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European Union expansion refers to the process of the EU expanding across Europe via accession of new member states. In other words as more and more countries join the EU this sees European Union expansion across the continent. At the same time the term European Expansion could also be generalized to refer to the extended political and cultural reach of the organization and its increased power.

Already there has been much European Union expansion and it has gone from the ‘Inner Six’ countries that founded the ‘European Coal and Steel Community’ (a precursor to the EU) to the 27 members now a part of the EU.

The Inner Six countries were the ones that started it all in 1952. They responded to the Schuman Declaration’s call that coal and steel resources should be pooled under a single authority. The Six were signed the ‘Treaty of Paris’ and represented Europes first ‘Supernational’ community. These original six were France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The intention was to make war ‘not only unthinkable, but materially impossible’.

After the events of the Suez Crisis (an offensive war by France, the UK and Israel against Egypt over the Suez Canal, but which was cut short due to pressure from the US and USSR) however the UK came to the belief that it could no longer operate independently and joined the Six to become the Seven.

European Union expansion today revolves around countries applying for membership. In theory any European country is able to join the EU and begin integration but to do this they must meet certain criteria. The ‘Maastricht Treaty’ states that any European state may apply as long as it ‘respects the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law’.

European Union expansion is an ongoing process and is currently underfoot. The countries Croatia, Iceland, Macedonia, Turkey and Montenegro are all officially ‘candidate states’ while Albania and Serbia are pending having applied for membership. Further, Bosnia and Herzegovinia have begun the preparation of their application, while Kosovo is negotiating whether to begin application. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, the Western Balkans have ‘prioritized’ membership. Interestingly the potential for European Expansion has actually increased as three Caribbean islands have been integrated into the Netherlands in 2010.

Meanwhile European Union expansion is also continuing in other senses. For instance the Eurozone which is the term for those member states that use the Euro as currency is growing more slowly. Some leaders meanwhile are also pushing for an inner more fully integrated Federal Europe within the slower EU and this could be considered European Union expansion in another sense.

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The concept of the European Union is a controversial one at times. The central idea is to achieve more financial and political stability through cooperation between European countries. This then means easier trading, migration and more but some feel at the risk of a loss of national identity for the individual countries. Here we will look in more detail at some of the European Union pros and cons by looking at the changes that they’ve made so far and how they impact the continent positively and negatively.

The Euro

 

One of the biggest changes that the European Union has made to the continent is to introduce the ‘Euro’ to many countries. This has many benefits meaning that people traveling through Europe only need carry one kind of currency through many of the countries (the countries combined are referred to as the ‘Eurozone’). At the same time it also facilitates trade between those countries and gives them a common goal rather than pitting them against each other.

At the same time though it is not without its negative points though. For instance the existence of the Euro is in some ways contributing to the economic crisis on the continent with countries like Greece that are struggling dragging down the overall value of the Euro for those countries that are not struggling (though conversely Greece would possibly be in a worse position were it not for the Euro).

 

Migration

 

Another important aspect of the European Union pros and cons is the impact that the EU had on migration, and since the EU was implemented it has resulted in the ability to move more freely between countries both when traveling and when setting up residence. This makes the whole process much easier and means that residents are now freer to choose where they live and more able to move to warmer climates or the countries that provide work.

However on the downside it also makes it very difficult for certain countries to refuse entry to large numbers of refugees and immigrants which can place a strain on the individual country’s resources. At the same time other countries may lose their skilled workers as they immigrate to countries where they can get better salaries for the same work.

 

Trading

 

Many European Union pros and cons revolve around trading and the EU has brought in many rules and regulations that aim to encourage trade between European countries. This means on the one hand of course that more money stays within Europe, but it also in some ways limits corporations within those countries. For instance a law affecting procurement from the EU states that companies have to re-evaluate all contracts rather than staying with known businesses. While this gives more European countries a fairer chance of getting work, it also costs the individual organizations more and means more ‘red tape’ for them to navigate.

 

Politics/Democracy

 

The European Union allows countries to do collectively what they could not do individually – that is to compete with countries like America and China on a global scale. This of course should in theory strengthen Europe’s position globally and politically, but it also threatens to take away some of the power of individual governments. Many describe the European Union as ‘bureaucratic’ and at times even un-democratic as many of the officials are appointed rather than elected. These same officials then make many laws that impact the individual members states without input from their local governments. This takes the power away from the people and is one of the most serious cons of the European pros and cons. However at the same time this does allow for many large-scale changes to be implemented quickly on a broad scale – recent laws on outdoor heating and on the engine sizes of cars for instance should have a very quick positive impact on the environment. The European Union of course also costs money which needs to be considered among the European Union pros and cons and of course this money comes out of taxes.

In theory the original idea that sat behind the EU was to make war impossible by bonding the countries politically and culturally (Robert Schuman declared that a supranational community would make war ‘not only unthinkable but materially impossible’). These ideas germinated following WW2, and since then a pan-European war has not occurred – and the EU can somewhat be credited with that.

 

Culture

 

            By bringing the disparate cultures of Europe closer together there are many European Union pros and cons. On the one hand it means that cultures are shared and individual countries are made more aware of the activities and beliefs of their neighbors. By the same token though it also risks ‘merging’ these cultures to an extent where they are no longer as individual and diverse as they once were. The European Union pros and cons in this respect could almost be looked at as: more cultural diversity within member countries, but less across the continent.

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The EU stands for the ‘European Union’, the union of 27 states (mostly of course in Europe) which centre around the goal of regional integration in order to create a single market conducive to easy trade and the free movement of people, services, goods and capital.

The following states are currently members of the EU:

Austria,

Belgium,

Bulgaria,

Cyprus,

The Czech Republic,

Denmnark,

Estonia,

Finland,

France,

Germany,

Greece,

Hngary,

Italy,

Latvia,

Lithuania,

Luxembourg,

Malta,

Netherlands,

Poland,

Portugal,

The Republic of Ireland,

Romania,

Slovakia,

Slovenia,

Spain,

Sweden

And the UK.

These 27 member states grew out of just six founding members – Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Several other countries are ‘candidate countries’, those being Croatia, Macedonia, Iceland, Albania, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro. In joining the EU the countries pool their sovereignty in order to get representation in the institutions. Joining requires the country to meet the ‘Copenhagen criteria’ (1993) which deign that countries must have a stable economy that respects human rights and the law, a functional market economy that can provide competition with the other countries in the EU, and finally acceptance of the laws of the EU. The European Council will assess a country’s fulfilment of the criteria and will then permit them membership or not based no this.

Since the EU came into existence several large changes have occurred. These include the abolishment of passport regulations between countries of the EU – this means that an individual residing in the EU is able to move freely between the borders of those countries. Another change has been the introduction of the Euro – a single currency which has been adopted by 16 of the 27 member states. This was with the intention of enabling ease of trade between countries, as well encouraging tourism.

The direction of the EU is decided by the European Council which convenes four times or more a year. This council is comprised of the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, and a representative from each member state which can be a head of state or head of government. This council has been referred to as the Union’s ‘supreme political authority’ and it is involved in changes to the treaty and in deciding the direction and agenda of the EU.

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The European Union, popularly known as the E.U, is the political and economic juncture of 27 nations. Alphabetically the list includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Romania and Bulgaria are the most recent European Union additions.

The pioneer to the E.U was based after the Second World War. This was a modest effort to unite European counties. The first nations to unite together were France, Italy, Luxemburg, Belgium, Germany, and Luxemburg. These countries are known as the founding members of the European Union. Gradually more and more European nations joined the European Union.

The European Union came into effect after the Treaty of Maassticht. The European Union aims at strengthening the democratic governing of the partaking nations. This shall improve their good organization and working. The European Union was intended to set up economic and financial alliance. This step was made to secure these countries and represent them as a union in front of the world. These countries have to follow some basic laws. The European Union countries should have democratic rule and human right protection. All the European Union counties are supposed to follow certain objectives on the subject of monitory issues.

The body that represents the people of European Union is called the European Parliament. The European Commission manages people’s interests like finance etc. The chief decision making body is the Council of the European Union. It has all the legislative powers.  All these bodies are based on democracy and equal rights.  The Commission elects a Commissioner of each member state to control the state affairs. There are other sub bodies like banks, courts and committees to help the smooth functioning of the European Union. The court of justice is the fundamental legislative body of the European Union. The court of Auditors monitors the European Union financial plan and expenditure.

The European Union is chiefly looking for growth and harmony between its member states. For this purpose the European Union arranges for several meetings, agendas and treaties from time to time.  The European Union has establishes a common market in Europe. The European Union imposed a common currency called the “Euro” in all its member nations. This has made its special place in world’s market. Europe emerged as a powerful region in front of the world.

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The European Union was formed in 1951, and has been expanding ever since through the process of enlargement, which is basically done with the inception of more countries as member states. Today, the European Union has 27 member states, with Romania and Bulgaria being the latest additions in 2007. The main aim behind the formation of the European Union was decentralization of governmental authority in terms of trade and external affairs.
The stakes for a membership of the European Union are really high. It is not easy to be members of the EU and there are some hard criterion that need to be fulfilled regarding the political and economic stability of the country, as laid down in the Copenhagen Treaty. Apart from fulfilling these, the country must be a stable democracy and all other 27 member states and the European Parliament should agree upon the inclusion of the concerned country into the EU.
There has been speculation that addition of any more member states would hamper the decision taking authority of the European Union and therefore, the EU treaty states that there can be no more inclusions. A lot is being done to relax the conditions laid down in this treaty and another treaty- The Treaty of Lisbon, is taking form.
The main reason why many non-member states want to be a part of the European Union is the freedom by which goods are exchanged. All countries in the EU have a common trading policy and a free market environment, allowing for unabated movement of goods, agricultural products and fisheries among others. The EU also enjoys a high administration degree in the internal affairs of Europe and the politics of Europe are more or less shaped at the hands of the EU. Monetarily, being a part of the EU means a market large enough to sustain without having to trade with other outer world countries, and still being able to get the benefits of a free-market policy and this is a main attraction for countries who are trying to join the EU. Therefore, the stakes are always high when it comes to joining the EU.
Some of the countries whose membership is being considered, or who have filed for membership are Croatia (which has better statistical indicators than Bulgaria or Romania, and is therefore, expected to be a part of the EU by 2010), The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (which is facing problems because of a name conflict with Greece, which is a member state and will veto against the accession of Macedonia until the name issue is resolved) and the western Balkan countries including the countries of Bosnia, Serbia, Slovenia and Albania. The Balkan states have been recognized as possible member states by the EU parliament and might be included any time in the future because of stability in economy and good trade relations of these states with the rest of the European Union.

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