The European Union.
Background The European Union consists of 15 member states; they are France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Eire, Belgium, Spain, Greece, Luxembourg, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Austria. Below is a map showing the location of these countries. The European community started in 1958 with 6 countries, Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. They took agreed to the Treaty of Rome and formed a common market on which to trade. By 1993, 6 more countries had joined. The European Union was created on the 1 November 1993; this formed a very large market. Members of the EU decided to work together on legal, political and legal matters. The number of members increased to 15 on January 1995 with Austria, Finland and Sweden joining. There are also many countries that are considering joining the EU; these countries are Turkey, Cyprus, Malta, Hungary and Poland. Objectives of the EU . The main objective for the formation of the European Union was to create a customs union Before the development of the EU, European countries placed tariffs on visibles from each other. Because of this, imported goods were more expensive so demand for them was less than for self produced goods. Therefore it was difficult to export goods to other countries Europe and so unemployment of European workers was high. The EU formed a customs union
The European Union
The European Union By Sarah Dawson What's the European union? The European Union, or European Community (EEC) as it was known then, was established in 1957. It was created to look at the economy of some of the countries in Europe after the Second World War had dramatically crippled it. The committee was set up so that it would be easier for the countries to trade without too much trouble. This was called the common market. It was also set up so that there would be a lasting reconciliation between France and Germany (because obviously Germany was the 'enemy'.) Another reason why it was set up was to develop some kind of political union so that there would be less change on a World War Three. So to summarise the European Union is a union which has 15 countries that all try to work together to help trade, tourism, social and environmental issues. It is constantly coming up with new ideas and rulings that make the country members of the EU nice places to live. Europe without the EU would be a poorer place to live. The benefits of joining the EU There are several benefits for businesses and people: -Can encourage trade between the member countries -It can help the candidate countries to reduce the cost to firms because no commission will be needed on exchanging money -More competition because there will be an increase in trade and might make firms lower costs and boost
The Common Agricultural Policy.
The Common Agricultural Policy ) The 5 objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) set out in Article 39 of the Treaty of Rome were: * To increase agricultural productivity * To ensure a fair standard of living for farmers * To stabilise markets * To guarantee availability of supplies * To ensure fair prices for consumers 2) An intervention price is a price at which the EU/government will buy produce from the producer. It is a fixed price, and it is the minimum price that the producer will get for their goods. In this case, the EU established an intervention price at which it would buy the produce from the farmers. As a result the farmers could either choose to sell their produce on the open market or sell it to the EU for the minimum fixed price. As a result of the intervention price scheme farmers increased their production - knowing that no matter how much they produced, the EU would buy it. Naturally supply began to outstrip demand. Instead of the EU selling the produce produced by the farmers, they have stored them in large warehouses and as a result the infamous lakes and mountains have developed. This excess produce then had to be sold, often at a fraction of the cost of production, and some was even destroyed. 3) CAP has affected consumers in two ways. Firstly, they have to pay higher prices for goods which would be cheaper if they were bought on the
Should Britain join the Euro?
GCSE ENGLISH PERSUASIVE WRITING: SHOULD BRITAIN JOIN THE EURO? The decision that faces the government about whether or not the United Kingdom should join the European single currency, the euro, is one of the most important economic decision the government has had to make in sixty years. In 1944 Britain joined a system of fixed exchange rates to ensure that after the war the currency was stable. This system was called the Bretton Woods system and it lasted until the early 1970's. Under the Breton Woods system Britain still retained the pound. If we choose to join the euro, the difference will be that the change will be permanent and the pound sterling will cease to exist altogether. There are a number of arguments to be put across for and against the United Kingdom joining. A lot of these arguments are political, instead of economic. Indeed it is a totally separate argument as to whether the decision to join should be taken on political or economic grounds. Tony Blair's Labour government has chosen to take the decision entirely on economic considerations. HM Treasury has just finished a thorough assessment of these five tests and Gordon Brown has concluded that the economic case for joining the single currency is not strong enough at the moment for the Government to recommend joining. I am in favour of joining the euro for many reasons. To start with the single
Should Britain Join The Euro?
Should Britain Join The Euro? On the first of January 2002, several European countries joined the Euro, a single form of currency, which replaced these countries' own national currency, meaning that all countries that are a member of 'Euroland' accept the Euro as their currency. Among these countries were Ireland, France, Germany, and Italy. As yet, Britain has opted not to join the Euro. Many argue that Britain should join the Euro, for both political and economic reasons. Economically, Britain is separated from the rest of the European countries who have adopted this currency, along with Sweden and Denmark who also opted to stay out of the Euro. This means that British businesses cannot share the benefits of being part of the Euro with the rest of Europe, as they are separated from the main part of the market by the variable exchange rate. British companies who export to, import from and invest in the rest of Europe will be less likely to do so in future because of uncertainty about profits because of changes in the currency and the value of the pound. The result will be British businesses retaining a more domestic approach to future investments, staying at home rather than investing abroad for fear of loss in profit. Equally, European companies will be reluctant to do business in Britain. The government's decision to opt out of the Euro
International trade
European Union Agribusiness Teaching Center International Trade Fall 2002 European Union (EU) Abstract This paper is about the EU, its major policies, the key objectives, legislations, instruments for implementing those policies, who the members are, and the institutions involved in the implementation of the trade goals. Key word: European Union; Mission of the EU. Introduction The establishment of the EU intended to work toward common goals of European countries. This free trade zone or economic community was and is very successful which seeks special purposes such as political dialogue, free trade and freedom of movement, economic, financial, and cultural cooperation. Special attention was focused on the trade laws, regulations, and other issues (Kotler, 1999, p. 371). The key objectives are to keep market open, ensure fair trade, enforce the legislation objectively and transparently, ensure trade partners respect WTO legislation, and promote improvements to the system (European Union). The EU provides sovereignty to its Members to act as independent ones on behalf of the EU or in other words to welfare and interest of the Union as a whole (European Union). The integration of the EU after 2nd World War enabled the EU is to raise standards of living, build an internal market, launch the common currency - euro, strengthen the Union's voice in the world. To
European Union
. Preface Since the early customs union, the European Union has been keen to create a single market for its member states. In this assignment, I am going to discuss to what extent the European Union has created a single integrated economy for its member states. 2. Introduction From the early Customs Union to the Single European Market to the recent Single European Currency-the Euro, the European Union achieved a lot of successes in the process of creating a single integrated economy for its member states in the last fifty years. Nonetheless, with so many successes, the European Union still have a long way to go to create a true single economy for its member states. For example, there are still significant differences of corporate governance regimes and social/labour models between member states. And the enlargement towards Central and Eastern Europe is another incomplete big task for the European Union. In the following, I am going to discuss, with more details, to what extent the European Union has created a single integrated economy for its member states. 3. Major Achievements 3.1 Customs Union and The Early Enlargement In 1948, the Benelux--a customs union in industrial goods was formed by the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. After the Treaty of Paris and the Treaty of Rome were signed, the customs union comprised Benelux, France, Germany and Italy and was
Will Eastern Europe become the 'New Periphery' to the Prosperous Nations of the West?
Will Eastern Europe become the 'New Periphery' to the Prosperous Nations of the West? "Enlargement is one the most important opportunities for the European Union as it prepares for the 21st century. It is a unique, historic task to further the integration of the continent by peaceful means, extending a zone of stability and prosperity to new members." www.europa.com/ec/enlarge European Union Enlargement At its summit in Luxembourg in December 1997, the European Commission decided that the enlargement should encompass: the European Conference, a multilateral framework bringing together ten central European countries, Cyprus and Turkey, launched in 1998 on the 12 march; the accession process, covering ten central European countries and Cyprus, launched in the same year on the 30th march; the accession negotiations, which the European Council decided to open on the 31st march 1998 with six countries recommended by the European Commission: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia. The European Union has already had many successful enlargements such as the United Kingdom in 1973 and also Greece in 1981 and most recently Sweden in 1995. So therefore there should not be any problems with expansion again. However the expansion under consideration today is different then before. It is unique because the area would increase by 34% and also the
