The European Union currently has 27 states (the names of which you can look up on your own time). Some compare the EU to the United States of America. However, this isn’t really an appropriate comparison since the EU is a confederacy, meaning that the states retain autonomous power. I personally don’t see how the comparison was ever made in the first place, but I guess it makes sense when you consider America’s ethnocentric mentality.
There are several factions within the European Union.
- European Commission (Brussels): This is considered the “government” of the EU. Each state has one commissioner who is appointed by the state. These commissioners are also ministers of specific topics of discussion. When a commissioner is elected, he or she must work for the benefit of all member states—that is, they cannot make policies that favor their member state. The president of the European Commission is chosen by the head of states of all member states. The vice president position also serves as the head of international affairs to remedy the lack of voice in this field. The current president is Jose Barroso (Portugal), and the current vice president is Catherine Ashton (Britain).
- European Parliament (Strasburg, Brussels): The public directly elects the members of European Parliament. You can probably see that there is more than one building for the Parliament. Both places are used, and the members of parliament have to travel a lot. The reason for the use of two buildings will be explained later.
- Council of European Union (Brussels): All ministers of the states meet here when a specific change in European policy needs to be discussed.
- European Council: Yes, this is different from the previous point. This is a rotating meeting of all head of states of all member states. Unlike the other factions, the European Council does not have a fixed meeting place: every six months, the presidency and meeting place of the council changes countries. There is still a fixed president, the current one being Herman van Rompuy (Belgium).
- European Court of Justice (Luxembourg): The Court of Justice regulates complaints regarding laws implemented by the European Union. They also resolve conflicts between member states. Every member state has one judge who, upon admission into the court, must acknowledge that all decisions made by the court are final.
- European Central Bank (Frankfurt): The Central Bank is responsible for all things regarding monetary policy within the Eurozone, or the countries in which the euro has been taken up as the national currency. The Eurozone currently consists of 17 European Union members. The Central Bank is politically independent, so they do not need to negotiate policy with the EU members. The current president is Jean-Claude Trichet (France).
- Committee of the Regions (Brussels): Some states weren’t finding themselves represented in existing groups. For example, there are regions with some degree of autonomy that isn’t fully recognized (eg. Catalonia in Spain, Scotland in Great Britain, and Flanders in Belgium). Thus the Committee of the Regions was created. While they do not have much real power, they act as an advisory board to the European Union (and as a pressure group as well).
- European Economic and Social Relations (Brussels): This is another example of an advisory group. This is to give the members of trade unions a voice in the European Union.
This changed with the aftermath of World War I. There was so much destruction within Europe that people wanted Europe to be united in order to prevent further violence. The result of this was the Pan-Europe Movement. As you can see, the current European Union flag takes some inspiration from this flag--only the cross has been removed.
Sadly, the Pan-Europe Movement would end in 1930 with the rise of the Nazi party in Germany. The beliefs of the Nazi party clashed heavily with those of the Pan-Europe Movement. Incidentally, the Nazis did have an interest in European unity, but they had a much different image of unity: a united European state under rule by Germany, with the other states as satellites. The Nazi policy was obviously opposed by the European resistance, acting to liberate themselves from this potential fate. Jean Monnet, a member of the French resistance, was one of the first to forward the idea of a united Europe with equality for all states.
World War II eventually comes to an end, leaving Europe destroyed beyond belief and an end to the dominance of European power. Winston Churchill gave a speech afterward, arguing that the ideas of Monnet should be acted upon because two new countries were coming to power: the United States and Soviet Russia. If this continued, these two powers could easily dominate all of global policy. If Europe was unable to unify themselves, they would all fall.
Like most things, this is easier said than done. For starters, there were many differences among the nations in terms of language, culture, traditions, and so on. There was also a long history of rivalries, as well as a recent grudge against Germany. Would it really be legitimate to forget all of Germany's crimes regarding the Nazi party and the Holocaust? Many thought that this was unfair, and that Germany should be punished by being denied a voice in the new unity. Germany was later allowed a voice due to the overall weak power of the member states after the war. There was an increasing fear that once the US troops went back home, Soviet Russia would invade and take over all of Europe, with Europe being unable to resist. An agreement was made between the United States and western Europe, and a headquarters was placed in Brussels. You probably know this pact as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO.
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| Today is flag day, apparently. |
France was especially worried about becoming a "cultural colony" of the United States. France was one of the most powerful countries in the world for a very long time: France had many colonies, and French was considered the language of culture. With many of these colonies lost due to the war and decolonization, the fear of losing this power was very strong. The only way to avoid this Americanization was to create a strong sense of European unity. As a result, French politicians would reach out to Germany for the first time. German politicians were very eager to cooperate, seeing European integration as an opportunity to clean up their international image. Thus, the European Union began.
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| You know what this blog needs? MOAR FLAGS. |
This European unity was a lot easier to initiate due to Germany's economic boom after WWII and a willingness to invest. The model for this European unity would come from a 1946 agreement between Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. In order to strengthen their voice, these three small countries would come together to form the Benelux (in case you can't figure it out: be = Belgium, ne = Netherlands, lux = Luxembourg). The Benelux was a free trade organization in which the countries no longer had border checks or taxes on trade. France and Germany looked at the success of the Benelux and decided to use it as a model for what would become the EU.
There was one issue, though: the bordering territories between France and Germany had always been a source of past conflicts, especially recently due to the discovery of coal mines in these territories. In 1950, two French politicians would come up with a solution so amazingly simple that I swear to God, it could appear in the new My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic TV show as one of Twilight Sparkle's messages to Princess Celestia. Look, don't ask me why I follow that show, okay? Just go with it. Anyway, one of these politicians was Monnet. The other politician was Schuman, a bilingual man from one of these border regions. The suggestion was this: France and Germany would set up a policy regarding the coal and would simply share it. Yes, that's right. Share it...you know, like they probably could have done before? "But Anna, global politics is a lot more complicated than that!" What do I care? This is why I don't pay attention to these things: the solutions are sometimes so obvious that they literally make me facedesk (and yes, that's exactly what it sounds like). Anyway, the European Coal and Steel Community was created as a joint policy regarding this specific product, with Strasburg becoming the meeting place. The Benelux and Italy would later join this community, and the commission seat would be located in Brussels (sort of as a thank you for the Benelux model).
The members of this community became increasingly more ambitious with their goals and agreements, and the Treaty of Rome was created among these countries in 1957. This would give rise to the European Economic Community, which included agreements on other products and policies. They agreed that in the long term, political as well as economic unity was desired, and other nations should be allowed to join if they wish. This was realized in 1973 when the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark joined. The addition of more people meant the system had to be more democratic. Parliament was created, and the first elections took place in 1979.
One of the first issues to be voted on was moving parliament. After all, it didn't make a whole lot of sense for the important factions to be scattered around Europe. It was suggested that parliament be moved to Brussels so everything would be in one place. This is a suggestion that made sense and would have been very convenient for those working for the EU. Of course, there is always that one dissenter...
France was the only country who voted against the move to Belgium. The result of this was two parliament locations: one in Strasburg (France) and the other in Brussels (Belgium). Because of this, European Union members have to constantly move, making this job a very stressful and costly one. Wow, France.
More nations have been joining, but the European Union does not have all of the nations. The nations that made up former Yugoslavia have expressed interest in joining, but were not accepted due to the war going on there. Switzerland and Norway actively denied membership to the EU due to their wealth. These countries felt they would spend more than they would gain. Switzerland also had a different government system, and the citizens feared there would be pressure to change if they joined the EU.
In 1980, the president of the EU (Jacques Delors) decided that Europe needs to create a proper European identity. This was when the name was changed from European Community to European Union. They also got the proper symbols of unity, such as a flag and an anthem (Ode to Joy, for those of you who are curious). The Maastricht Treaty was also put into effect, making the euro the official currency.
Well, if the euro is the official currency, then why does Great Britain still use the pound? The main reason is that they were skeptical. They decided that if the euro proves to be stable, they'll fully transition over to it.
In 1995, the Schengen Agreement was made, stating that all members will have open borders with each other.
Europe becomes increasingly self-confident and ambitious, and the population is beginning to feel that they will become a major power again next to the United States and China. However, they were suddenly hit with a series of crises in recent years. In 2004, the EU suggested a constitution be created. This had to be accepted by all states, and France and the Netherlands decided to organize referendums. Everyone assumed these referendums would pass. Guess what? They didn't. A large percentage of the European population was not in favor of these ambitious policies. But why?
It turns out that many people felt that Europe was expanding too fast and accepted too many new members too readily. Countries with drastic culture differences or economic instability, such as Romania and Bulgaria, could readily access countries were stable economies. Suddenly, the work force population felt an increased competition for jobs, an effect that wasn't felt by those in wealthier political positions. There was a major fear of losing jobs or work benefits. I guess you could compare this to the relations between the United States and Mexico.
People also felt that Europe was getting too powerful, and that new laws would reduce the power of the individual states. This was due to the fact that most of the decisions of Europe were made in Brussels. Finally, there was a fear of losing the definition of European identity. This is especially true of the decision to add Turkey, a country with 70 million people. If Turkey were to join the EU, they would immediately be the second largest country in the union. Such cultural differences (specifically the religion of Islam) would question the traditional European identity.
Another crisis the EU has recently been faced with is the economic crisis within the Eurozone, beginning with Greece. When the Euro was established as the common currency, many people were very excited. Those with very successful economies were somewhat skeptical, though. Germany and the Netherlands proposed they impose a sort of criteria: to become a member of the Eurozone, the country had to present economic data that proved they had a sound economy. This was difficult for some countries, such as those in southern Europe who had a tendency to spend much more money than they had.
Greece in particular spends way too much money due to the constant promise of more jobs. This leads to the creation of jobs paid for by the state. Greece promised to change their economic policy and sure enough, they presented data that showed their economy was on the rise. Greece was thus let into the Eurozone, making it easier for them to gain international loans. They immediately began to spend much more money through major activities, such as establishing the Olympic games. Politicians began to have their doubts about the data and decided to double check. What did they find? Greece had lied about their economy and produced false data. There are no policies on kicking out members of the Eurozone, so many countries had to send Greece billions of euros to bail out their economy. What's more, it seems that other countries had been producing fake data as well (Portugal, Italy, Spain).
Why did the EU take this data at face value? The EU is a confederacy, so they still have to respect state laws and guidelines. Greece would not allow a foreign person to come in and check up on their data. Well, that certainly makes much more sense now! There is also the fact that Greece is such a small country that many people figured it wouldn't be such a big deal if their economy dipped a bit. HA HA.
Will the EU let Greece just go bankrupt? Probably not. The loans taken out aren't paid back, and many of these loans came from Germany and the Netherlands. It would be a lot more beneficial to these economies if they just bailed out Greece, as it is better than losing the loans.
Wow. I don't think I really did much abridging at ALL. Oh well.
We next visited the Magritte museum. Rene Magritte was a famous surrealist painter, and I bet you've seen at least some of his paintings.
Also, today was Belgian Independence Day! I guess this was to make up for the fact that we had to miss our own country's independence day. Needless to say, it was amazing! I still don't know why Star Wars was playing through the fireworks show, though.
Well, I think that's enough for today.
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| Problem, EU? |
More nations have been joining, but the European Union does not have all of the nations. The nations that made up former Yugoslavia have expressed interest in joining, but were not accepted due to the war going on there. Switzerland and Norway actively denied membership to the EU due to their wealth. These countries felt they would spend more than they would gain. Switzerland also had a different government system, and the citizens feared there would be pressure to change if they joined the EU.
In 1980, the president of the EU (Jacques Delors) decided that Europe needs to create a proper European identity. This was when the name was changed from European Community to European Union. They also got the proper symbols of unity, such as a flag and an anthem (Ode to Joy, for those of you who are curious). The Maastricht Treaty was also put into effect, making the euro the official currency.
Well, if the euro is the official currency, then why does Great Britain still use the pound? The main reason is that they were skeptical. They decided that if the euro proves to be stable, they'll fully transition over to it.
In 1995, the Schengen Agreement was made, stating that all members will have open borders with each other.
Europe becomes increasingly self-confident and ambitious, and the population is beginning to feel that they will become a major power again next to the United States and China. However, they were suddenly hit with a series of crises in recent years. In 2004, the EU suggested a constitution be created. This had to be accepted by all states, and France and the Netherlands decided to organize referendums. Everyone assumed these referendums would pass. Guess what? They didn't. A large percentage of the European population was not in favor of these ambitious policies. But why?
It turns out that many people felt that Europe was expanding too fast and accepted too many new members too readily. Countries with drastic culture differences or economic instability, such as Romania and Bulgaria, could readily access countries were stable economies. Suddenly, the work force population felt an increased competition for jobs, an effect that wasn't felt by those in wealthier political positions. There was a major fear of losing jobs or work benefits. I guess you could compare this to the relations between the United States and Mexico.
People also felt that Europe was getting too powerful, and that new laws would reduce the power of the individual states. This was due to the fact that most of the decisions of Europe were made in Brussels. Finally, there was a fear of losing the definition of European identity. This is especially true of the decision to add Turkey, a country with 70 million people. If Turkey were to join the EU, they would immediately be the second largest country in the union. Such cultural differences (specifically the religion of Islam) would question the traditional European identity.
Another crisis the EU has recently been faced with is the economic crisis within the Eurozone, beginning with Greece. When the Euro was established as the common currency, many people were very excited. Those with very successful economies were somewhat skeptical, though. Germany and the Netherlands proposed they impose a sort of criteria: to become a member of the Eurozone, the country had to present economic data that proved they had a sound economy. This was difficult for some countries, such as those in southern Europe who had a tendency to spend much more money than they had.
Greece in particular spends way too much money due to the constant promise of more jobs. This leads to the creation of jobs paid for by the state. Greece promised to change their economic policy and sure enough, they presented data that showed their economy was on the rise. Greece was thus let into the Eurozone, making it easier for them to gain international loans. They immediately began to spend much more money through major activities, such as establishing the Olympic games. Politicians began to have their doubts about the data and decided to double check. What did they find? Greece had lied about their economy and produced false data. There are no policies on kicking out members of the Eurozone, so many countries had to send Greece billions of euros to bail out their economy. What's more, it seems that other countries had been producing fake data as well (Portugal, Italy, Spain).
Why did the EU take this data at face value? The EU is a confederacy, so they still have to respect state laws and guidelines. Greece would not allow a foreign person to come in and check up on their data. Well, that certainly makes much more sense now! There is also the fact that Greece is such a small country that many people figured it wouldn't be such a big deal if their economy dipped a bit. HA HA.
Will the EU let Greece just go bankrupt? Probably not. The loans taken out aren't paid back, and many of these loans came from Germany and the Netherlands. It would be a lot more beneficial to these economies if they just bailed out Greece, as it is better than losing the loans.
Wow. I don't think I really did much abridging at ALL. Oh well.
We next visited the Magritte museum. Rene Magritte was a famous surrealist painter, and I bet you've seen at least some of his paintings.
Also, today was Belgian Independence Day! I guess this was to make up for the fact that we had to miss our own country's independence day. Needless to say, it was amazing! I still don't know why Star Wars was playing through the fireworks show, though.
Well, I think that's enough for today.
NATO has a flag? Why?!?
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