Thursday, September 19, 2019
Development and Parts of European Union
Introduction to European Union
The European Union is the political and economic organization of European countries. It has developed at various levels, that is, the establishment of the European Union is not by any one agreement or treaty, but after various treaties and amendments. The "Treaty of Paris (1951)", "Treaty of Rome (1957)", "Treaty of Maastricht (1993)" and "Treaty of Lisbon (2009)" have contributed significantly to its development.
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| Parts of European Union |
At present, only 27 members will remain after Britain gets out of the union. The European Union has played an important role in the political and economic development of European countries, due to which this organization represents about 22% of the world's economy. The European Union has its own Parliament, Commission, Council of Ministers, Councils, Courts and Central Banks which are also known as the principal organs of the Union.
The European Union's common currency is the euro, which has been adopted by only 19 member states of the union. Through the Schengen Treaty (1985), the union gave citizens of its member countries the right to travel to any country in Europe without a passport. Although this right was also given to some members late, such as Romania and Bulgaria, who became members of the union in 2007 but they did not have this right till 2014, but Norway, Sweden and Iceland have this right even without being a member of the union. Various changes have been made to the Union by amending different treaties and treaties, of which the Treaty of Maastricht is the chief by which the European Community was renamed the European Union. Its capital is in Brussels.
Development of European Union
European Union developed after various treaties and agreements which are as follows:
Treaty of Paris (1951)
The treaty was signed in 1951 and implemented in 1952. Through this, 6 countries in Europe formed the coal and steel community which included West Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg and Netherlands. These 6 countries are also called the founding countries of the European Union.
Treaty of Rome (1957)
- The European Economic Community was formed by this treaty and the institutional structure of the European Economic Community was also prepared. An equal tax organization was also formed in Europe by this treaty.
- All the treaties that preceded it in 1967 were combined to form the European Community.
- Economic integration of Europe was attempted by the European Act 1987, for which the "European Central Bank" was established in 1992 with the approval of all member states.
Treaty of Maastricht-1993
By this treaty, the name of the European Community was changed to European Union, 3 main provisions were made in the Treaty of Maastricht -
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1) European Economic Community or Uniform Monetary Union - In this treaty, it was announced to adopt the same currency, which was implemented in 2001. So far, only 19 members of the union have adopted the treaty currency-euro.
2) Equal foreign policy and security issue - 21 out of 27 countries of the European Union are members of NATO which is the main issue of security as the European Union has no security union of its own.
3) Equal Home and Justice Matters - The Schengen Treaty of 1985 allowed European citizens to travel anywhere in Europe without passports, which came into force in 1995. But this right was not immediately granted to all member states such as Romania and Bulgaria which became members of the union in 2007 but they did not have this right till 2014, but Norway, Sweden, Lichstein and Iceland are not this member despite being a union. Is received.
The Copenhagen criteria for membership of the European Union were also determined -
I) Democratic system of governance
II) Good human rights record
III) Good fiscal management
Treaty of Lisbon - 2009
(Start date: 13 December 2007, Effective: 1 December 2009) This treaty was completed in 2007 but entered into force in 2009. This treaty was mainly an amendment of the previous 2 treaties, the first being the Treaty of Rome which was changed to the Treaty on European Union (2007) and the second was the Treaty of Maastricht which was the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) (2007).
Following are the major provisions of this treaty -
- A permanent member of the European Commission will be appointed as chairman, with a term of two and a half years.
- The European Parliament will be bicameral.
- The High Representative will be appointed for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, whose tenure will be for five years. He will also be the Vice President of the European Commission.
- The Fundamental Rights Charter was also accepted through the treaty.
European Union Parts
European Parliament-
The European Union has its own parliament with 751 members. These members of parliament are elected by direct election by European citizens. Members are elected from each country only on the basis of its population, ie the most representative of Germany are members of the European Union. The President of the European Parliament and the Vice President are elected after every two and a half years. The European Parliament and the European Council form legislation.
The European Commission-
It has a member strength of 28 and it will remain only 27 after being out of the union of Britain. It is the bureaucratic organization of the union. It has a chairman who is nominated by the European Council and its function is to draft the laws made in the union.
European Council of Ministers
It has a president and one minister is involved from member countries. It is the main decision-making body of the union. The Council meets four times a year and is chaired by the President of that year. The chairmanship of the European Union is done by each member country for 6 months in order.
European Council
It elects a president who is the chairman of the European Commission and the European Union. It is elected for two and a half years.
European Court of Justice-
In this, a judge from each member country is elected for 6 years. These judges explain the laws of the union. This court is located in Luxembourg. It has three separate courts - Court of Justice, General Court and Civil Services Tribunal.
European Central Bank -
It was founded with the goal of economic integration of Europe, which led to the adoption of the same currency. Its main goal is to keep inflation under control. Although there is no provision for providing financial assistance in the Central Bank, yet in view of the economic condition of Greece, the bank provided economic assistance to it. This bank is located in Frankfort, Germany.
Euro Zone (European Economic Community)
It is a monetary union of 19 countries out of the 28 member states of the European Union, which have adopted the euro as their legal currency in place of their country's currency. The European Central Bank sets the monetary policy of the euro zone. The European Union is currently the largest integrated market in the world where there is free exchange of goods, finance and services among all member states. The European Union controls about 30% of the world's total GDP. After the 2007–08 economic crisis, the euro zone has made some provisions to provide emergency loans to member countries to improve their economy, among which the bailout package is prominent.
Some other organizations of the European Union
- In 1951, 6 countries in Europe (France, Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Italy) established the European Coal and Steel through the Treaty of Paris.
- In 1957, under the Treaty of Rome, the European Coal and Steel Community and the founding countries of the European Economic Community established the Euratum (European Atomic Energy Community). The aim of the Euratum is to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The European Economic Community controls the functions of the Euratum.
European Free Trade Association
In 1960, Britain, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Portugal and Sweden signed the Stockholm Agreement on the British initiative. The headquarters of this association is in Genva. This union has the following objectives -
- Reduction in taxes for mutual trade between member nations.
- Giving Western Europe a market.
- Increase participation in world trade.
The conclusion
The European Union is one of the strongest regional organizations in the world, but speculation about the possibility of its expansion being hampered by Britain's decision to pull out of it is being speculated as Britain being the largest contributor to the union. But if seen, no organization runs on the strength of one member but all the members have an important role in the organization. Countries like Serbia, Herzegovina, Albania, etc. are ready to become members of the union. Along with the countries of Eastern Europe, Turkey is also geographically separated from Europe for the membership of the European Union. Some of the Union's countries object to Turkey's membership.
After the Second War, the biggest migrant and refugee crisis has been faced by Europe at present. The root cause of this crisis is the turmoil in Asian and African countries. Syria's civil war, Arab revolution, violence in Yemen have increased this crisis. This crisis was revealed to the world in 2015 when a large number of refugees crossed the Mediterranean Sea and reached the route of southeastern Europe to seek refuge in Europe. The European Union had launched Operation Sofia and proposed a quota system to reduce pressure from the border states of the Union.