The European Union: A brief history
The European Union (EU) is a family of democratic European countries, committed to working together for peace and prosperity. The EU is unique. Its Member States have set up common institutions to which they delegate some of their sovereignty so that decisions on specific matters of joint interest can be made democratically at European level. This pooling of sovereignty is also called "European integration".
The historical roots of the European Union lie in the Second World War. The idea of European integration was conceived to prevent such killing and destruction from ever happening again. It was first proposed by the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman in a speech on 9 May 1950. This date, the "birthday" of what is now the EU, is celebrated annually as Europe Day.
The UK joined the founding group of six countries of the European Communities (France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) in 1973 at the same time as Denmark and Ireland. This was followed by the accession of Greece in 1981 and Portugal and Spain in 1986, which took the then European Community to 12 members. The next enlargement occurred in 1995, adding Sweden, Finland and Austria. The most recent enlargement represented the effective 're-unification' of Europe, when ten new members (Malta, Cyprus, Poland, Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovakia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania & Slovenia), including ex-Eastern Bloc countries joined to make the current 25 members.
Following WWII and the subsequent economic depression, Robert Schuman and a fellow Frenchman, Jean Monnet put forward a plan to prevent another war between France and Germany. They proposed that some form of practical joint action between the two countries, controlled by a High Authority, which would eliminate antagonism between them. Their idea was that coal and steel production, of great importance to both countries, should be jointly controlled, and that other countries should be allowed to participate if they wished. As a direct result of their efforts the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was established at the Treaty of Paris in 1951, with Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg also included.
The success of the ECSC led its members to sign the Rome Treaties in 1957 and thereby form the European Economic Community (EEC), which would remove barriers to trade and services. The European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) was also established, to develop nuclear energy for peaceful uses. The EEC and Euratom came into effect in 1958. Later these six countries became known as the European Community (EC) and the EC, EEC and Euratom were collectively called the Common Market.
The Single European Act of 1986 began the process of constructing a truly Single European Market, with the aim being to lift all trade restrictions between Member States. As a result, each country has the right to the freedom of movement of goods, services, people and capital between Member States, thus strengthening political, economic and cultural links across the EU. As a result of the Maastricht Treaty of 1992, the European Community added two further dimensions to its areas of co-operation between Member States through the creation of a Common Foreign and Security Policy structure (second pillar) and a Justice and Home Affairs pillar (third pillar), adding to the first Community pillar of the EU.
Pillar Two: Common Foreign and Security Policy
The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) was created in 1992 by the Treaty on European Union (TEU), otherwise known as the Maastricht Treaty. From the outset, these policy areas were involved unanimous decision-making between the Council of Ministers. However, the concept of enhanced co-operation was introduced by the Amsterdam Treaty, which permits some countries to integrate more closely in certain policy areas without the others, when all Member States consent to this. Many see this as going towards a multi-speed Europe, where integration may be disjointed and uneven as a result. Others, however, see such flexibility as a necessary element of the European Union, since after enlargement policy areas needing unanimity between all Member States will be increasingly difficult to develop. As well as this enhanced co-operation, the Amsterdam Treaty stated that the CFSP would be led by the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers. The first 'Mr CFSP', the Spaniard Javier Solana, was appointed in October 1999. Furthermore, since the Amsterdam Treaty there has been talk of extending the CFSP to include a defence capability. Designs for a future Common European Security and Defence Policy (CESDP) are now on the drawing board.
Pillar Three: Justice and Home Affairs
Justice and Home Affairs, similar to the CFSP, came into being following the Maastricht Treaty. Again, decisions are made primarily by unanimity between our Home Office Minister, and his/her European counterparts. However, since the Amsterdam Treaty, Justice and Home Affairs integration can also be taken further by those that want it, and opted out of for those that do not, similar to the procedures in place for the CFSP. However, Amsterdam also put some elements of Justice and Home Affairs into the first (Community) pillar of the European Union, meaning that Member States can make decisions on some aspects of drug trafficking, money laundering, judicial co-operation and asylum and immigration by majority voting, and with the involvement of the European Parliament. Under the Finnish Presidency of 1999, the Tampere Summit was held to flesh out the policy initiatives that would fulfil the commitments made by the Amsterdam Treaty. The aim is to create a true Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ) for the citizens of the EU and third country nationals resident in the Union. The raft of legislation on Justice and Home Affairs issues launched at Tampere is making this area one of the most rapidly expanding and dynamic policy areas of the EU.
The main aim of the European Union is to bring about lasting peace and prosperity for all citizens.
