Chapter 8 The European Union

the development of the European Union

• 1952- the European Coal and Steel Community established; founding members were France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg; a supranational organisation; had decision-making authority independent of its member states
• 1958- the European Economic Community formed; six founding members formed the EEC under 1957 treaty of rome
• 1962- Common Agricultural Policy began
• 1968- customs union; internal tariff barriers were removed, common external tariff created
• 1973- enlargement occured; UK, Ireland and Denmark joined the EEC
• 1981- Greece joined
• 1985- Single European Act agreed; came into force in 1987; created the single European market; prompted a greater Community role in social and regional policy; qualified majority voting on single market legislation
• 1986- Spain and Portugal joined
• 1991- Maastricht Treaty agreed; came into force in 1993; created the EU; set a timetable for economic and monetary union; increased intergovernmental cooperation in foreign and security policy and in justice and home affairs
• 1997- Amsterdam Treaty agreed; came into force in 1999; established an area of freedom, security and justice
• 1999- economic and monetary union established; 11 states abolished their national currencies and adopted the euro
• 2004- enlargement occured; 10 states joined; Cyprus, the Czech republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia
• 2007- Bulgaria and Romania joined
• 2007- Lisbon Treaty agreed; followed the rejected of the EU Constitutional Treaty in referendums in France and the Netherlands; came into force in 2009; further reformed EU institutions
• 2009- sovereign debt crisis began; Greece, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus were bailed out by the EU and International Monetary Fund; required to introduce austerity measures
• 2013- Croatia joined
• 2015- migrant crisis began; large numbers of people began crossing the mediterranean or travelling through southern Europe to reach countries of the EU; thousands have died making the journey; new EU measures to tackle migrant smuggling and relocate the asylum seekers have had a limited impact
• 2016- UK voted for brexit in a referendum

the aims of the European Union

the EU's values

• EU is founded on the values of human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights
• form part of the accession criteria for prospective new members
• EU membership has helped to embed liberal democracy in states that have recently been under authoritarian or communist rule
• eurosceptics claim the EU has ignored popular concerns about integration
• believe that democracy is rooted in the nation state

a single European market

• an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, services, persons and capital is ensured

free movement of goods

• member states can't impose duties or taxes on goods from another EU state or directly discriminate against them
• system of mutual recognition
• goods that meet minimum standards in one EU state can be freely traded in others
• physical and technical barriers have been removed

free movement of services

• professionals, businesses and self employed people can establish or offer their services across the EU
• qualifications from one EU state are recognised in others

free…