The New Europe

The European Union: The Evolution of the Dream

1951

Treaty of Paris

Purpose: Purpose: to reduce economic (and, hence, military) competition in coal and steel industries among original six members by forming a customs union for coal and steel.

Geographical Scope:

The Original Six –

France

Germany

Italy

Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg (collectively referred to as the BENELUX countries)

1957

Treaty of Rome

Purpose: Est’d European Economic Community (EEC) and EURATOM along side ECSC

EEC purposes:

1. to expand the ECSC customs union to other goods

2. elimination of customs duties

3. common external tariffs

4. free movement of labor / capital

5. common policies in agriculture, transport, competition

EURATOM: cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear technology (i.e., energy)

1962 (1963)

Common Agricultural Policy

1968

Customs union in place

1970

Financial autonomy achieved through:

Customs duties on imports and

Value Added Taxes (VAT)

VAT Rates by Country

EU Sources of Revenue 2007

Explanation of Revenue Sources

1970

Foreign Policy Coordination

Regular meetings of foreign ministers begin

1973
Accession of UK, Ireland, Denmark

1974

Summits of Heads of State European Council begin

1978

European Monetary System (EMS)

members start to coordinate the value of their currencies, limit the range of variation between them over time

the “snake in the tunnel”

1981

Accession of Greece

1986

Single European Act

Laid out in White Paper drafted under Commission leadership of Jacques Delors

Goals:

1.Single market/free trade area

to be in place by 1992

2. eradicate all NTBs (non-tariff trade barriers) – like what? What are these?

3. introduce qualified majority voting at Council of European Union

1986

Accession of Spain, Portugal

1992

Treaty of the European Union (TEU)

also called the Maastricht Treaty because it was negotiated and signed at Maastricht, The Netherlands, during the Dutch presidency

Purpose: Political Integration

Enumerated

3 Pillars of the European Union

Pillar I: EECS/EMU

Set timeline for Monetary Union

European Monetary Institute

as of Jan 1 1994

precursor to European Central Bank

Aims:

convergence of exchange rates

stronger cooperation among central banks

coordination of monetary policies

set criteria for participation in the currency union

More on the ECB’s Roles and Tasks

Monetary Policy

Criteria for Adopting the Euro:

* Budget deficit must be below 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

* Total amount of money owed by a government, known as the public debt, must be less than 60% of GDP.

* Inflation rate must be within 1.5% of the three EU countries with the lowest rate.

* Long-term interest rates must be within 2% of the three lowest interest rates in EU.

* Exchange rates must be kept within "normal" fluctuation margins of Europe's exchange-rate mechanism.

Video on the Euro

The Euro Designs

Pillar II: Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)

Pillar III: Judicial and Home Affairs

visas, asylum

border control

fighting international crime, trafficking

TEU also introduced:

An enhanced role for the European Parliament

Co-decision with Commission in some areas

1997

Treaty of Amsterdam

Four Main Areas of Emphasis

1. Citizens Rights

enumerated in the Social Charter

including employment

2. Borders

internal free;

external “ring fence”

3. A Stronger Voice in World Affairs

4. Decision Making to be Streamlined

with an eye toward expansion

yet co-decision still a general rule

1995

Accession of Austria, Sweden, Finland

(Norway referendum fails)

2001

Treaty of Nice drafted

Goes into effect in 2003

With eye toward enlargement, the treaty altered the number of MEPs allotted per country

And capped the number of MEPs at 732

and changed the rules for

Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) at the Council level

the proposal must be backed by a majority of member states and

the proposal must be supported by 255 votes from a total of 345 — about 73.9% of the votes.

a member may request the verification of the population condition, i.e., the countries supporting the proposal must represent at least 62% of the total EU population.

It also reduced the Commission representation of the larger states from 2 to 1 Commissioner

2004

Accesssion of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia,

Slovenia