Union pretty much set in stone, the debate of currency was soon to follow. The three obvious candidates for the new, unified currency are Great Britain, France, and Germany. The first day of meetings the three countries only bickered all day long and tried to win support over their currency (Nash 1). There were many reasons why the countries wanted to keep their currency. But simply put, the biggest reason was that it would be a stressor on its people. They would have to change price tags, round up all their cash and exchange it for the new currency. So after weeks of plain bickering continued, the representative did not get anywhere.

The members of the European Union also had to take into account the fact that some countries are still in a deep debt. They had to consider whether the union should consider currency from countries that are in the red. In the end, almost invariably, France and Germany were at odds (Nash 1).

It was later agreed that the currency would be based on France’s currency, but more debate erupted. The committee now decided that they would make their own unique name for the currency. France wanted it to be called the European Currency Unit (ECU). On the other side of the coin, Germany wanted it to be called the Euro (Nash 2). They finally came to the agreement to call it the Euro. The compromised between Germany and France, France got to keep their own currency base and Germany got to choose the name of the new bank note.

With the Euro now established in the economy of Europe, a treaty was now being enforced. The Maastricht Treaty called for strict economic stipulations. It said that any country in the E.U must have a budget deficit of only 3 percent of its gross domestic product (G.D.P). It also said that any country’s total deficit must be 60 percent of its G.D.P (Nash 2). Any member not making efforts to the reach these standards would strongly be considered for dismissal from union. These standards caused a dozen countries to make major budget cuts and were forced to increase taxes in order to stay with the E.U. Only a few countries were immune to the Maastricht Treaty. These countries included Luxembourg, Germany, Great Britain, and other smaller countries. Every country did manage to claw their way back and reach the standard in 2000. Currently, in the massive World economic struggles that Maastricht Treaty is basically ignored since it would be ridiculous to force countries to follow its demands. Every country would be forced out of the union and that would just lead to even more problems (Nash 1). The economic issues in the European Union were only a few negatives in the union, it was the structure of the E.U that made it so unique and impressive.

The primary structure of the European Union was designs to satisfy 27 countries, it had to be distinctive and complex. Located in Luxembourg, the Court of Justice assures that the E.U’s laws and treaties are enforced. It also says that only one judge is appointed per member state (Press 16). Going back to the treaty of Nice, to match the ever growing amount of countries the Court of Justice increases the number of justices from 15 to 25.

Continuing on, European Commission purposes laws and policies. It negotiates international treaties and agreements. The headquarters of the commission is located in Brussels. On the other hand, the Council of Ministers votes on laws and policies purposed by European Commission and European Parliament. It also votes on budget matters (Press 16). The council is made up of Ministers who are also cabinet members in the governments of their home country.

As expected, the President is the most important figure in the E.U. He or she makes that final decision on priority issues. The President takes part in political negotiations with other governmental leaders (Press 17). The powerless, but influential European Parliament meets in Strasbourg and debates laws and policies but cannot vote on them. Its representatives are elected directly by the citizens in member countries every five years, just like the president (16). Notice how every branch of the European Union meets in different countries. This was done on purpose to send the message that every country is equal.

At the end of the day the European Union is a magnificent accomplishment and is the bond that hold Europe together, even in tough times. The treaties of Rome, Paris and Nice were the stepping stones to a union and will forever be in the history of how this 500 million person union was formed. The E.U became so popular in the late 1990s that everyone wanted to join, for the first time the European committee had to limit to member to 27 and begin to get nit and gritty on its members. After long debate, every country uses the same currency, the Euro. It also has one the best functioning structures in the World and somehow manages to satisfy every country in Europe. The creation of the European Union did not come over night, it took many treaties and the conflict of currency was not one to ignore, and at the end of the day the E.U has one of the best structure in the World.