Five oceans, seven continents, 197 countries and 8 000 000 000 people. Ensuring peace and stability among each individual seems almost impossible, yet, great efforts are being made to gradually move towards a safe world. A number of different international organisations are doing their part in achieving this goal. The European Union is one of them. In this article, I want to give you more information on what exactly the union is and how it came to life.
The European Union is a political and economic union made up out of 27 countries in Europe. Within its borders, the main aims are to offer freedom, justice and security without internal borders and to promote the well-being of its citizens, peace and its values. These values make up the foundation of the union: equality, freedom, rule of law, democracy, human rights and human dignity.
The roots of the European Union date back to World War II. At the end of the war, several western European countries longed for stability and safety. This resulted in the Treaty of Paris, which was signed by six countries in April 1951, with the idea of running the country’s coal and steel industries under a common management. By signing this treaty, the countries: France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, West Germany and Luxembourg found a way on how to stop a single country from making weapons of war to turn against others; and with that, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was created. It was meant to be a free-trade area for multiple military and economic resources, such as coke, steel, iron ore, coal and scrap.
Six years later, two additional communities were created. By signing the two Treaties of Rome, the ECSC members established the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). Euratom was designed to ease the cooperation in atomic research, utilization and energy development, whereas the creation of the EEC resulted in a common market that among others promoted the elimination of most barriers to the movement of goods, services, capital and labour and a common external trade policy. In 1993, the three communities were embodied in the European Union, paving the way to what it is today.
Nowadays, the European Union consists of four main institutions. These institutions lead the EU’s administration and provide the union with policy directions, as well as playing different roles in the law-making process. The four institutions are the following:
European Parliament
The European Parliament represents the citizens of the EU. It is directly elected by them and, in addition to approving the EU budget, the parliament makes decisions on European laws cooperatively with the Council of the European Union.
European Council
The European Council is made up out of the heads of state or government of each EU country. They describe the European Union’s overall political priorities and orientation.
Council of the European Union
In the Council of the European Union, the national ministers from each government meet to pass laws and coordinate policies. It makes decisions on European laws cooperatively with the European Parliament.
European Commission
The European Commission promotes the general interests of the EU and is its main executive body. It proposes new laws, manages EU policies and the EU budget and makes sure that countries apply the EU law correctly.
With these four main EU institutions, the legislative and executive branch of the EU is covered. Moreover, the responsibility for managing the financial, judicial and external audit aspects of the European Union lies with additional three EU institutions: the European Central Bank, the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Auditors.
The cooperation between these institutions makes up the base and the success of the European Union. It might not always be easy and flawless but the EU itself is what opens its citizens the door to greater opportunities.
By having international organisations of all kinds, a foundation is set to bring peace and safety to those in need and to overall improve the life on our planet.
Sources:
https://op.europa.eu/webpub/com/eu-what-it-is/en/ (Publications Office of the EU, Janaury 26th, 2023)
https://www.britannica.com/topic/European-Union (Matthew J. Gabel, January 26th, 2023)
https://european-union.europa.eu/principles-countries-history/principles-and-values/aims-and-values_en#:~:text=The%20aims%20of%20the%20European,and%20prevent%20and%20combat%20crime (European Union, January 26th, 2023)
https://european-union.europa.eu/institutions-law-budget/institutions-and-bodies/types-institutions-and-bodies_en (European Union, January 26th, 2023)