Introduction to the European Union

Europe’s Mission today Europe’s mission in the 21st century is to: provide peace, prosperity and stability for its peoples; overcome the divisions on the continent; ensure that its people can live in safety; promote balanced economic and social development; meet the challenges of globalisation and preserve the diversity of the peoples of Europe; uphold the values that Europeans share, such as sustainable development and a sound environment, respect for human rights and the social market economy.

Timeline 1951: The European Coal and Steel Community is established by the six founding members – Benelux, France, Germany & Italy 1957: The Treaty of Rome establishes the European Economic Community. 1973: The Community expands to nine member states (UK, Ireland and Denmark) and develops its common policies. 1979: The first direct elections to the European Parliament. 1981:Greece join 1986: Spain & Portugal join 1993: Completion of the single market 1993: The Treaty of Maastricht establishes the European Union & the ‘four freedoms’. 1995: The EU expands to 15 members (Austria, Finland and Sweden). 2002: Euro notes and coins are introduced 2004: Ten more countries join the Union  2007- Romania & Bulgaria join. Lisbon Treaty is signed (came into force in 2009)

Enlargement The European Union is open to any European country that fulfils the democratic, political and economic criteria for membership. Following several enlargements, the EU has increased from six to 27 members. Five other countries are candidates to join (Croatia, Macedonia, Iceland, Montenegro and Turkey). Each treaty admitting a new member requires the unanimous approval of all member states. In addition, in advance of each new enlargement, the EU will assess its capacity to absorb the new member(s) and the ability of its institutions to continue to function properly. The successive enlargements have strengthened democracy, made Europe more secure and increased its potential for trade and economic growth.

The Decision Making Bodies The Council of the European Union, which represents the member states, is the EU’s main decision-taking body. When it meets at Heads of State or Government level, it becomes the European Council whose role is to provide the EU with political impetus on key issues. The European Parliament, which represents the people, shares legislative and budgetary power with the Council of the European Union. The European Commission (the Guardian’s of the Treaties), which represents the common interest of the EU, is the main executive body. It has the right to propose legislation and ensures that EU policies are properly implemented.  

Decision -Making  The Treaties: (known as ‘primary’ legislation), are the basis for a large body of ‘secondary’ legislation which has a direct impact on the daily lives of EU citizens. The secondary legislation consists mainly of regulations, directives and recommendations adopted by the EU institutions. The Council of the EU (also known as the Council of Ministers) is the EU’s main decision-making body. The EU member states take it in turns to hold the Council Presidency for a six-month period. Every Council meeting is attended by one minister from each EU country. Which ministers attend a meeting depends on which topic is on the agenda: foreign affairs, agriculture, industry, transport, the environment, etc. The Council has legislative power, which it shares with the European Parliament under the ‘co-decision’ in addition to this, the Council and the Parliament share equal responsibility for adopting the EU budget. The Council also concludes international agreements that have been negotiated by the Commission. According to the Treaties, the Council has to take its decisions either by a simple majority vote, a ‘qualified majority’ vote or unanimously, depending on the subject to be decided. The Council has to agree unanimously on important questions such as amending the Treaties, launching a new common policy or allowing a new country to join the Union. In most other cases, qualified majority voting is used. This means that a Council decision is adopted if a specified minimum number of votes are cast in its favour. The number of votes allocated to each EU country roughly reflects the size of its population.

Social Policy The aim of the EU’s social policy is to correct the most glaring inequalities in European society. The European Social Fund (ESF) was established in 1961 to promote job creation and help workers move from one type of work and/or one geographical area to another. Financial aid is just one way in which the EU seeks to improve social conditions in Europe. Legislation that guarantees a solid set of minimum rights has been enacted. Some of these rights are enshrined in the Treaties, e.g. the right of women and men to equal pay for equal work. Others are set out in directives concerning the protection of workers (health and safety at work) and essential safety standards. In 1991, the Maastricht European Council adopted the Community Charter of Basic Social Rights, setting out the rights that all workers in the EU should enjoy: free movement; fair pay; improved working conditions; social protection; the right to form associations and to undertake collective bargaining; the right to vocational training; equal treatment of women and men; worker information, consultation and participation; health protection and safety at the workplace; protection for children, the elderly and the disabled. At Amsterdam in June 1997, this Charter became an integral part of the Treaty and is now applicable in all the member states.

Single Market The single market is one of the European Union’s greatest achievements. Restrictions between member countries on trade and free competition have gradually been eliminated, with the result that standards of living have increased. The single market has not yet become a single economic area. Some sectors of the economy (public services) are still subject to national laws. The individual EU countries still largely have the responsibility for taxation and social welfare. The single market is supported by a number of related policies put in place by the EU over the years. They help ensure that market liberalisation benefits as many businesses and consumers as possible.

Single Currency The euro is the single currency of the European Union. Twelve of the then 15 countries adopted it for non-cash transactions from 1999 and for all payments in 2002 when euro notes and coins were issued. Three countries (Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom) did not participate in this monetary union. The new member countries are getting ready to enter the euro area as soon as they fulfil the necessary criteria.

The Common Agricultural Policy The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is one of the oldest policies of the European Community, and was one of its core aims. The policy has the objectives of increasing agricultural production, providing certainty in food supplies, ensuring a high quality of life for farmers, stabilising markets, and ensuring reasonable prices for consumers. It was, until recently, operated by a system of subsidies and market intervention. Until the 1990s, the policy accounted for over 60% of the then European Community's annual budget, and still accounts for around 34%. The policy's price controls and market interventions led to considerable overproduction, resulting in so-called butter mountains and wine lakes. These were intervention stores of produce bought up by the Community to maintain minimum price levels. In order to dispose of surplus stores, they were often sold on the world market at prices considerably below Community guaranteed prices, or farmers were offered subsidies to export their produce outside the Community. This system has been criticised for under-cutting farmers outside of Europe, especially those in the developing world. The overproduction has also been criticised for encouraging environmentally unfriendly intensive farming methods.

CAP Reforms Since the beginning of the 1990s, the CAP has been subject to a series of reforms. Initially these reforms included the introduction of set-aside in 1988, where a proportion of farm land was deliberately withdrawn from production, milk quotas and, more recently, the 'de-coupling' of the money farmers receive from the EU and the amount they produce. Agriculture expenditure will move away from subsidy payments linked to specific produce, toward direct payments based on farm size. This is intended to allow the market to dictate production levels, while maintaining agricultural income levels.