Why belong to the EU
What is the EU? The EU (European Union) is the world's largest economic body; its shared values are liberty, democracy, respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. The EU is the biggest benefactor as several countries work together to benefit themselves. In my opinion the EU means independent, rich, multicultural, importers and exporters. The EU has 27 member states this is combined with 490 million of the population in the whole of the EU. This means that this 7% of the worlds population, which links with 30% of the global GDP. The EU also helps the poorer countries in Africa and Asia this is 55% of combined worldwide Official Development Assistance. Looking inside the EU there are many institutions the main ones are the European council which has 25 head of state or government, European Parliament which has 25 members and European commission which has 25 commissions. Each of the European Union institutions has a responsibility and each have a right to speak out words from their own country. This is the European Union's most powerful decision-making body. It is made up of the foreign ministers of member states. Other ministers from member states may have an input in topics relevant to their expertise. The European Parliament, based in Strasburg, is an elected body. Members of it are known as Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and they are
Differing Notions of Citizenship
In Chapter 5 of Pierson, the notion of 'citizenship as membership' suggests that citizens are granted a prestigious position as members of the state upon birth. There is a strong link with territory and citizenship and an importance placed on the concept of nationality (Pierson 128). To be lucky enough to receive this 'membership' in the 'country club' of the state gives one special status and privileges while it precludes others from the same luxuries. This rather simple analogy is effective in outlining the benefits of being born a member of a prosperous state. It also emphasizes the inclusive/exclusive aspects of citizenship as membership. As Pierson notes, "...it is overwhelmingly at [the nation-state] level that the privileging of citizenship and the practice of social closure against outsiders has been observed" (Pierson 130). 'Citizenship as status' is parallel with 'citizenship as membership' since it too reinforces the notion of nationalism. However, status diverges from membership since it makes a claim to a less normative quality - the 'imagined community.' The imagined community is what Pierson denotes as what it means to be of a certain nationality (Pierson 132). Where membership associates people (by territory) to a national identity, status seeks to make the relationship a little deeper, associating people to their culture and traditions and to what
International Institutions - Council of the EU.
International Institutions Council of the EU Introduction * The Security Council is one of the main bodies of the UN * It was set up in 1945 * The council has 15 members * Five members being Permanent * Permanent members are from the USA, China, France, Russia and the UK. What is the EU? The EU is a family of nations, which agreed to cooperate for their own benefit and a long-term benefit for the rest of the world. Many nations that come together to help themselves and the rest of the world. Role Of the EU? * Promote European Unity (To help and support countries within the EU) * Improve Living and Working Conditions for Citizens (Rights and better living conditions) * Foster Economic Development (Help poorer countries to develop) * Help Developing Countries (Provide funds and Support) * Preserve Peace and Freedom What is the UN? * There are 50 Representatives from 50 different countries * They set out the rights and obligations of member states * They maintain international peace and security * Help solve international economic, social cultural and humanitarian problems. The Role of the UN The powers and functions of the UN are: "To maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principals and the purposes of the United Nations". "To investigate any dispute or situation which could lead to international friction". " To formulate
In this essay i will be discussing why many British colonies demanded independence from Britain in the years immediately after the Second World War.
History GCSE coursework Independence for India Question 1 In this essay i will be discussing why many British colonies demanded independence from Britain in the years immediately after the Second World War. The two colonies involved were Kenya and India. In 1900 the largest empire was British and they had ruled over India for 200 years. Also, a lot of African countries were part of the empire. One of the countries Britain ruled in Africa was Kenya, where white farmers owned much of the land. Before world war two, Indians were quite happy living under Britain and they enthusiastically supported the British Empire. However, when the war began, Britain needed more money and so they raised taxes in India to get the money they needed. India, in total gave Britain over £120 million over the two years. As the war went on, foods and materials were sent to Britain creating shortages. It was because of this that it became more expensive to get food and cloth, so as a result the standard of living for the Indians fell. This made Indian people unhappy living under British and soon riots and fighting broke out, as India demanded their independence. Another reason that Kenya and India wanted their independence is because they didn't have social justice. The Kenyans were unhappy under British rule because their land had been taken away and were paid very low wages by the white
Describe the functions of the Council of Ministers, European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice in making and interpreting European Union law.
Law Exam Question June 2003 3 (a) Describe the functions of the Council of Ministers, European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice in making and interpreting European Union law (15 marks) There are 4 main institutions established by the Treaty of Rome, which make and interpret law in the European Union. The first of these is the Council of Ministers. For example, the Minister for Agriculture will attend meetings when the issue to be discussed involves agriculture. This means that the exact membership of the Council varies depending on the topic. Twice a year there are summit meeting where the heads of government meet to discuss broad matters of European policy. The Member States take it in turn to provide the President of the Council for a six month period. The President is assisted with the day-to-day work of the Council by a committee of permanent representatives known as Coreper. The council is the principal decision making body of the Union. The meetings are democratic and each country has a number of votes roughly in proportion to the size of its population. For most issues a qualified majority is required where at least 67 of the 87 votes must be in favour. Individual Member States also have a right to veto in certain situations where they consider the proposal being discussed to be of a 'very important interest' of their country.
Was Imperialism a good or bad thing for the Third World?
Chris Ritter Mr. McGonigal AP European History Was Imperialism a good or bad thing for the Third World? The term "imperialism" carries with it many (perhaps rightfully attributed) negative connotations: slavery, subjugation, genocide, et cetera. Webster's Unabridged Dictionary defines it as: "The policy... of seeking... the extension of the control, dominion, or empire of a nation, as by the acquirement of new, especially distant, territory or dependencies." Now one knows what it literally is and what it may entail, and thus, further inquiry into the subject of its "good"-ness or "bad"-ness may entail, from the perspective of the conquered. With what little example one might find in the 21st century of current applied imperialism, one must look to the past, and to what has become of former colonies to understand whether the impact of European imperialism was for the whole part positive or negative. There are nations that have prospered after imperial control. One must remember that the United States of America, the last surviving world superpower, was once a series of British colonies, worked diligently to profit not itself but a nation across the length of an entire ocean. In one's consideration of this topic, one must also consider that Japan was once forced open to Western civilization, though not actually colonized, and is now one of the richest and most
Should Britain leave the European Union?
Should Britain leave the European Union? In 1973 Britain joined the EU meaning that they are protected from imports from abroad. For example if a firm in America wanted to import a product into the UK then they would have to pay a sum of money or a tariff. In the EU there is a rule that means that all members can trade freely with one another inside Europe without having to pay tax or any money for the import or export of their goods. But before 1973 Britain's industries were very poor and there was no reason why the government should do anything about it. Competition was low and this is why they did not. Britain originally joined the EU for economic reasons mainly to gain the advantage of having a free trade area. As soon as Britain did join they faced a big threat. The quality and output of goods in Britain was poor even though they provided for the rest of Europe, this meant that the firms making could fall behind and run out of business if they did not improve. Not only could Britain's products now improve they were now under protection from abroad. One other advantage that the EU offered for Britain was the free movement of workers in Europe. If someone from France wanted to work in Britain they could but if Britain had not been in the EU then they would not have been able to. The real advantage of moving workers freely from one country to another is that these
Is the European Union a State?
Is the European Union a
Analyse the changes to European Union's institutions introduced by the Treaty of Nice
Law of the European Union Analyse the changes to European Union's institutions introduced by the Treaty of Nice Nice was far from being a triumph-particularly for the French Presidency. Nor, however, was it a disaster. Four observations must suffice: . The Treaty of Nice was bound to be modest. The core business consisted of the issues that the European Council could not agree on at Amsterdam in June 1997. Other questions were added to the agenda as the IGC progressed. None of them could however be compared with the stuff from which the Single European Act and the treaties of Maastricht and Amsterdam were made. As the meeting at Nice confirmed, heads of government and state can invest even relatively trivial issues with dramatic potential. For all the sound and fury that surrounded their endeavours, however, the questions that they addressed remain relatively unimportant. 2. The bad news from Nice was largely the result of poor chairmanship. The mood amongst many if not most of those who had been involved in the IGC prior to Nice was moderately optimistic as the Council began. The opening day at Nice itself confirmed the impression that the wind was set fair. The European Conference with the 13 candidate countries plus Switzerland left everybody including the Turks feeling satisfied. The first session of the Council proper was quietly productive, particularly regarding
Is it possible to talk of civil society beyond the nation-state? Although a clich, "...the term civil society has become an important buzzword amongst global deliberation, t
Written by Gino Seguna, RHUL Is it possible to talk of civil society beyond the nation-state? Although a cliché, "...the term civil society has become an important buzzword amongst global deliberation, touted by governments and political scientists as the key to political, economic and societal success."1 However the origins of the concept of civil society lie in key phases of modernity in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Then writers in classical philosophy and political economy began to differentiate analytically between the spheres of state and society. In feudal society, the same social relations between superiors and inferiors had embraced both production and family life, on the one hand, and political and military authority, on the other. With the dissolution of feudal relations, these two areas of social life became more clearly separate in modern conditions as 'society' and 'state'. The term civil society was first used to distinguish a sphere in which social relations were based on the free association of individuals, rather than a fixed hierarchy of legal institutions. For classical writers like the philosopher Georg Hegel and Karl Marx, civil society was an inclusive concept of 'society minus the state', and very definitely included what we would now call 'the economy'.2 Civil society was therefore defined, indeed, by the emergence of a
