Transcript Besir Besler The European Union Block Maxime Vignon • Building the European Union – Treaties • Inside the Union – Structure – Cultures – Enlargement • The EU Block – Figures –

Besir Besler
The
European Union
Block
Maxime Vignon
• Building the European Union
– Treaties
• Inside the Union
– Structure
– Cultures
– Enlargement
• The EU Block
– Figures
– Conflicts
– SWOT analysis
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I. Origins and Evolution
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EU Member Countries
Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany Greece,
Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, UK
Candidate countries
Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey
Others
Iceland, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine
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The Treaty of Paris was seen as foundational in bringing together Europe in peace after the Second
World War and having established European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) by (West) Germany,
France, Italy and the Benelux (Belgium-Netherlands- Luxembourg) countries
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The first full customs union was originally known as the European Economic Community (EEC)
established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957.
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By Merger Treaty all three European Communities (ECSC, EC, and Eurotom) were gathered
together
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The Maastricht Treaty led to the creation of the European Union and was the result of separate
negotiations on monetary union and on political union. The treaty also created the Euro, and
introduced the three-pillar structure.
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The Amsterdam Treaty meant a greater emphasis on citizenship and the rights of individuals, more
democracy in the shape of increased power for the European Parliament.
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The primary purpose of the Treaty of Nice was to reform the institutional structure to withstand the
Enlargement of the European Union
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European Constitution, signed in 2004 but has not yet come to pass, intended to create a
constitution for the European Union
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II. Inside the European Union
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The Three Pillars of the EU
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The ECB
• Supranational instit.
• The Euro (€)
Decision-making process
+ Lack of feedback
+ Inappropriate objectives
= Cost of stability
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Cultures and Enlargement
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•
•
•
•
•
Major influences
The Constitution flop
Debate on nuclear
Enlargement criteria
Turkey
Montenegro
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III. The European Block
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- The Union ……..a common single market consisting of a customs union and a
single currency managed by the European Central Bank
- In 1985, the Schengen Agreement was signed to abolish passport control,
customs checks, and many of the EU's internal borders, creating a single space of
mobility for EU citizens to live, travel, work and invest
- The European Union's activities cover all areas of public policy, from health and
economic policy to foreign affairs and defence. However, the extent of its powers
differs greatly between areas
- Depending on the area in question, the EU may therefore resemble
- a federation (e.g. on monetary affairs, agricultural, trade and environmental policy, economic
and social policy),
- a confederation (e.g. on home affairs)
- an international organisation (e.g. in foreign affairs).
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Growth:
- Even though the EU economy has a low growth rate it is expected to grow
further over the next decade as more countries join the union - especially
considering that the new member states are usually poorer than the EU average.
It's economic growth has been below that of the United States most years since
1990.
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Currency:
The Euro was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency in
1999 and launched as physical coins and banknotes in 2002
US to Euro - Last 5 years
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The effects of Euro
•
lowered exchange rate risks
•
the removal of bank transaction charges
•
financial markets are expected to be far more liquid and flexible
•
Improved macroeconomic stability
•
differences in prices - in particular in price levels - should decrease
•
about the possible dangers of adopting a single currency for a large and
diverse area
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Unemployment:
- Unemployment provides one of the most important challenges for economic policymakers in
Europe over the next ten years.
- The unemployment rate in the European Union in January 2006 was 8.5%, this compares this
compares with 4.1% in Japan and 5.1% in the United States.
Unemployment Rate (%)
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Euro Zone ______ vs.
US.______
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Trade:
Regional
Bloc
EU
NAFTA
SAARC
ASEAN
GDP (PPP) ($US)
Area (km²)
3,977,487
21,588,638
5,136,740
4,400,000
Population
460,124,266
430,495,039
1,467,255,669
553,900,000
in millions
per capita
11,723,816
12,889,900
4,074,031
2,172,000
25,480
29,942
2,777
4,044
Member
states 1
25
3
8
10
GDP (PPP) ($US)
Countries
China2
(PRC)
India
Russia
USA
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Area (km²)
Population
in millions
per capita
Political
divisions
9,596,960
3,287,590
17,075,200
9,631,418
1,306,847,624
1,102,600,000
143,782,338
296,900,571
8,182,000
3,433,000
1,282,000
11,190,000
6,300
3,100
8,900
39,100
33
35
89
50
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Activities in Blocs
Regional
bloc
Free Trade
Area
Economic and monetary
union
Currency
Customs
Union Single Market Union
Free Travel
Visa- Borderfree
less
Political
pact
Defense
pact
in force
in force
(NATO
and
CFSP/ESD
P)
in force
EU
MERCOSUR
NAFTA
ASEAN
SAARC
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in force
in force
in force
in force
in force
?
in force
in force
(Schengen
and CTA )
in force
in force
in force
proposed
proposed
for 2020
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in force
Impact of Blocks
•
•
•
•
•
Trade increases
Natural Gas
Steel
Farm subsidies
EU’s SWOT
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Questions and Comments ?
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