Running Head: Week 7 Assignment 1

The European Union:

The European Union (EU) was created by the Maastricht Treaty on November 1st 1993.

It is a political and economic union between European countries which makes its own policies

concerning the members’ economies, societies, and laws and security.

European Union is based on three pillars: giving more power to the European parliament;

a common security/foreign policy; involvement in the domestic affairs of member nations on

“justice and home affairs.

Currency and economic reform were driven by the fact that the US and Japanese

economies were growing faster than Europe’s, after expanding quickly into the new

developments in electronics. In 1999 the Treaty of Amsterdam came into effect, bringing

employment, working and living conditions and other social and legal issues into the EU.

The latest members of the European Union are Romania and Bulgaria who joined in

2007. As of July 1, 2013, there are twenty-eight member countries of the European Union. On

July 1, 2013 Croatia became the 28th and newest member of the European Union.

Positive and negative points of joining the EU:

The European Union, or EU, is a unified monetary body that tries to balance the needs of

its 28 member countries, all of whom are independent fiscal and political entities. It has the

advantages of a large, unified trading area but the disadvantages of political conflict between its

members. It tries to overcome these situations through trade agreements and negotiations. .

Formation of area of free trade helped the member countries solve economic problems and boost

the trade transactions

1. All border controls between members were eliminated, allowing the free flow

of goods and people 

Running Head: Week 7 Assignment 2

2. Any product legally manufactured in one member state can be sold in any other

member, without tariffs or duties. Taxes have been standardized. Practitioners

of most services (law, medicine, tourism, banking, insurance, etc.) can operate

in all member countries.

3. The EU Council sets the policies and proposes new laws. The political

leadership, or Presidency of the EU, is held by a different leader every six

months. The European Parliament debates and approves the laws proposed

by the Council. Its members are elected every five years.The European

Commission staffs and execute the laws.

4. Because of the EU, all the member countries have a single market wherein

products are low-priced and there are no charges when it comes to custom

tax.

5.  Citizens can freely travel, study, work, or live in any European country of

their choice. Because of the union, the underdeveloped regions get help

from richer countries. Also more jobs are created due to the cumulative

power.  Workers are protected through the European Working Time

Directive.

However there are some disadvantages of joining the European Union. Some of the policies

do not prove beneficial for all the members. However they have to execute and implement the

laws once passed. Also not all member countries are using the Euro though the EU

emphasized its use; still, many problems have risen over the years. The citizens of member

countries are free to move from one place to another; this has led to overcrowding in the

major cities of UK and it has increased prices of houses, as well as congestion on the roads.