'Building Union among people not cooperation between states' (Jean Monnet). Is this an accurate description of the contemporary integration process?

Many programmes have recently been initiated to help the process of integration among people of the EU. Lingua is one such programme, which specifically challenges the issue of different languages in the EU. Obviously, this is a hard barrier to overcome in the EU, as the current 15 members constitute to at least 12 different languages being spoken in the EU. Lingua aims to raise European citizen's awareness of the Union's multilingual wealth, encourage people to learn languages throughout their lifetime and to improve access to foreign language learning resources across Europe.

Perhaps the most significant step to integration among the people in contemporary Europe, is the introduction of monetary union in the shape of the Euro. The Euro has had huge impact on the day-to-day lives of the European citizens that it accounts for. It has meant an element of adaptation has had to be endured, but for those who's currency is now the Euro, travel into fellow member states will see familiarity added to their journey in light of sharing the same currency. It abolishes the ritual of having to change currency when going abroad and with that, the hassle of constantly having to figure out the price of foreign goods. It also increases awareness of financial matters with regards to other EU countries as the problem of conversion is no longer an issue. Overall, it creates a greater sense of being European as sharing something as important as currency integrates people to a huge extent.

It can be argued that the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 was the turning point in the integration process of the member states with regards to 'Union among the people'. To begin with, the name change bears significant relevance as the European Community was essentially economic in aspiration and content, whereas the European Union is as it sounds, involves union at all levels. Also, there is the three pillar system which is an important step forward in that the member states regard it as being in their interest to cooperate more closely in such areas. Thus affirming Europe's identity in the world and making sure it's citizens are better protected against organized crime and drug trafficking. Furthermore, the initiation of monetary union was first conceived in the Treaty on European Union. All these factors support Jean Monnet's view that contemporary European Integration is 'Building a union among people, not cooperation between states'.

Jean Monnet's claim maybe a pretty accurate description of contemporary integration, however, the statement comes under fire when dealing with the Common Foreign and Security Policy debate. This issue may even be at the forefront of EU integration at this present time. By 2003, the EU hopes to put itself in a position where it is able to deploy 50 to 60 000 troops within 60 days. This somewhat European army is to be known as the Rapid Reaction Force and once deployed, is to be able to sustain itself in the field for upto one year. This is a clear indication that the European integration process isn't solely concerned with the uniting of the people. It also is encouraging cooperation between the member states.

On the whole, Jean Monnet's claim that the current integration process focuses on 'Building union among the people not cooperation between the states', is to a large extent accurate. He is justified in his statement, as more recently, there as been a more concerted effort to bring the people's of Europe closer together. This is particularly true with regards to efforts being made to overcome the language barrier in the form of the Lingua programme. Undeniably, the introduction of monetary union in the shape of the Euro has also brought the people of Europe much closer together. However, he fails to consider the issue of Common Foreign and Security Policy which renders his statement not entirely accurate. Overall, Jean Monnet's statement is very worthwhile in the EU sphere and is of great importance. Without doubt, it is an accurate description of the contemporary integration process, however, this is only to an extent.