By Beth Klemick
The European Union, formerly known as the European Communities (EC) or the European Economic Community (EEC), was founded on November 1, 1993 to enhance political, economic and social cooperation amongst 25 democratic countries known as member states. The Union today has a common single market, consisting of a customs union, a single currency (the euro) managed by the European Central Bank (adopted by 12 of the 25 member states), a Common Agricultural Policy, a common trade policy, a Common Fisheries Policy, and a Common Foreign and Security Policy.
There are four important EU institutions which are comprised of the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the European Court of Justice and the European Parliament. Althought the European Parliament origins date back to the 1950s, it was not until 1979 that its members were elected by the citizens of the European Union to represent their interest. Since 1979, elections into the European Parliament have taken place in five year intervals with the last election held in 2004 which returned 732 Members from the 25 European Union countries.
The European Union's activities cover all areas of public policy, from health and economic policy to foreign affairs and defense, the extent of the EU powers differs between many countries. As an example, take the United States – it will always be categorized and function as a constitution-based federal republic. The EU on the other hand can be categorized as a federation, a confederation, or an international organization depending on the area of interest. Probably the most important current issue of the EU today is establishing the European Constitution. To date, the future of a consitution is unknown. Countries like France and the Netherlands have failed to win popular support which has caused many other member countries to delay their own ratifications procedures.
The European Union has been extending its influence east; Romania and Bulgaria are scheduled to become members in 2007. Supporters of the European Union argue that the growth of the EU is a force for peace and democracy. With that said, there is much controversy as the EU continues to grow eastward and the candidate countries' accessions are more difficult. Attempts to unite the nations of Europe precede modern times. Given Europe's collections of languages and cultures, these attempts usually involved military subjugation of unwilling nations, leading to instability. Today, however, with the establishment of European Union, things like passport customs checks have been abolished at most of the EU's internal borders, thus creating a single space of mobility for EU citizens to live, travel, work and invest.
Check out Wikipedia for more information on the EU.
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