EUROPEAN UNION

1. CREATION OF THE EU The European Union is an economic and political association of 28 European countries. It was created basing on some treaties that have been signed since the end of WW2.

1.1. Treaty of Paris, 1951 Creation of the EUROPEAN COAL AND STEEL COMMUNITY (CECA). It was signed by France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands , Luxembourg (Benelux) and Wester Germany. It created a free trade area for coal and steel.

1.2. Treaty of Rome, 1957 It was signed by the same countries. Creation of European Economic Comunity (CEE) or Common Market. The main aims were the free movement of goods, capitals and people, suppressing the tariffs between them. It also created EURATOM (European Atomic Energy Community) for the development of the nuclear energy with pacific goals-

Treaty of Rome

1.3. Treaty of Maastricht, 1992 It made the EEC become the European Union. It was signed by the 12 members at the moment. The pillars are: Economic and monetary union. Common foreing and security policies. Cooperation in judicial matters.

European Union Germany France Italy Benelux UK Ireland Denmark Greece Portugal Spain

1.4. Treaties of Amsterdam, Nice and the creation of Euro. Treaty of Amsterdam, 1997: Reinforced free movement of people Create Europol, about common security. Treaty of Nice, 2001: Reformed the institutions and reinforced the separation of powers with a view to the future enlargement. Creation of Euro, 1999: The single current came into circulation in 2002 in many of the European Countries

1.5. Treaty of Lisbon, 2007 This treaty gave greater power to the European Parliament . This treaty substituted the non-passed project of European Constitution

VIDEO ABOUT EURO AND EU

2. Members of the EU 1957:Italy, Western Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg. 1973: UK, Ireland, and Denmark. 1981: Greece 1986: Spain and Portugal. 1995: Austria, Sweden, and Finland. o 2004:Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta, and Cyprus. 2007:Romania and Bulgaria 2013: Croatia

ENTRADA ESPAÑA UE, VIDEOal/informe-semanal-firma-para-historia/798153/

3. Institutions 3.1. European Parliament (Parlamento Europeo) 3.2. European Council. (Consejo Europeo) 3.3. Council of the EU (Consejo de la UE) 3.4. European Commision (Comisión Europea) 3.5. Court of Justice of the EU (Tribunal de Justicia de la UE) 3.6. Other institutions

3.1. European Parliament It is composed of the members of the Parliament that have been elected in universal suffrage by the European citizens in the European elections held every five years. The number of deputies per country is based on the population

It exercises the legislative branch together with the Council of the European Union. It controls the work of the European Commission and approved the EU budget jointly with the Council. Today: majority European People´s Party This EU Parliament is located in Strasbourg (France).

3.2. European Council It is composed by all the Heads of State or Government of all the member countries. The president of the European Council is elected every 2½ years, today is DonaldTusk. Its main function is to guarantee the continuity of the Council’s work and takes decisions about EU policy. The number of votes in the Council is based on the population of the country.

3.3. Council of the UE Its presidency rotates among the member countries every six months. Today: Latvia, 30th of june: Luxemburg. It is composed of the ministers of the member states. There are different areas that meet to discuss about them. It is responsible for passing EU laws and approving the budget together with the Parliament. It also coordinates economic policies.

3.4. European Commission It is composed of a president (been elected by the EU governments basing on the results of the EU elections) and commissioners (one per state) who cover with some specific areas. It exercises the executive power. The president is Jean Claude Juncker.

3.5. Court of Justice of the EU It is composed of one judge from each EU state Its main function is to make sure that EU laws are interpreted and applied in the same way across the EU.

3.6. Other institutions Economic and Social Committee: represents groups in civil society . European Central Bank: is in charge of managing the euro and EU monetary policy. President: Mario Draghi.

4. Economic integration There are many economic policies carried out by the EU: European Central Bank: we have talked before. European Energy Policy: promote a responsible use of energy and to combat climate change Common Agricultural Policy (PAC): It means to promote high quality agricultural production respecting the environment and helps the farmers. It has also imposed quotas so that there is not agricultural surplus.

Política Agraria Común (PAC)

4.1. Founds Structural funds. They mean to reduce those differences and to promote development of those regions. European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). It offers financial help to the least developed regions. European Social Fund (FSE). It means to improve employment opportunities for jobless people and prepares workers.

4.1. Founds The Cohesion Fund is for those regions whose GDP is lower than 90% of the EU average.