European Union The Block Besir Besler Maxime Vignon.

European Union

The

Block

Besir Besler

Maxime Vignon

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• Building the European Union– Treaties

• Inside the Union– Structure– Cultures– Enlargement

• The EU Block– Figures– Conflicts– SWOT analysis

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I. Origins and Evolution

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EU Member Countries Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, UK Candidate countriesBulgaria, Romania, Turkey OthersIceland, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine

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The Treaty of Paris was seen as foundational in bringing together Europe in peace after the Second World War and having established European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) by (West) Germany, France, Italy and the Benelux (Belgium-Netherlands- Luxembourg) countries

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The first full customs union was originally known as the European Economic Community (EEC) established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957.

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By Merger Treaty all three European Communities (ECSC, EC, and Eurotom) were gathered together

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The Maastricht Treaty led to the creation of the European Union and was the result of separate negotiations on monetary union and on political union. The treaty also created the Euro, and introduced the three-pillar structure.

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The Amsterdam Treaty meant a greater emphasis on citizenship and the rights of individuals, more democracy in the shape of increased power for the European Parliament.

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The primary purpose of the Treaty of Nice was to reform the institutional structure to withstand the Enlargement of the European Union

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European Constitution, signed in 2004 but has not yet come to pass, intended to create a constitution for the European Union

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II. Inside the European Union

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The Three Pillars of the EU

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The ECB

• Supranational instit.

• The Euro (€)

Decision-making process

+ Lack of feedback

+ Inappropriate objectives

= Cost of stability

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Cultures and Enlargement

• Major influences

• The Constitution flop

• Debate on nuclear

• Enlargement criteria

• Turkey

• Montenegro

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III. The European Block

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- The Union ……..a common single market consisting of a customs union and a single currency managed by the European Central Bank

- In 1985, the Schengen Agreement was signed to abolish passport control, customs checks, and many of the EU's internal borders, creating a single space of mobility for EU citizens to live, travel, work and invest

- The European Union's activities cover all areas of public policy, from health and economic policy to foreign affairs and defence. However, the extent of its powers differs greatly between areas

- Depending on the area in question, the EU may therefore resemble - a federation (e.g. on monetary affairs, agricultural, trade and environmental policy, economic and social policy), - a confederation (e.g. on home affairs) - an international organisation (e.g. in foreign affairs).

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Growth:

- Even though the EU economy has a low growth rate it is expected to grow

further over the next decade as more countries join the union - especially

considering that the new member states are usually poorer than the EU average.

It's economic growth has been below that of the United States most years since

1990.

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Currency:

The Euro was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency in 1999 and launched as physical coins and banknotes in 2002

US to Euro - Last 5 years

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The effects of Euro

• lowered exchange rate risks

• the removal of bank transaction charges

• financial markets are expected to be far more liquid and flexible

• Improved macroeconomic stability

• differences in prices - in particular in price levels - should decrease

• about the possible dangers of adopting a single currency for a large and diverse area

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Unemployment:

- Unemployment provides one of the most important challenges for economic policymakers in Europe over the next ten years.

- The unemployment rate in the European Union in January 2006 was 8.5%, this compares this compares with 4.1% in Japan and 5.1% in the United States.

Unemployment Rate (%) Euro Zone ______ vs. US.______

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Trade:

Memberin millions per capita states 1

EU 3,977,487 460,124,266 11,723,816 25,480 25NAFTA 21,588,638 430,495,039 12,889,900 29,942 3SAARC 5,136,740 1,467,255,669 4,074,031 2,777 8ASEAN 4,400,000 553,900,000 2,172,000 4,044 10

in millions per capita

China2

(PRC) 9,596,960 1,306,847,624 8,182,000 6,300 33India 3,287,590 1,102,600,000 3,433,000 3,100 35Russia 17,075,200 143,782,338 1,282,000 8,900 89USA 9,631,418 296,900,571 11,190,000 39,100 50

Regional Bloc

Countries Area (km²) Population

GDP (PPP) ($US)

Political divisions

Area (km²) Population

GDP (PPP) ($US)

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Single MarketCurrency

UnionVisa-free

Border-less

in force in force

(Schengen and CTA )

(NATO and

CFSP/ESDP )

MERCOSUR in force in force  ? in force

NAFTA in force

ASEAN in force proposedproposed for 2020

SAARC in force

Activities in Blocs

Regional bloc

Free Trade Area

Customs Union

Economic and monetary union Free Travel

Political pact

Defense pact

in force in force in forceEU in force in force in force

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Impact of Blocks

• Trade increases• Natural Gas • Steel• Farm subsidies• EU’s SWOT

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Questions and Comments ?