European Union

EUROPEAN UNION
From economic to political union
■ The European Union is a unique economic and political union between 27 EU countries that together
cover much of the continent.
■ The predecessor of the EU was created in the aftermath of the Second World War. The first steps were to
foster economic cooperation: the idea being that countries that trade with one another become
economically interdependent and so more likely to avoid conflict.
■ The result was the European Economic Community (EEC), created in 1958, and initially increasing
economic cooperation between six countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the
Netherlands.
■ Since then, 22 other members joined and a huge single market (also known as the 'internal' market) has
been created and continues to develop towards its full potential.
■ On 31 January 2020 the United Kingdom left the European Union.
■ What began as a purely economic union has evolved into an organization spanning policy areas, from
climate, environment and health to external relations and security, justice and migration. A name change
from the European Economic Community (EEC) to the European Union (EU) in 1993 reflected this.
29-03-2024 Prof. Padmasai Arora ONLY FOR CLASSROOM TEACHING Source: www.imf.org 2
Goals
■ The goals of the European Union are:

■ promote peace, its values and the well-being of its citizens
■ offer freedom, security and justice without internal borders
■ sustainable development based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly
competitive market economy with full employment and social progress, and environmental
protection
■ combat social exclusion and discrimination
■ promote scientific and technological progress
■ enhance economic, social and territorial cohesion and solidarity among EU countries
■ respect its rich cultural and linguistic diversity
■ establish an economic and monetary union whose currency is the euro.
Values
■ The EU values are common to the EU countries in a society in which inclusion, tolerance, justice,
solidarity and non-discrimination prevail. These values are an integral part of our European way of
life
■ Human dignity
Human dignity is inviolable. It must be respected, protected and constitutes the real basis of
fundamental rights.
■ Freedom
Freedom of movement gives citizens the right to move and reside freely within the Union. Individual
freedoms such as respect for private life, freedom of thought, religion, assembly, expression and
information are protected by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
■ Democracy
The functioning of the EU is founded on representative democracy. Being a European citizen also
means enjoying political rights. Every adult EU citizen has the right to stand as a candidate and to
vote in elections to the European Parliament. EU citizens have the right to stand as candidate and
to vote in their country of residence, or in their country of origin.
European Union
■ Rule of law
The EU is based on the rule of law. Everything the EU does is founded on treaties, voluntarily and
democratically agreed by its EU countries. Law and justice are upheld by an independent judiciary. The
EU countries gave final jurisdiction to the European Court of Justice which judgements have to be
respected by all.
■ Human rights
Human rights are protected by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. These cover the right to be free
from discrimination on the basis of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual
orientation, the right to the protection of your personal data, and the right to get access to justice.
■ Equality
Equality is about equal rights for all citizens before the law. The principle of equality between women
and men underpins all European policies and is the basis for European integration. It applies in all
areas. The principle of equal pay for equal work became part of the Treaty of Rome in 1957. Although
inequalities still exist, the EU has made significant progress.
■ These goals and values form the basis of the EU and are laid out in the Lisbon Treaty and the EU
Charter of fundamental rights.
■ In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for advancing the causes of peace, reconciliation,
democracy and human rights in Europe.
Stability, a single currency, mobility and
growth
■ The EU has delivered more than half a century of peace, stability and prosperity, helped
raise living standards and launched a single European currency: the euro. More than
340 million EU citizens in 19 countries now use it as their currency and enjoy its
benefits.
■ Thanks to the abolition of border controls between EU countries, people can travel freely
throughout most of the continent. And it has become much easier to live, work and
travel abroad in Europe. All EU citizens have the right and freedom to choose in which EU
country they want to study, work or retire. Every EU country must treat EU citizens in
exactly the same way as its own citizens for employment, social security and tax
purposes.
■ The EU's main economic engine is the single market. It enables most goods, services,
money and people to move freely. The EU aims to develop this huge resource to other
areas like energy, knowledge and capital markets to ensure that Europeans can draw the
maximum benefit from it.
Transparent and democratic institutions
■ The EU remains focused on making its governing institutions more transparent and
democratic. Decisions are taken as openly as possible and as closely as possible to the
citizen.
■ More powers have been given to the directly elected European Parliament, while national
parliaments play a greater role, working alongside the European institutions.
■ The EU is governed by the principle of representative democracy, with citizens directly
represented at Union level in the European Parliament and Member States represented
in the European Council and the Council of the EU.
■ European citizens are encouraged to contribute to the democratic life of the Union
by giving their views on EU policies during their development or suggest improvements to
existing laws and policies. The European citizens' initiative empowers citizens to have a
greater say on EU policies that affect their lives. Citizens can also submit complaints and
enquiries concerning the application of EU law.
The EU in the world
Trade
■ The European Union is the largest trade block in the world. It is the world's biggest exporter
of manufactured goods and services, and the biggest import market for over 100 countries.
■ Free trade among its members was one of the EU's founding principles. This is possible
thanks to the single market. Beyond its borders, the EU is also committed to liberalising
world trade.
■ Humanitarian aid
■ The EU is committed to helping victims of man-made and natural disasters worldwide and
supports over 120 million people each year. Collectively, the EU and its constituent countries
are the world's leading donor of humanitarian aid.
■ Diplomacy and security
■ The EU plays an important role in diplomacy and works to foster stability, security and
prosperity, democracy, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law at international level.
Key achievements: Single market
■ The EU's main economic engine is the single market. It enables most goods, services, money and
people to move freely throughout most of the continent.
■ It has certainly become much easier to move around Europe – all EU citizens have the right to
study, work or retire in any EU country. As an EU national, for employment, social security and tax
purposes, every EU country is required to treat you exactly the same as its own citizens.
■ Euro – used by over 340 million EU citizens, the euro has eliminated the risk of currency fluctuation
and exchange costs, and strengthened the single market – to the benefit of us all.
■ Telephone & digital services – you can use your phone and online services at no extra cost across
the EU, thanks to the end of roaming rules.
■ Euro: 341 million is the number of people who use the euro every day in 20 countries
■ 17 million EU citizens live or work in another EU country
■ Zero Extra cost: Phone and online services at no extra cost across the EU
Achievements
■ It created one of the world’s biggest single markets

■ Along with labour market mobility, the free movement of goods, services and capital has made the EU
one of the biggest single markets in the world. Major waves of expansion in 2004 and 2007 brought 12
new countries, mostly from central and Eastern Europe, into the fold. The GDP of the European Union last
year was $16,5 trillion according to the IMF, representing 22.8% of the world’s total.
■ On an individual level, if a consumer in France wants to order a pram from Poland or a coffee machine
from Italy, she doesn’t need to worry about import tax. On a broader level, ease of doing business
provides a major economic boost. It’s impossible to quantify precisely because European integration took
place alongside broader trends in globalization, but economists agree that removing barriers to trade
creates wealth.
■ “Of course this is profitable for the private sector as they seek to increase their operations across the EU,
which in turn offers a wide array of choice to EU consumers at competitive prices. However there are still
some standards, rules and practices which remain at the national level and are still not harmonized.
There are good hopes for progress though, in particular with the digital space,” said Francesca Bianchi, a
specialist in Trade and Investment at the World Economic Forum.
European Union
■ Citizens’ rights and protections
The Treaty on the European Union gives EU citizens and legal residents a wide range of
rights, enacted in EU law across many fields.
■ Charter of fundamental rights
The Charter brings together all the personal, civic, political, economic and social rights
enjoyed by people within the EU.
EU Charter of fundamental rights
■ Zero Tolerance for discrimination
■ Free speech For all: Everyone has the right to freedom of expression
■ Employment rights
Every EU worker enjoys certain minimum rights relating to health and safety at work;
equal opportunities; protection against all forms of discrimination; and labour laws.
European Union
■ Business, growth and trade
■ The EU is the largest trade bloc in the world. It is the world's biggest exporter of
manufactured goods and services, and the biggest import market for over 100
countries.
■ Free trade among its members was one of the EU's founding principles. This is possible
thanks to the single market. Beyond its borders, the EU is also committed to liberalising
world trade.
■ Wider market
■ Free movement
■ Businesses from one EU country are free to offer goods and services in another EU
country without being based there
Trade
■ The EU has achieved a strong position by acting together with one voice on the
global stage, rather than with separate trade strategies.
■ The EU is in prime position when it comes to global trade. The openness of our trade
regime has meant that the EU is the biggest player on the global trading scene and
remains a reliable partner to do business with.
■ EU-Singapore free trade agreement
■ This agreement, signed in 2018, makes it easier for EU firms to export more to
Singapore, helps protect people’s rights at work and the environment and opens up
Singapore’s markets to EU companies for services and government contracts.
■ The EU accounts for around 15% of the world’s trade in goods
■ It gave 500 million people the freedom to live, study or work anywhere
■ Freedom of movement is one of the major principles of the EU’s common market - and
one of the more contentious, with fears over immigration feeding into a populist
backlash. However, it is worth remembering that in the EU today over 500 million people
enjoy the right to live, study or work in any of the EU’s 28 member states. Around 14
million EU citizens live in a different country, according to statistics from 2014.
■ The EU also created the Schengen Area, a zone of passport-free, borderless travel that
covers over 400 million people. Most EU members are part of Schengen, along with
some non-EU countries - namely, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Schengen means you can theoretically get on a train in Vilnius and get off in Valencia
without having to show your passport. Although some border controls have been
reinstated in the wake of the refugee crisis and terrorist attacks, the agreement is still in
place.
Achievements
■ It won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012

■ The Nobel committee honoured the EU because it had “for over six decades
contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human
rights in Europe".
■ For a country to join the EU, it needs to meet three criteria: political, with stable
institutions underpinning democracy; economic, with a functioning market economy;
and legal, with the acceptance of EU law and practice. Under this process, a number
of former dictatorships and ailing ex-communist economies made peaceful
transitions.
■
Achievements
■ It took sewage off Europe’s beaches and ratified the Paris Agreement
The EU has the biggest programme of environmental legislation in the world, including
setting standards for swimming water that forced many beach resorts to tackle sewage. Last
year, it ratified the Paris Agreement to limit global CO2 emissions. As Emily Farnworth, Head
of Climate Change at the World Economic Forum, explained:
■ “The European Union was a powerful driving force in securing international agreement on
climate change. Being able to speak as one united voice, rather than 28 single voices,
helped cut through during climate negotiations – big markets are hard to ignore.
■ The EU has established the first major carbon market and agreed ambitious emission
reduction, energy efficiency, and renewable energy targets through its climate-energy
packages, first for 2020 and now for 2030.
■ The Habitat Directive is another good example – for 25 years, it has been protecting Europe’s
biodiversity across the region. It recognises that effective approaches to conservation need
to take account of the natural environment rather than political boundaries.”

European Union

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

European Union

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

European Union

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

EUROPEAN UNION

From economic to political union

■ The goals of the European Union are:

■ It created one of the world’s biggest single markets

■ It won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012

You might also like