Essay on the European Union

Essay on the European Union

Introduction

The European Union is perhaps one of today’s greatest spectacles. In definition, the European Union refers to a union of nations. These groups of nations interactions relates to their political as well as economic interactions. It is a fact that their interaction is based on an intergovernmental union rather than a single state. Therefore, the European Union is made of 28 member countries whose interaction operates based on independent institutions representing nations.

The various institutions of the Union include the Council of the European Union, European Commission, the Court of Justice of the Union, the European Parliament, the European Central Bank as well as the Court of Auditors. Historically, the Union traces its origins on the European Economic Community and the European Coal and Steel Community (Ehrmann, Soudan, & Stracca, 2013). This paper concentrates on the idea of unifying Europe into one. It looks at the features of the current European Union, its operation as well as its ideology.

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History of the European Union

The Idea of unifying Europe was noble. However, one needs to understand that it was not new to the people of the region. The idea began with Napoleon Bonaparte whose attempts could have joined the region in the 19th century. As if it was a calling in the 1930s, Adolph Hitler ran a campaign in Europe with the intention of conquering the whole region. Throughout history various wars towards conquering Europe has been fought by different groups. However, Europe had to be one following the two great wars (Roy, 2014). People within the region finally felt after the Second World War that war would not solve their needs. In the year 1945, at the end of World War II factories lay in ruins.

Road networks had been destroyed with bombs; people’s livelihood destroyed as well as people left homeless. It was apparent that Europe had to become one. An organization had to be formed to limit future destructions. Further, the region had to be united; to build their infrastructure, economy and currency (McKibben, 2013). The formation of the European Union therefore marks a new dawn for member countries of Europe. Through this Union, countries had their economies transformed; goods then moved freely within borders, capital moved within the region as well as workers (Roy, 2014).

In terms of the year on inception, the European Union began its operations in the years 1951 and 1958. It was after the World War II that European nations saw the need to form one Union. After the war nations, forming the European Union felt the negative implications of nationalism and other forms in the region. It did not take long before the founding nations including Belgium, Italy, Netherlands and West Germany joined hands to form a formidable force. By the year 1957, six current member countries had signed a treaty. The Treaty popularly known as the Rome Treaty prolonged the earlier treaty (Roy, 2014). However, during the meeting another treaty the European Energy Community came into operation. The Union just like other Unions of the world had its challenges.

Come the year 1960s tensions within its ranks began building. During this period, France a member of the Union began seeking to limit the supranational power within the Union. The disagreement dragged for some considerable period. However, in the year 19676 an agreement was reached at last. Following the development, the Merger Treaty came into practice and signed in Brussels. The Union continued its operations and in the year 1973, it enlarged to include other nations. This expansion of the Union included Denmark, Ireland as well as the United Kingdom. During this period, however Norway tried to enter the Union but her voters rejected through a referendum.

Further, the Union attracted other members. In the year 1981, Greece joined. Spain and Portugal joined the European Union in the year 1986. In terms of operation, the European Union through the Schengen Agreement created various features. One of its features was the opening of its borders to its members. Individuals from various countries within the block would pass borders without passport controls. On the other hand, the use of the European flag became a feature within the region.

This then led to the signing of the European Act. In retrospect, the European Union came into full operation in the year 1993. The architects of the Union felt that the Union had a formidable force to manage its force. They felt that the Union had reached its full operational level (Roy, 2014). Another development of the Union came in the year 1995. In this year, Sweden, Finland, Austria entered the European Union.<