The ‘New Europe’

The Origins of the EU

Economic integration was launched in the wake of World War II, as a devastated Western Europe sought ways to rebuild its economy and prevent future wars.

On May 9, 1950, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman announced a plan, conceived by French businessman-turned-advisor, Jean Monnet. To control the forces of war, Monnet proposed pooling European coal and steel production under a common authority. The Schuman Declaration was regarded as the first step towards achieving a united Europe - an ideal that in the past had been pursued only by force.

The European Union is a unique, treaty-based, institutional framework that defines and manages economic and political cooperation among its fifteen European member countries. The Union is the latest stage in a process of integration begun in the 1950s by six countries - France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg - whose leaders signed the original treaties establishing various forms of European integration. These treaties gave life and substance to the novel concept that, by creating communities of shared sovereignty in matters of coal and steel production, trade and nuclear energy, another war in Europe would be unthinkable. While the EU has evolved common policies in a number of other sectors since then, the fundamental goal of the Union remains the same: to create an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe.

Important Points in the EU History

Around the same time as the OEEC were formed, other schemes for the European co-operation was also being implemented. The most important of these were the formation of a Customs Union between Belgium. Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

1952 Six countries - Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands - create the by pooling their coal and steel resources in a common market controlled by an independent supranational authority.

The set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), extending the common market for coal and steel to all economic sectors in the member.

Countries.

1973 The United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark join the European Community (EC).

1979 The European Parliament is elected, for the first time, by direct universal suffrage and the European Monetary System (EMS) becomes operative.

Greece becomes the 10th member state.

The program to complete the Single Market by 1992 is launched.

1986 Spain and Portugal become the 11th and 12th member states.

1987 The introduces majority voting on Single Market legislation and increases the power of the European Parliament

1989 The Madrid European Council ...

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Countries.

1973 The United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark join the European Community (EC).

1979 The European Parliament is elected, for the first time, by direct universal suffrage and the European Monetary System (EMS) becomes operative.

Greece becomes the 10th member state.

The program to complete the Single Market by 1992 is launched.

1986 Spain and Portugal become the 11th and 12th member states.

1987 The introduces majority voting on Single Market legislation and increases the power of the European Parliament

1989 The Madrid European Council launches the plan for achievement of .

East and West Germany are reunited after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Two parallel intergovernmental conferences produce the (Maastricht) which EU leaders approve at the Maastricht European Council.

Treaty on European Union signed in Maastricht and sent to member states for ratification. First referendum in Denmark rejects the Treaty.

The Single Market enters into force on January 1. In May, a second Danish referendum ratifies the Maastricht Treaty, which takes effect in November.

The EU and the 7-member European Free Trade Association (EFTA) form the European Economic Area, a single market of 19 countries. The EU completes membership negotiations with EFTA members Austria, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

Austria, Finland and Sweden join the Union on January 1. Norway fails to ratify accession treaty. EU prepares the on EU institutional reform.

results from .

The Development of the Economic Integration in the 1990s

The1990s have witnessed an unprecedented momentum in the European integration movement.

Following the acceptance of the Delors Report in 1989 moves towards Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) began on 1 January 1990. Alongside, the single European Market (SEM) was completed 31 December 1992, leading to greater freedom of movement of goods, services, labour and capital, and in 1993 the Treaty of Economic Union came into effect, committing the member states of the European Union to the launch of the single currency by January 1999. The European Economic Area (EEA), from 1994, extended the single market to the remaining members of the European Free Trade Area (EFTA). Further enlargement of the EU occurred in 1995 with the association of the Austria, Finland and Sweden. On January 1 1999, in a blaze of publicity and celebration, the Euro was launched with eleven of the fifteen members of the EU joining the single currency area.

European Integration has not been without its problems and challenges in the 1990s nor has it been solely a Western European phenomenon. The early years of the 1990s saw the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) of the European Monetary Systems (EMS) run into difficulties in a period of currency instability in 1992/3. Major devaluations of sterling, the lira, the French Franc, the Irish punt, the Spanish peseta and the Portuguese escudo contributed to the collapse of the EMS. The dramatic events in Central and eastern European countries (CEEC) in the late 1980s ushered in an era in which the EU could ignore developments in its own backyard. With the collapse of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon), CEEC began to look for new markets in Western Europe. From an initial fear of cheap CEEC imports the RU has done much to help these countries in their transition to the market economy and to aid their integration with the EU.

Poland, Hungry, the former Czechoslovakia and Slovenia formed the Central European Free Trade Area (CEFTA) in 1992 and a series

The Main Governing Bodies in the European Union

The proposes policies and legislation, is responsible for administration, and ensures that the provisions of the Treaties and the decisions of the institutions are properly implemented. The current consists of 20 Commissioners, including the President (), who are appointed by common agreement among the member states and approved as a body by the European Parliament. Commissioners hold portfolios of responsibility and act in the interest of the Union, independently of national governments.

The enacts legislation binding throughout EU territory and directs intergovernmental cooperation. The Council is composed of ministers representing the national governments of the 15 Member States. Different ministers attend Council meetings depending on the agenda. Most decisions are made by majority vote, but some decisions (for instance on foreign policy in the framework of the CFSP, taxation, and environmental issues) still require unanimity. The of the Council rotates among the member states every six months. Each Presidency concludes with a , which brings together the Heads of State or Government of the 15.

The is composed of 626 members, directly elected to five-year terms. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) form political rather than national groups. The European Parliament now has a limited legislative role thanks to the co-decision procedure introduced by the Maastricht Treaty. The Parliament acts as the EU's public forum, debating issues of public importance and questioning the Commission and the Council. The Parliament can amend or reject the EU budget.

The interprets EU law and its rulings are binding. The Court comprises 15 judges assisted by 9 advocates-general. It is assisted by a Court of First Instance, which has jurisdiction to hear cases in limited areas.

The , which consists of 15 members appointed by a unanimous decision of the Council after consulting Parliament, monitors the Union's financial activities.

The comprises 222 members who represent employers, employees and numerous other groups such as farmers and consumers. It must be consulted before the adoption of a significant number of decisions; it may also deliver opinions on its own initiative.

The , newly established by the Treaty on European Union, also comprises 222 members, representing local and regional authorities. It must be consulted before the adoption of decisions affecting regional interests, and it may also deliver own-initiative opinions

The EU and the Global Economy

As one of the world's largest trading powers, and as a leading economic partner for most countries, the EU is a major player on the world scene. Its scope for action extends increasingly beyond trade and economic questions.
More than 130 countries maintain diplomatic relations with the EU, and the EU has over 100 delegations around the world.
With 390m relatively high-income consumers, the EU is the most importanmt consumer market in the world.
The EU enjoys a close relationship with the countries of (so-called CEECs). The EU is spending almost $9 billion over five years to help prepare nine CEECs to prepare for EU membership. Since their independence in 1989, the EU has concluded trade and cooperation accords with most CEECs and has been at the forefront of the international effort to assist them in the process of economic and political reform.
The EU is also strengthening its links with the countries, which will receive some $6 billion in EU assistance over the next five years.
The EU maintains special trade and aid relationships with many countries. Under the , virtually all products originating from 77 ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) countries enjoy tariff-free access to the EU single market, as well as a stable export earnings program (STABEX) and considerable financial aid.
The EU is the largest donor of the to the victims of the conflict in former and has played an active role in the mediation effort.
Through trade, the economies of the individual members are increasingly dependent upon each other.
The EU had a 40 percent share of world exports in1997; it nearest rival, the North Free Trade Area consisting of the USA, Canada and Mexico had 17 per cent.

Economic Integration

Economic integration refers to the merging together of national economies and the blurring of the boundaries that separate economic activity in one nation state from another.