The history of the European Union

We must build a kind of United States of Europe. In this way only, will hundreds of millions of toilers be able to regain the simple joys and hopes which

make life worth living.

Winston Churchill, 1946

European Integration●

● European integration started after the end of World War II in 1945.●

● In Europe after the war, there was a powerful economic crisis. It was decided to unite to save the continent from financial collapse.

●

● European integration has created the prospect of a quick reconstruction from the devastation of war and outlined a chance to accelerate the development of european civilization.

The Schuman Declaration

● The Schuman Declaration was presented by French foreign minister Robert Schuman on 9 May 1950.

● It proposed the creation of a European Coal and Steel Community, whose members would pool coal and steel production.

● Actually, every 9 May is celebrated as 'Europe Day'.

● In 1950, the nations of Europe were still struggling to overcome the devastation wrought by World War II, which had ended 5 years earlier.

● Determined to prevent another such terrible war, European governments concluded that pooling coal and steel production would – in the words of the Declaration – make war between historic rivals France and Germany "not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible".

The Treaty of Paris● The Treaty of Paris was signed on 18 April 1951. It was

created European Coal and Steel Community.

● The treaty came into force on 23 July 1952 and expired on 23 July 2002, exactly fifty years after it came into effect.

Founding members of the ECSC

The Treaties of Rome

● 25 March 1957 the same 6 countries signed two treaties. They established the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom).

● Both treaties entered into force on 1 January 1958.

The Treaty of Rome signing ceremony, at the Palazzo dei Conservatori on Capitoline Hill

Rome,Capitoline Museum where it was signed in 1957, the treaties of Rome.

● The aim of the EEC was to create a single European market (common policies for agriculture, transport and trade), and the establishment of a customs union.

● The aim of the Euratom is ensure the control and cooperation in the peaceful uses of atomic energy.

New members

1973 – Denmark, Great Britain, Ireland1981 - Greece1986 – Spain, Portugal

Important dates● 14 June 1985 – the signing of the Schengen

Agreement ( The abolition of border controls between France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and West Germany ).

● 15 June 1987 estabilished ERASMUS programme, program whose main purpose is to fund university students wishing to study in another European country for a period of up to one year.

● 3 October 1990 - The German reunification - GDR/East Germany joined the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG/West Germany) to form the reunited nation of Germany.

Treaty on European Union

● The Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 , by the members of the European Community, in Maastricht (Holland) and entered into force on 1 November 1993. Treaty created the European Union (EU) based on 3 pillars:

● European Community, European Coal and Steel Community and Euratom,

● Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)● Justice and Home Affairs.

The main provisions of the Treaty

● the introduction of Euro currency on 1 January 1999● realization of a common security and foreign policy● establishing the citizenship of the European Union● development of cooperation in the field of justice● the creation of Economic and Monetary Union

Further enlargement of the EU

Single currency - euro● 01.01.1999 - the introduction of

Euro in non-cash transactions.● 01.01.2002 - the Euro was introduced

in the form of cash in twelve EU countries (except the UK, Sweden and Denmark).

Treaty of Lisbon

● The Treaty of Lisbon was signed by the EU member states on 13 December 2007, and entered into force on 1 December 2009.

● Treaty gave the EU a unified structure and legal personality.

Main provisions of the Treaty

● Since 2009, the European Parliament will have a maximum of 750 members (previously 785)

● the introduction of the position of the President of the European Council

● indirect legislative initiative will require citizens to collect 1 million votes in a given case

● reduce the number of European Commissioners to 18 (even though it's 28 Member States)

EU - today

Prepared by Szymon Wytlib, 1st year student

Institutions of the European Union

The European parliament

The European Parliament shares the legislative and budgetary authority of the Union with

the Council of the European Union. Its 751 members are elected every five years by universal

suffrage and sit according to political allegiance.

This institution has three main roles:

• debating and passing European laws

• examining other EU institutions, particularly the Commission, to make sure they are

working properly

• debating and adopting the EU's budget

European Council

The European Council is the institution that comprises the heads of state or government of

the member states, along with the council's own president and the president of the

Commission. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

also takes part in its meetings.

While the European Council has no formal legislative power, it is a strategic (and

crisis-solving) body that provides the union with general political directions and

priorities, and acts as a collective presidency.

Court of Justice of the European Union

The Court of Justice interprets EU law to make sure it is applied in the same way

in all EU countries. It also settles legal disputes between EU governments and EU

institutions.

Individuals, companies or organisations can also bring cases before the Court if they feel

their rights have been infringed by an EU institution.

European Central Bank

The Bank works with the central banks in all 28 EU countries. It also leads the close

cooperation between central banks in the euro area– the 18 EU countries that have adopted

the euro, also known as the eurozone. The cooperation between this smaller, tighter group of

banks is referred to as the ‘Eurosystem’.

European Central Bank’s main purpose is to:

• keep prices stable (keep inflation under control), especially in countries that use the euro.

• keep the financial system stable – by making sure financial markets and institutions are

properly supervised.

European Commission

The European Commission is one of the main institutions of the European Union. It

represents and upholds the interests of the EU as a whole.

It oversees EU polices by:

• proposing new laws to Parliament and the Council

• managing the EU's budget and allocating funding

• enforcing EU law (together with the Court of Justice)

• representing the EU internationally, for example, by negotiating agreements between the

EU and other countries.

The 28 commissioners, one from each EU country, provide the Commission’s political

leadership during their 5-year term. Each Commissioner is assigned responsibility for specific

policy areas by the President

European Economic and Social Committee

Representatives of Europe's employers, workers and other interest groups can express their

views on EU issues through the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).

The European Economic and Social Committee has 353 members drawn from economic and

social interest groups across Europe.

The number of members from each country depends on the national population.

European External Action Service

The EEAS manages the EU’s diplomatic relations with other countries outside the bloc. It

aims to make the EU's foreign policy more consistent and efficient, thereby increasing

Europe's influence in the world.

Committee of the Regions

The role of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) is to put forward local and regional points of

view on EU legislation. It does so by issuing reports (‘opinions’) on Commission proposals.

European Investment Fund

The EIF provides venture capital for small firms particularly new firms and technology-

oriented businesses. It also provides guarantees to financial institutions (such as banks) to

cover their loans .

These are the most important institutions of the European Union. I hope it wasn’t waste of

time waching it

Prepared by Olivia Kucharska, 1st year student

Main economic policies in European Union

The main goal of economic policy of the European Union is preventing the financial and economic crisis by:

- Promoting the growth of employment and a higher level of social protection for all

- Dealing with the global economic and financial challenges

- creating new jobs

- protecting savings

- getting business loans

- Joining the euro area

Advantages of the Euro area

- much cheaper (or even free) cross-border payments

- the same currency in different countries

The Euro Area

The Euro area

Euro-area countries:

Austria

Belgium 

Finland

  France

  Spain

Netherlands

Ireland

Luxembourg

  Germany

  Portugal

  Italy

Greece

  Slovenia

  Cyprus

  Malta

  Slovakia

  EstoniaLatvia

Monaco

San Marino

Vatican

Countries struggling with the crisis:

Portugal

Ireland

Italy

Greece

Spain

Great Britain

Prepared by Konrad Rybczyk

Cultural differences and similarities in Europe

Europe is the third-most populous continent after Asia and Africa, with a

population of 739-743 million.

Religion in the European Union is a diverse matter with significant levels of belief in all EU member states. The largest religion in the EU is Christianity account 72% of EU population.

Catholic - 48%

Protestant - 12%

Orthodox - 8%

Other Christian - 4%

Agnostic - 16%

Atheist - 7%

Muslim - 2%

None stated - 3%

Countries with the fewest people reporting religious belief are the Czech Republic (~16%), Estonia (~18%), and Sweden

(~18%). The most religious countries are Malta (~94%; predominantly Roman Catholic), Cyprus (~90%; predominantly

Orthodox), and Romania (~90%; predominantly Orthodox)

What is more, over the last several decades, religious practice has been on the decline.

The most inhabited countries in the European Union are:

The figures underneath show the population of each participating country

and the percentage it has in the population of the EU.

Germany - 16%

Spain - 9,13%

Poland - 7,6%

Finland - 1,08%

Prepared by Szczepan Domagała