European Economic Community -Background

[ESSENTIAL] From the European Economic Community (EEC) created in 1957, the European Union (EU) now has 28 member states. She is without any equivalent in the world.

A quick history of the European Union

Six years after the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and three years after the rejection of a European Defense Community (EDC), West Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands sign, on March 25, 1957 in Rome, the founding treaties of what will later become the European Union.

One sets up a European Economic Community (EEC), the other a European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). The ECE then comprises four institutions: a Commission, a Council of Ministers, a Parliamentary Assembly and a Court of Justice.

After the introduction of a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 1962, customs duties were eliminated between the six founding countries on 1 January 1968. The first enlargement of the Communities took place in 1973 with the accession of the United Kingdom , Ireland and Denmark. Others will follow from 1981 to 2013 to integrate all of the twenty-eight members that make up today the European Union.

In 1979, the Assembly, which became the European Parliament, was elected for the first time by direct universal suffrage. Then the Schengen Agreement is signed in 1985: it will establish ten years later a space of free movement within the European borders.

The first major reform of the functioning of the institutions takes place with the Single Act of 1986. The Single Act generalises qualified majority voting in the Council on Internal Market issues and reinforces the role of the European Parliament. It was then the Maastricht Treaty which, in 1992, created the European Union and allowed 10 years later the introduction of the euro. Other treaty amendments will follow in 1997, 2001 and finally 2009 with the Lisbon Treaty.

Finally, the European Union must for the first time see the number of its members decline, with the departure of the United Kingdom on March 29, 2019. On June 23, 2016, the British voted in favor of the Brexit majority.

The objectives of the European Union

The objectives of the European Union are listed in Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). Many of these range from the promotion of peace and the "well-being of its people" to "sustainable development of Europe based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly competitive social market economy". which aims at full employment and social progress ".

The European Union also supports "a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment" as well as "scientific and technical progress", "social justice and protection, equality between women and inter-generational solidarity and the protection of the rights of the child ", or" economic, social and territorial cohesion, and solidarity among the Member States ".

It "respects the richness of its cultural and linguistic diversity, and ensures the preservation and development of Europe's cultural heritage".

The establishment of an "economic and monetary union whose currency is the euro" is also among its objectives, as is the promotion "of its values ​​and interests" in its relations with the rest of the world. Finally, it contributes "to peace, security, sustainable development of the planet, solidarity and mutual respect among peoples, free and fair trade, the eradication of poverty and the protection of human rights. human rights, especially those of the child, as well as the strict respect and development of international law, including respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter ".

How does the European Union make its decisions?

In order to achieve its objectives, the European Union draws up legislation in particular, in accordance with the powers assigned to it by the States. The Member States have indeed delegated part of their sovereignty to the European Union: in this case, they act no longer in isolation but at Twenty-eight.

These powers, as well as the functioning and action of the European Union, are defined by treaties, ratified by all the Member States. The two main instruments that govern the EU are the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), most recently amended in 2009 by the Lisbon Treaty.

According to these treaties, the EU is the only one able to take monetary policy decisions, or sign free trade agreements with other countries. But other areas remain primarily managed by states such as justice, police or labor law.