European Integration Free Essay Example

      Living and tolerating one another is one of the problems that is being faced in this world most especially when it comes to the issue of ethnicity, nationality e.t.c . This has really caused a problem when talking about economic social class transcending blood ties.

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      It is in view of this that the European continent immediately after the World War I formed a coalition that will kick against all ethnic/national and class based conflict displayed   during the war.

      European Integration can therefore be defined as the process of political, economic (and in some cases social and cultural) integration of European States including some states that are partly in Europe.

For centuries, there have been some form of integration, but presently in the Europe, the dominant force is the European Union. Integration and enlargement  of the European Union are major issues in the politics of Europe, both at home and national level.

      Looking at the impact of the European Union (EU), this is a supranational and intergovernmental union of 27 States in Europe.

It was established in 1992 by the Treaty of European union. ( The Maastricht Treaty), and is the defacto-successor to the six member European Economic Community (EEC) founded in 1957. The EU is the current stage of a continuing open-ended process of European Integration.

The EU is the largest economic entity and one of the largest political entities in the world with 493 million people. In order to bring a common European identity, the Union operates a single market with a common trade policy, a common agriculture and a regional policy to assist power regions.

It introduced a single currency, the Euro which is adopted by 13 member States so that they could all be of one accord.

      In order for economic social class to transcend blood ties, the EU established important bodies which include the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, the European Central Bank, the European Court of Justice and the European Parliament.

       To be of one voice, citizens of EU member States are also EU citizens. They directly elect the European parliament, once every year five years. They can live, travel, work and invest in other member States. And to make things easier, passport control and customs checks at most internal boarders were abolished by the Schengen Agreement.

       The European Union evolved from a Western European trade body into the supranational and the intergovernmental body that it is today. After the Second World War, an impetus grew in Western Europe for institutional forms of cooperation between states, driven by the determination to rebuild Europe and eliminate the possibility of another world war which could be caused by tribal sentiments.

       In the year 1946, Winston Churchill called for a “United States of Europe” without the inclusion of the U.K. On May 9, 1950, the French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman presented a proposal for the joint management of France’s and West Germany’s coal and steel industries. This is the first declaration that envisaged the scheme as the first concrete step towards a European Federation.

       Looking at the impact of integration on member States, the process towards capital market integration could be said to have culminated with recent creation of the European Monetary Union. The recognition of the employment/social dimension to economic integration has derived from two constant themes in community action. Efficiency consideration were reflected in initiatives to support rapid and smooth employment, readjustments within member States economies and ease labor mobility within the community.

      European Integration has made it possible for States within the Union to threat one another like a brother and sister and this has really helped in combating the issues of racism, tribalism and sectarianism.

       With these integration, one is very sure that a European identity will not only emerge but has emerged because presently the European Union members enjoy the following within the Union;

1. Euro currency amongst States of the Union, thereby abolishing the barriers with different currencies.
2. Free tollgate to some countries in the same Union.
3. Creation of single inter-markets for member States.
4. Better scholarship and employment opportunities for young ones who belong to any state within the Union.

     Finally, if the European Union Parliaments should continue the way they are going, one is very sure that class based/ nationality conflict would be a thing of the past.

Sources

1. www.eu.winkepedia.org : Evolution of EU
2. Richard Baldwin, Charles Wyplosz: The Economics of European Integration.

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