The European Union (EU)

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The European Union (EU)
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What is it?

• The European Union (EU) is a family of democratic
  European countries, committed to working together
  for peace and prosperity.
• It is not a State intended to replace existing
  states, but it does represent a greater
  compromise of sovereignty than any other
  international organization.
• The EU is unique its Member States have set up
  common institutions to which they delegate some
  of their sovereignty so that decisions on
  specific matters of joint interest can be made
  democratically at European level.
• This pooling of sovereignty is also called
  "European integration" 

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Backgroundpost WWII governments.
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West Germany

• By the 1950s, West Germany had evolved into a
  stable two-party democracy Christian Democratic
  Union (CDU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD).
• Konrad Adenauer (CDU) (Chancellor 1949-1967)
  led W. Germany towards closer ties with the US
  and the other W. European nations.

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West Germany, continued

• Following the death of Adenauer, Willy Brandt
  (SPD) took over and began a process called
  Ostpolitik, which meant he tried to open
  diplomatic contacts and with Eastern Europe.
• Brandt formally recognized E. Germany and
  accepted the post-war settlements in the east,
  thus easing tensions with the USSR, Poland and
  Czechoslovakia.

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Post-war Italy

• Following WWII, Italy adopted a new constitution
  which brought the Italian monarchy to an end and
  created a democratic republic (which still is
  there today).
• Two major parties dominated the new government
  the communists (because they had been
  anti-fascist during the war) and the Christian
  Democratic Party.
• Italy remained in the W. European bloc.

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Post-war France

• The 4th French Republic was formed after WWII,
  but it was plagued by the frequent changes in
  government ministries and by factionalism.
• France had many small parties and so they all had
  to rely on multi-party coalitions to implement
  their policies.
• Women in France voted in parliamentary elections
  for the first time in 1946.

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Fifth French Republic

• Using the Algerian crisis as a pretext, DeGaulle
  created the 5th French Republic in 1958, giving
  the French President much more power.
• DeGaulle used his power to build an independent
  France and to try to make France somewhat
  independent of America.

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Economic Recovery in Western Europe

• Marshall Plan aid was used to provide the
  financial underpinnings for the post-war economic
  recovery and expansion of W. Europe.
• This growth lasted until the economic downturn of
  the early 1970s.

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Economic Recovery

• For approximately a decade after the war,
  workers wages failed to keep up with economic
  growth.
• To offset the potential social problems this
  could have caused, most W. European governments
  provided social welfare protection programs for
  their citizens.

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Post-war Great Britain

• The British Labor Party tried to direct national
  policy toward solving many problems, such as
  inadequate housing for workers, poor safety
  standards and wages in industries, and lack of
  security in employment.
• The Labor Party concentrated on many issues that
  had been big problems since the industrial
  revolution.

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Britain, continued

• To avoid social unrest, the government enacted a
  variety of reforms.
• The British government nationalized the Bank of
  England, the railways, the airlines, and the coal
  steel industries.
• The government also established old-age pensions,
  unemployment insurance, allowances for
  child-rearing, and the National Health Service.

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Reforms in Europe

• France and West Germany also faced many of the
  same social and economic problems that were found
  in Britain.
• The French communist party was somewhat powerful
  after WWII and forced many socialist reforms.
• West Germany also adopted many similar reforms to
  bring recovery and stability after the war.

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The Cost of Reform

• The economic cost of these social economic
  reforms was long debated.
• Because the 1990s process of globalization often
  had a negative effect for the nations of W.
  Europe, (with their high wages and very
  comprehensive social welfare programs), they
  often found it much harder to compete in the
  global marketplace.
• Under Margaret Thatcher, there was a significant
  rollback of the Br. welfare state.

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Implementation of Economic Reforms

• 1951 Formation of the European Coal Steel
  Community.
• Goal to coordinate the production of coal
  steel and to prevent some of the economic
  competition that had served as a cause for
  previous 20th century wars.

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Economic Reforms, cont.

• 1958 Formation of the European Common Market
  (now the European Economic Community--EC)
• The EC was established to eliminate custom duties
  among the participating nations and to establish
  a common tariff on imports from the rest of the
  world.

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European Union

• 1991 Members of the European Union (European
  Parliament) signed the Maastrict treaty in 1991
  in Maastrict, Netherlands.
• Goal to establish a common European currency
  and a central banking structure by 1999.
• The Euro is currently in use in member nations.

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Map 301 THE GROWTH OF THE EUROPEAN UNION This
map traces the growth of membership in the
European Union from its founding in 1957 through
the introduction of its newest members in 2004.
Note that Turkey though having applied for
membership has not yet been admitted.
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History of the EU

• The historical roots of the European Union lie in
  the Second World War.
• Idea of European integration conceived to prevent
  such killing and destruction from ever happening
  again
• First proposed by the French Foreign Minister
  Robert Schuman in a speech on May 9, 1950. This
  date, the "birthday" of what is now the EU, is
  celebrated annually as Europe Day

• Phases of growth
• Initially, the European Economic Community (EEC)
  consisted of just six countries Belgium,
  Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the
  Netherlands (1958)
• European Communities (EC) (1967)
• Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom joined in
  1973
• Greece in 1981
• Spain and Portugal in 1986
• European Union (EU) (after 1992) (Maastricht
  Treaty)
• Austria, Finland and Sweden in 1995
• Largest enlargement took place with 10 new
  countries joining May 9, 2004

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Creation of the EU
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GROWTH OF THE EU
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GROWTH OF THE EU
Admission of Romania and Bulgaria 2007
Croatia and Macedonia are new candidates
Major debates about Turkey
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D O M A I N
?
CORE
ANTICIPATED EXPANSION
?
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CONFIRMATION OF CORE-DOMAIN MODEL
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How does it work?

• There are five EU institutions, each playing a
  specific role
• European Parliament (one of two legislative
  bodies in the EU elected by the peoples of the
  Member States) 
• Council of the European Union (EUs highest
  Legislative Body has legislative initiative is
  made up of representatives appointed by member
  states according to a population-based
  allotment) 
• European Commission (EUs executive body one
  commissioner per country appointed by each
  government) 
• Court of Justice (ensures compliance with the EU
  laws) 
• Court of Auditors (manages the EU budget)

• These are flanked by five other important bodies
  
• European Economic and Social Committee (expresses
  the opinions of organized civil society on
  economic and social issues)  
• Committee of the Regions (expresses the opinions
  of regional and local authorities)  
• European Central Bank (responsible for monetary
  policy and managing the euro)  
• European Ombudsman (deals with citizens'
  complaints about maladministration by any EU
  institution or body) 
• European Investment Bank (helps achieve EU
  objectives by financing investment projects) 

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The Euro

• The Treaty of Rome (1957)
• Declared a common market as a European objective
• Aim increase economic prosperity and contribute
  to "an ever closer union among the peoples of
  Europe"
• The Single European Act (1986) and the Treaty on
  European Union (1992) built on this
• introduced Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)
• laid the foundations for a single currency
• name Euro was selected in 1995
• in January 1999, the exchange rates of the
  participating currencies were irrevocably set and
  Euro area Member States began implementing a
  common monetary policy
• in January 2002, 12 States in the EU introduced
  the new euro banknotes and coins

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The Eurozone

• Coins and banknotes 1st used Jan 1, 2002
• Cyprus sheduled to join in 2008
• Slovakia scheduled to join in 2009
• Estonia scheduled to join in 2010
• Sweden is technically obliged to join but the EU
  has made public that they will not enforce this
  with regard to Sweden
• Britain and Denmark have a derogation releasing
  them from having to join

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Why have bills different sizes colors?
What values are reflected in these artifacts
that are not found in American money?
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What about Switzerland?

• Swiss are traditionally suspicious of other
  countries
• Swiss tradition of neutrality (WWI WWII)
• self-imposed
• permanent
• armed
• In some ways Switzerland is like the US
• Nationalistic government not interested in ceding
  sovereignty
• Economic policies are currently designed to
  protect local industries (esp. agriculture) from
  foreign competition
• Initial cost of joining EU (progressive financial
  redistribution policy would cost the Swiss)
• Switzerland has embarked on a policy of building
  bilateral agreements with the EU rather than
  joining outright

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Costs of staying out

• Export problems
• Access to EU markets is not guaranteed
• Inflation problems
• Europeans nervous about the Euro due to expansion
  of the EU invest in Swiss Francs, inflating the
  value of the currency and inhibiting Swiss
  exports
• Capital flight
• High construction costs, expensive labor, and
  skill shortages already make investment in
  Switzerland unattractive
• Several multinational corporations, such as
  Roche, Sulzer and Alusuisse, have frozen planned
  investment projects in Switzerland
• Large Swiss companies, including Nestle, are
  shifting activities out of Switzerland in fear of
  discrimination by other nations
• Already four out of five employees of the top 15
  Swiss companies work in other countries
• Scientific information lag
• EU scientific exchange programs accept Swiss
  citizens only if they fail to fill such exchanges
  with persons from EU countries
• Accumulated bilateral agreements and cooperation
  may create de-facto incorporation in the EU for
  Switzerland

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The EU in comparative perspective
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US dominates entertainment industry in Europe
Cultural hegemony?
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SUMMARY

• The European Union is the strongest supranational
  organization in the world
• shared currency financial management
• legislative, judicial, and executive bodies
• regulatory and planning bodies
• The EU is growing geographically, and its growth
  suggests a core-domain model
• core and domain are borne out by distribution of
  income
• The EU does not appeal to all Europeans (at least
  not yet)
• small states in particular seem skeptical
• Roughly comparable to the US in some ways
• population slightly larger than that of the US
• somewhat more densely settled than the US
• economy is at least as strong as the American
  economy
• other social statistics (e.g. literacy, infant
  mortality homicide) are as good or better than
  the US