What is the European Union?

No

: What is the European Union

Contents

Introduction 2

The Evolution of the European Union 2

The Foundation and Structure of the European Union 3

The European Union in a Global Context 4

Democratic Deficit in the European Union 5

Conclusion 6

Bibliography 7

Introduction

The European Union (EU ) is a unique treaty or organization composed of twenty-seven member states , primarily located in Europe (Russett Starr , 2004

.408 . It comprises a unique and singularly successful example in integration theory and has become a strong political

player in international politics . This will offer a brief outline of the historic background and current structure of the EU and will seek to understand some of the theories and debates regarding its role in the global context . Finally , the contentious issue of democratic deficit will be argued , using the literature of the EU itself , the dialogue of the various governments involved and outside research and critiques

The Evolution of the European Union

In 1951 , prior to the EU formation , the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC ) was originally formed with the Treaty of Paris and included six members : France , West Germany , Belgium , Luxemburg Netherlands , and Italy (Russett Starr , 2004

.409-410 . Six years later , the Treaty of Rome marked the creation of Euratom and the European Economic Community (EEC . It was almost two decades later that a free-trade area , customs union , common market , free movement of people and sharing of services were entrenched by the Single European Act in 1986 (McCormick , 1999

.58-74 ) At this stage , only nine states were involved (Britain , Denmark and Ireland had joined the community in 1973

Since the inception of the Single European Act , the EU has grown and formalized , incorporating 27 member states over time and legally codifying its nature and functions through first the Treaty of the European Union (Maastricht Treaty ) in 1992 and later the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997 . The EU remains an ever-changing phenomenon as even today , new member applications are being reviewed according to the Copenhagen Criteria and new policy is constantly under construction (Weidenfeld , 1997

. 138-142

The Foundation and Structure of the European Union

The term European Union refers to the 27 European states currently integrated into a pluralistic community for the achievement of common economic , political , social and security goals . Member states , by mutual agreement , pool their sovereignty in specified areas of shared regional co-operation . Institutionally and functionally , the EU reflects a complicated mix of supranationalism and intergovernmentalism

Policy decisions are made by way of a complex interaction between the main institutions of the EU : The European Council (heads of government and the EU president , the Council of Ministers (ministers of member states , the elected European Parliament , the European Commission and the EU Court of Justice . The purpose of these EU institutions is to create and implement new policies in to maintain its supranational authorities and promote sustainable development not only domestically but also via its ability to contribute to global governance (Cameron 2004...