Difference between revisions of "European Union"

Revision as of 17:29, May 29, 2007

The European Union (EU) is a legal and economic union of 27 European nations. It was formed in 1993 with the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty, though its predecessor, the European Economic Community, was founded in 1957.

As an institution, the EU has more powers over its member states and their citizens than is the case with most international bodies; 13 of its member states also use a common currency, the Euro. It is not, however, generally regarded as a federation or state in its own right. Rather, it stands somewhere between these two points.

Structure

The EU, technically speaking, consists of three separate "pillars" - the European Communities, the Common Foreign and Security Policy, and Police and Judicial Co-Operation in Criminal Matters. The most important of these "pillars" is the European Communities, and the term "European Union" is often used as a synonym for the European Communities.

The EU is governed primarily by three institutions: the Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament.

The Council consists of representatives of each member state. These representatives change depending on what the purpose of the Council's meeting is and what is being discussed (for example, the ministers of finance of each country may attend a meeting on fiscal policy).

The Commission functions roughly as the EU's executive branch. It consists of 27 Commissioners, one nominated by each member state, though on taking office the Commissioners are required to put aside their allegiance to their own countries and to act in the interests of the EU as a whole. The President of the Commission acts to some extent as a figurehead for the EU, and is the nearest thing there is to a "President of Europe". The current Commission President is José Manuel Barroso, a conservative and a former Prime Minister of Portugal. Perhaps the best known Commission President was Jacques Delors (1985-1995), a French socialist who passionately favoured European integration. A personal enemy of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, he was famously attacked by the conservative British tabloid newspaper The Sun with the slogan "Up yours, Delors".

The European Parliament consists of 785 members directly elected by the citizens of the member states. National parties sit in broad Europe-wide groupings: for example, most members of left-wing parties sit together as the "Party of European Socialists". No party grouping currently has an overall majority, but the main conservative grouping (the European People's Party) currently has the largest number of seats (277).

The EU has its own judicial apparatus, consisting most notably of the Court of First Instance and the European Court of Justice, the latter being the supreme judicial authority of the Union. It should not be confused with the European Court of Human Rights, which is entirely separate from the EU and its institutions.

Sovereignty

The member states of the European Union fall under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. Similar to Federal Law trumping State Law in United States politics, the EU member states are obligated to follow the laws set forth by the European Court of Justice. This system of government takes sovereignty from the nation, and rests it in the EU court of Justice. Some political theorists argue that the EU is thus the death of the Nation. By the rules of The Treaty of Westphalia, nations are defined by their rite of Self-Sovereignty.

Criticism

A significant number of Europeans on the political right of centre are opposed to the EU on the grounds that it undermines national sovereignty and identity. Such people are known in British English as "Eurosceptics", and they include such people as the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (although, while in power, she committed Britain to the 1986 Single European Act, a major integrationist measure) and the members of the UK Independence Party. They also, however, include less well-respected politicians belonging to far right or nationalist parties, such as France's Jean-Marie Le Pen. There are also extreme left-wing opponents of the European Union, such as Die Linke in Germany, who regard it as constituting an anti-progressive "Fortress Europe", and claim that EU membership impedes countries from following socialist policies.

Candidates for membership

There are three official candidates being considered for membership, Turkey, Croatia and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Typically a country that is considered will have to make some economic or social changes to bring it in line with other member states.

There is some conflict between current EU member states over possible candidates for membership. For example, The United Kingdom is in favor of adding Turkey to the EU, while France is strongly against Turkey's possible membership.

Member states of the European Union.

Gateway to the European Union (EU official website) [1]