European Union
From SR
Contents |
History
The European Union (EU) is a unique economic and political partnership between 27 democratic European countries which aims to establish peace, prosperity and freedom for its 495 million citizens — in a fairer, safer world. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community.
Roles
The European Union acts in a wide range of policy areas — economic, social, regulatory and financial — where its action is beneficial to the member states. These include:
- solidarity policies (also known as cohesion policies) in regional, agricultural and social affairs
- innovation policies, which bring state-of-the-art technologies to fields such as environmental protection, research and development (R & D) and energy.
Europe’s mission in the 21st century is to:
- Peace and stability - provide peace, prosperity and stability for its peoples
- Bringing Europe together again - overcome the divisions on the continent
- Safety and security - ensure that its people can live in safety
- Economic and social solidarity - promote balanced economic and social development
- Identity and diversity in a globalised world - meet the challenges of globalisation and preserve the diversity of the peoples of Europe
- Values - uphold the values that Europeans share, such as sustainable development and a sound environment, respect for human rights and the social market economy.
Components
To make these things happen, EU countries set up bodies to run the EU and adopt its legislation. The main ones are:
- the European Parliament (representing the people of Europe) shares legislative and budgetary power with the Council of the European Union
- the Council of the European Union (representing national governments) is the EU’s main decision-taking body. When it meets at Heads of State or Government level, it becomes the European Council whose role is to provide the EU with political impetus on key issues
- the European Commission (representing the common EU interest) is the main executive body. It has the right to propose legislation and ensures that EU policies are properly implemented.
Members
A full list of the member counties can be accessed via the EU website
