Essay on The European Union. Words10 Pages. The European Union (EU) was established in order to prevent the horrors of modern warfare, experienced by most of Europe during the World Wars of the 20th century, from ever ensuing again, by aiming to create an environment of trust with the countries of Europe cooperating in areas such as commerce, research and trade (Adams, ) The signing of the Lisbon Treaty on December 13, , transformed the structure of the European Community (EC), which was subsequently renamed the European Union (EU). However, the journey to this historic moment started way back in s, immediately after the Second World War (Wilde, ). We will write a custom Essay on History of the European Union specifically for you Jun 23, · The European Union Words | 5 Pages. The European Union was formed after WW2 in the late s. The main purpose behind the establishment of the European Union was to end the period of wars between neighbouring countries and unite all of Europe as one strong economy. The nations officially started joining the European Council in
European Union - Essay
The United Kingdom opted out of the European Union Monetary and Economic An essay on the history of the european economic union herein referred to as EMU for several reasons, specifically what came to be referred to as the five economic tests.
Verdun provides a working conceptualisation of the term monetary union. This is the definition that will be adopted throughout this essay. According to this author, a monetary union can be viewed as an agreement between several nations to use a common currency amongst themselves Verdun Stauffer n. The nations may go as far as establishing a single central bank and other centralised agencies that are tasked with the role of regulating the financial aspects of the nations.
The European Economic and Monetary Union EMU is such an example of a monetary union as defined by Verdun According to Adiongthis union was to be implemented in three stages over a period of several years. Adiong refers to these steps as discrete but evolutionary, an essay on the history of the european economic union, meaning that a step builds on its predecessor.
It is not all European Union nations that joined the EMU and this can be attributed to several reasons. There are those, specifically Greece and Sweden, that failed to meet some of the criteria put down to qualify member states to be part of the monetary union. Others, like the United Kingdom, negotiated for what Willis refer to as opt outs. This means that these nations are exempted from the provisions and regulations of the monetary union, and they can join whenever they feel like, provided of course they meet all the necessary conditions.
The author is going to look at the reasons why this country opted out this union among other issues, an essay on the history of the european economic union.
The author will especially critically appraise whether the decision to opt out was the best or not for British businesses. Before looking at the reasons why the United Kingdom opted out of the monetary union and analysis of the impacts of this decision to the British business, it is important to provide a brief overview of this union. According to Stauffer n.
This is the year that the European Council ratified the decision to adopt the European Monetary System [herein referred to as the EMS] Stauffer n. However, the European monetary and economic union was not to be formed until the year This was the year that saw the signing of the famous Maastricht Treaty, the treaty that led to the founding of the European Union Stauffer n.
In this treaty, provisions, referred to as the convergence criteria Adiongthat were to be met by each of the European union member states before they could be allowed to join thee monetary and economic union.
The European economic and monetary union was to be set up in three steps, a process that was recommended by the findings of the Delors Report Bojden This was the report of a commission that was structured by thee European council to look into stages that can be followed in forming and adopting a monetary union for the European Union member states.
The figure below depicts these steps and the provisions of each of them:. The first stage of the adoption was initiated on July 1 st, and it provided for the elimination of virtually all restrictions imposed on the movement of capital from one European Union state to the other Cash and Jamieson The second stage of the adoption saw the structuring and adoption of the European Monetary Institute herein referred to as EMI and the European Central Bank [herein referred to as ECB] European Central Bank This second stage commenced in the year The third stage begun on January European Central Bank Blackstone, Lauricella and Shah This stage is still continuing, and it aims at fixing a common exchange rate for all the members of the monetary union.
The United Kingdom has remained in stage two of the adoption of the monetary union. It has failed to move with the other members to the third and final stage of the EMU that would have seen the abolishment of the sterling pound and replacement of the same with the euro.
This move has been informed by several factors, ranging from political, economical to social considerations. The United Kingdom has been cynically referred to in many quarters as the master opt outs.
It was thus not entirely surprising when the United Kingdom negotiated for opt out from the European Economic and Monetary Union in the year The provisions of this opt out were that an essay on the history of the european economic union country will be exempted from the participation in the third stage of the adoption. This included the achievement of five economic tests as formulated by the then Labour Party Chancellor and later Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Gordon Brown Bojden When the five tests are met, a referendum will be held, seeking the approval of the British citizenry before the joining of the union.
These included economic, political and social obstacles Cash and Jamieson It is also important to note that, at the time the United Kingdom negotiators worked out the opt out provisions, an essay on the history of the european economic union, the degree of trade interdependence that the United Kingdom had with the rest of the economies making up the European union was quiet low Willis It is important to note that, despite being an economically oriented treaty, a lot of political and social overtones are discernible in the European Economic and Monetary Union.
The European Monetary Economic and Monetary Union and the European Union in extension have been very unpopular with the British public.
Successive opinion polls and surveys have consistently indicated that the United Kingdom an essay on the history of the european economic union do not support the idea of the country embarking on the third stage of adoption. This realisation might have informed the decisions of the negotiators credited with the EMU opt out. This opposition has been consistent over the years, with 59 percent opposing in and 64 percent in Blackstone et al Majority of those opposing the adoption of the euro and the an essay on the history of the european economic union of the sterling pound are of the view that their opinion is not only economically motivated, but also social to a large extent.
They are of the view that if the country adopts the single currency policy, it will lose its identity in the an essay on the history of the european economic union Blackstone et al This is given the fact that majority of the citizens in this country have a strong attachment to the sterling pound, and have come to regard it as part of their national heritage.
These economic, political and social barriers are inexplicably interlinked with the five economic tests that Gordon Brown formulated. Following is an analysis of these tests:. According to this test, business cycles in this country have to be compatible with those in other economies in the European Union region Adiong Several indicators for this test were identified, and it is the achievement of these indicators that will determine whether the test itself is achieved or not.
These include inflation and interest rates, output differences between the economies and currency exchange rates Adiong According an essay on the history of the european economic union this test, an essay on the history of the european economic union, the inflation rate had to be less than 1.
This is when compared to the mean of the three lowest inflation rates, according to this test Adiong As far as the interest rate is concerned, it had to be less than or equal to two percent above the three lowest such rates that have been recorded Adiong The debt of the government should also not exceed sixty percent of the gross domestic product Adiong The second test provides that the economy of this country, an essay on the history of the european economic union, before the adoption of the single currency, should be resilient enough to ensure that the local economy can absorb any fluctuations in the euro economy Adiong For example, the labour market in the United Kingdom must be flexible enough to cushion the economy against adverse developments in the euro economy.
If the United Kingdom was to take part in the single currency economy, the third test that must be met provides that there must be proof that this participation will improve investment Adiong For example, there must be proof that in the long term, the number of local and foreign investors in the United Kingdom economy will increase, as well as the increase in the number of United Kingdom investors able to expand their wings to other economies outside the border of this country.
This means that the exchange rates, the restrictions and such other provisions of the single currency must be friendly to investors. Gordon Brown and his advisors were of the view that the integration of the United Kingdom in the single currency economy must impact positively on the employment and growth rates of the country Adiong A review carried out in the year found that only one of the tests has been met fully Bojden This is the first one, the one on convergence of business cycles.
This means that this country is not ready to adopt the single currency economy in the near future. This state of affairs is not good at all to the business in the United Kingdom.
For example, the businesses are losing as far as exchange rates are concerned. This country, as earlier stated in this paper, imports and exports a lot within the euro zone as compared to other economies in the world Willis This means that the business people in this country have to incur the extra costs of exchange rates, a cost that they could have avoided if the country was operating on the euro currency Willis The businesses in this country interact heavily with the euro economies.
However, despite these interactions and interdependency, British business is treated as foreigners or outsiders in the euro zone Blackstone et al This means that they are affected like any other outsider by the economic decisions that are ratified and adopted by the economies party to the monetary union. This is given the fact that competitive advantage brought about by the success of this monetary union translates into losing of business for economies outside the union, Britain included.
There are those who argue that, by opting of the EMU treaty, the United Kingdom made the right decision which was the best for its businesses. They argue that, given the foreign nature of this country in relation to an essay on the history of the european economic union EMU, United Kingdom businesses will not suffer negatively from instabilities within the union. This is for example the fluctuations and weakening of the euro against major currencies such as the US dollar, fluctuations that may affect British businesses negatively.
This includes public outrage within the United Kingdom and political misunderstandings with other nations. However, objective analysis of the situation reveals that the British business stands to gain more from the adoption of the euro economy. The public opposition to this is motivated by irrational fears of the unknown together with unrealistic and emotional attachments to the sterling pound. Adiong, N. New York: Free Press. Blackstone, B. Global markets shudder: Doubts about U. economy and a debt crunch in Europe jolt hopes for a recovery.
The Wall Street Journal, February Bojden, K. The United Kingdom-does it belong in the EU? Wall Street Journal, March Cash, B. European Central Bank. Economic and Monetary Union EMU. html [27 November ]. Stauffer, A. What is the European Monetary Union? Verdun, A. The role of the Delors Committee in the creation of EMU: An epistemic community? Journal of European Public Policy, 6 2 : Willis, A.
Van Rompuy: Eurozone will bail out Greece if needed. EU Observer, 6 February
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European Union Marks the Most. Words: Length: 2 Pages Document Type: Term Paper Paper #: Read Full Paper. In , the Treaty of ome led to the creation of the European Atomic Energy Community (EUATOM) and the European Economic Community (EEC), which would become better known as the European Community Essay on The European Union. Words10 Pages. The European Union (EU) was established in order to prevent the horrors of modern warfare, experienced by most of Europe during the World Wars of the 20th century, from ever ensuing again, by aiming to create an environment of trust with the countries of Europe cooperating in areas such as commerce, research and trade (Adams, ) Dec 19, · Essay title: European Union. The European Union is a supranational government body that is, by definition, changing the traditional role of the nation state and sovereignty in Europe. This Union was formed voluntarily by states with similar goals and is unique in its conception and design to the European continent
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