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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The EU Research Paper

The EU Research Paper

In 1957 a few European heads of state and government met in Rome to discuss a small common market. They have been brought together by their predecessors failures, especially the two world wars. Their goals were not to dissolve the nation-states they represent, but to save them from themselves and from each other, while at the same time strengthening their political, economic and cultural ties (Serfaty 1). The European Union as its name states is the effort to unify Europe. Not just politically or economically, but socially and culturally as well. Political and economic unification is now fully underway with signs of positive integration. The problem, however, lies with social and cultural integration. This is not as easy to come by because it involves the emotions and beliefs of the now 350 million individuals who are apart of the EU. With plans for future enlargement the European Union must take into account many factors. The interrelated variables that are most likely to shape the EU in the future include the economic market and the speed of its growth, the quality of public leadership and public support as well as the effectiveness of Europe's institutions in addressing their member's common agendas for stability within Europe (Serfaty 2).
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The European Union saw its birth with the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community which Robert Schuman referred to as a "process of political as well as economic unification "(Pinder 3). One of the EU's purposes was to bring together the countries of Europe for economic and political advancement. The six founding states, France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Italy came together in hopes of preventing further warfare as well as to unify and strengthen themselves against the political and economic growth of the United States (Peterson and Shackleton 2). The process to unify Europe has been long and tiresome, but not without much progress. The EU started out as a few countries coming together and planning for a future as one, and has evolved into a collection of member states with a common Parliament, Commission and Council as well as central bank, single currency and common flag.

Economic growth and success is important to the EU and its continued enlargement.

Economic growth in terms of a single market is essential in the continued growth of the European Union. The removal of trade barriers allowed for a single market to emerge in 1987 which focused on the free movement of people, goods, services and capital across Europe (Sutcliffe 03/13/03). By introducing the Single European Act, the EU was faced with urdles such as standards, qualifications and taxes, etc., and there are no signs of these hurdles disappearing (Sutcliffe 03/13/03).

Today, the economic cycle is the continued focus of Europe's future. The current 15 member states share a common currency as well as a central bank. This means that the member states are no longer attempting to unify but have already succeeded in economic unification. The emergence of the EURO in 1999 "was an unprecedented act of collective will". "Inflation was conquered, budget deficits reduced, and long-term interest rate differentials narrowed" (Serfaty In order for the euro to withstand political difficulty, national currencies must be formally withdrawn and extended to all EU states (Serfaty 3). Presently there are only 13 of the 15 states that have adopted the euro and in order for this economic cycle to continue common economic policies must be enforced.

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