The basics of THE EUROPEAN UNION

KEY WORDS Supranational Sovereign Intergovernmental Eurozone Schengen Candidate countries Member states Single market

What is the European Union? Supranational organization sovereign nations come together to form a larger group Nations give up some power and freedom to a higher authority (EU) Intergovernmental organization Member states cooperate with eachother to create rules and laws based on common interests Examples of common interest: trade regulation, health standards, safe border checks “The European Union is the world’s most successful invention for advancing peace.” - John Bruton, Irish politician

The BASICS Europe Day: May 9 The European Flag The European Anthem The Motto: United in Diversity

Founders of the EU

why was the EU created? Peace Cooperation Economics After WWII, many European nations wanted to ensure they would not enter a third war with eachother Cooperation By working together to create policies, the nations would be forced to compromise and listen to eachother, thus promoting peace and decreasing animosity towards eachotehr Economics Pooling together resources and eliminating barriers to trade created the world’s largest single market Single market- allows free movement of goods, capital, services, and people

Video: EU Explained in 1 minute https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI3j9hSXAIg

Who is in the european union?

Member or candidate? Member states- full members of the European Union, approved by other members of the EU and have the same rights ex. Germany, United Kingdom, Italy Candidate countries- countries who have applied to the EU for membership the countries must make changes and negotiate with the EU before joining ex. Albania, Turkey, Serbia http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/international/non_eu/candidate/index_en.htm

5(ish) institutions of the EU European Parliament Approves legislation Only directly elected body of the EU Council of the EU European Commission Proposes new laws and policies European Council Brings the leaders of each country together a few times a year Court of Justice Ensures laws and policies meet the terms of the treaties

How does it get things done?