They were expressed at the Paris Conference in 1867. However, these integration ideas did not receive practical implementation: the contradictions between the countries were so deep that before realizing the need for cooperation, the countries of Europe went through two world and several local wars.

Integration trends in Europe reappeared immediately after the end of the Second World War, when the leading European countries realized that the restoration and development of national economies is possible only with the pooling of efforts and resources. The chronology of events provides the best idea of ​​the half-century path of European countries towards integration.

Timeline of European Union development

May 9, 1950 - French Foreign Minister R. Schuman proposed the creation of a single European organization for the production and consumption of coal and steel, uniting the strategic potentials of France and Germany;

April 18, 1951 - an agreement was signed in Paris on the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The agreement was signed by France, Germany. Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg;

March 25, 1957 - in Rome, the ECSC member countries signed agreements on the establishment of the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EurAtom);

January 4, 1960 - The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) was formed, which included Austria and Denmark. Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK;

July 9, 1961 - an agreement on the associate membership of Greece in the EEC is signed - the first such document in the history of the Community;

July 20, 1963 - The Yaounde Convention is signed - an agreement that laid the foundations for associated ties between the EEC and Africa. Thanks to this convention, 18 African countries have been able to enjoy the benefits of commercial, technical and financial cooperation with the Community for a period of five years;

July 1, 1964 - EEC creates a common agricultural market EEC, the beginning of the European Fund for the Support of Agriculture (FEOGA);

July 1, 1968 - the creation of the Customs Union was completed ahead of schedule. All customs tariffs previously levied between the Member States have been canceled, and the formation of common system customs fees at the external borders of the EEC;

October 1970 — a commission of experts on financial and monetary issues, headed by Luxembourg Prime Minister P. Werner, presented a plan for further unification of economic policy and the creation of a monetary union — the so-called Werner plan. In accordance with the plan, by 1980 it was planned to create a full economic and monetary union with a single currency;

April 24, 1972 - the introduction of the "currency snake" as a reaction to the instability of the world currency market. It was envisaged to change the exchange rates of the countries participating in the "collective swimming" within the established limits of deviations from the average central rate;

January 1, 1973 - entry into the European Community of Denmark, Ireland and Great Britain;

21 January 1974 - The Council of Ministers of the PS initiates a program of social action aimed at achieving full and optimal employment in the Community and improving working conditions;

December 9-10, 1974 - at a meeting of heads of state and / or government in Paris, the procedure for electing deputies of the European Parliament (by universal, direct and secret ballot) is determined;

February 28, 1975 - The European Community and 46 countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) sign the Lomé Convention (Lome, Togo), designed to replace the Yaoundéco Convention and providing for cooperation in the field of trade;

March 9-10, 1979 - at the session of the European Council in Paris, a decision was made to introduce the European Monetary System (EMS). EMU includes:

• (ECU),
• currency exchange mechanism and information,
• credit terms,
• transfer mechanism;

1 January 1981 - Greece is admitted to the Community;

8 December 1984 - 10 Community countries and 65 ACP partners sign the third Lomsa Convention. For the first time, the idea of ​​respect for human rights was explicitly expressed;

September 9, 1985 - an intergovernmental conference in Luxembourg, the purpose of which was to revise the Rome Treaties and formalize the political cooperation of the member countries;

December 2-4, 1985 - session of the European Council in Luxembourg. A single European act has been adopted to improve

Treaty of Rome and create a single internal market by December 31, 1992;

January 1, 1986 - Spain and Portugal become members of the European Community. The number of member countries rises to twelve;

February 1-13, 1988 — Extraordinary session of the European Council in Brussels. Member States are coming to an agreement on financial reform issues, adopting the so-called Delopa-I Package, as well as limits on spending on the common agricultural policy;

December 8-12, 1989 - European Council session in Strasbourg. A decision was made to convene at the end of 1990 an Intergovernmental Conference on the Problems of Forming an Economic and Monetary Union;

December 15, 1989 - 12 Community member states and 69 ACP countries sign the Fourth Lomé Convention;

December 18, 1989 - Agreement on trade and economic cooperation between the European Community and the USSR was signed;

May 29, 1990 - Agreement on the establishment of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was signed in Paris to support reforms in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe;

June 19, 1990 - France, Germany. Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg signed the Schengen Agreement on the abolition of border controls at the internal borders of the Community;

December 14, 1990 - An intergovernmental conference opens in Rome on the creation of a political union, as well as an economic and monetary union;

December 16, 1991 - Association agreements between the Community and Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia are signed;

February 7, 1992 - in Maastricht (Netherlands) the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty) was signed, providing for the creation of an economic, monetary and political union of the member states of the European Community;

May 2, 1992 - The Community and EFTA sign the Agreement Establishing the European Economic Area. EFTA, the European Free Trade Association, unites Western European countries that are not members of the EU: Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Essentially, this is the inclusion of the EFTA countries in internal European integration;

January 1, 1993 - The program for building a single EU internal market is completed. On the internal borders of the Community, all restrictions on the movement of goods, services, people and capital have been lifted;

November 1, 1993 - The Maastricht Accords entered into force. The Community is officially renamed the European Union;

June 24, 1994 - on about. Corfu (Greece) a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between the PS and Russia was concluded. The objectives of the Agreement include the creation of conditions for the formation in the future of a free trade zone, covering basically all trade between them, conditions for the freedom of establishment of companies and the movement of capital;

January 1, 1995 - Austria, Finland and Sweden join;

June 12, 1995 - The EU and the Baltic States sign the Association Agreements;

July 1, 1995 - The Schengen Agreement on the abolition of border controls at the internal borders of the EU enters into force. Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Spain and Portugal became its participants. Later they were joined by Italy, Austria, Greece and Finland;

March 26, 1996 - The Intergovernmental Conference (IPC) of the EU member states was opened in Turin (Italy). The purpose of the conference is to make decisions regarding the revision of the fundamental EU treaties and develop new strategy in connection with the establishment of the Economic and Monetary Union and the forthcoming enlargement of the EU;

December 13-14, 1996 - session of the European Council in Dublin (Ireland). Discussion of the text of a new treaty on the European Union, culminating in the signing of the Stability Pact, which marked a new important step towards the transition to a single currency from January 1, 1999;

June 1997 - meeting of the members of the European Council in Amsterdam (Netherlands). The emergence of a new draft EU treaty designed to reform EU institutions in the light of the coming enlargement;

December 1, 1997 — the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Russian Federation and EU;

December 12-13, 1997 - at a meeting in Luxembourg, a final decision was made on the admission of 12 new members to the EU (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Malta and Cyprus). Turkey is recognized as the official 13th candidate for EU membership. Accession negotiations with the countries of the "first wave" (Estonia, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and Cyprus) began in April 1998;

May 2, 1998 - the session of the European Council approved the list of countries that from January 1, 1999 will enter the economic and monetary union and introduce a single currency - the euro;

January 1, 1999 - EU countries (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Finland and France) introduce a single currency - the euro. The euro is beginning to be used in non-cash circulation for the implementation of a single monetary policy of the EU, the placement of new issues of government securities, servicing banking operations and settlements;

January 1, 2002 - Introduction of the cash euro. Replacing national cash with euro cash. The process of creating the European Economic Union has been completed.

The first steps of monetary integration in Europe were made even in the 1950s of the XX century. The creation of the European Common Market accelerated this process.

In 1958-1968. formed the Customs Union:

• customs duties and restrictions in mutual trade have been abolished;
• introduced uniform customs tariffs for the import of goods from third countries.

By 1967, a common agricultural market had taken shape. A special regime for regulating agricultural prices has been introduced. An agrarian fund of the European Union has been created. The customs union was complemented by elements of interstate coordination of economic and monetary policy. Many restrictions on the movement of capital and labor were lifted.

However, integration in the sphere of trade required convergence in the sphere of state regulation of the economy. There is a need to create supranational coordinating mechanisms. At the end of 1970, the countries of the European Union adopted a program for the gradual creation by 1980 of an economic and monetary union.

Werner's plan(Prime Minister of Luxembourg) provided for three stages.

Stage 1: 1971-1973 - coordination and subsequent unification of budgetary, credit and monetary policies, liberalization of capital movements and the creation of the European Monetary Cooperation Fund. It was envisaged to narrow the limits of fluctuations (±1.2% and then to zero) of exchange rates, the introduction of full mutual reversibility of currencies;

2nd stage: 1974-1979 - the creation of supranational bodies with rights in the field of financial, monetary and foreign exchange policy;

3 stage: the introduction in 1980 of a single currency and the creation of a European federal monetary system. It was planned to harmonize the activities of banks and banking legislation. The tasks were set to establish a common center for solving monetary and financial problems and to unite the central banks of the EEC along the lines of the US Federal Reserve System in order to harmonize monetary and foreign exchange policies.

In April 1973, the EU countries succeeded in creating the European Monetary Cooperation Fund and the European Unit of Account (EU). The process of currency integration developed in the following areas:

• intergovernmental consultations for the purpose of coordinating monetary and economic policy;
• joint floating of exchange rates of the EEC (European "currency snake");
• carrying out foreign exchange interventions not only in dollars, but also in European currencies (since 1972) to reduce dependence on the dollar;
• formation of a system of interstate mutual credits to cover temporary deficits in the balance of payments and settlements between banks;
• creation of the EEC budget, which is largely used for monetary and financial regulation of the agricultural Common Market;
• introduction of a system of compensatory currency payments and fees - taxes and subsidies in the form of a surcharge or discount to a single price for agricultural products, which, before the introduction of the ECU, were established in agricultural units of account equal to the dollar and converted into national currencies at a special rate;
• establishment of interstate monetary and credit institutions: the European Investment Bank, the European Development Fund, the European Fund for Monetary Cooperation, etc.

However, significant structural differences in the economies of the participating countries, psychological and economic unwillingness to transfer sovereign rights to supranational authorities for regulating monetary and financial relations, economic (primarily energy) and currency crises of the 70-80s of the XX century. prevented the full implementation of Werner's plan. His ideas were largely realized later.

The long stagnation of EU integration continued from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. The regime of the “European currency snake” turned out to be insufficiently effective, since it was not fully supported by the coordination of the monetary and economic policies of the EU countries. In order not to spend foreign exchange reserves, some countries periodically exited the “currency snake”. Since the mid-1970s, only the FRG, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and periodically France have participated in the joint floating of exchange rates; the rest preferred individual floating of their currencies (Great Britain, Ireland, Italy and occasionally France).

By the end of the 1970s, the search for ways to create an economic and monetary union intensified. The Commission of the European Union in October 1977 proposed the creation of a European body for the issuance of a collective currency and partial control over the economies of the member countries of the EEC. These principles of monetary integration formed the basis of the Franco-German project in 1978. In Paris, on March 9-10, 1979, a session of the European Council was held, at which it was decided to create a European Monetary System (EMS), the main tasks of which are:

• establishing relative monetary stability within the EU;
• the need to become a core element of a growth strategy in a stable environment;
• strengthening the interconnection of processes economic development and giving new impetus to the European integration process;
• providing a stabilizing effect on international economic and monetary relations.

» Modern times » What is the influence of the European Union on modern world?

Eiffel tower in the light rising sun, Paris

The European Union (European Union) is several dozen European countries that have united into a kind of common state in order to develop their own economy, as well as to influence the economy of other countries.

The economies of the countries that are members of the European Union are highly developed: in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, etc., a huge amount of high-quality goods are produced, which are very successfully sold all over the world. In addition, these countries have significant reserves of minerals: coal, oil and gas, which also has an impact on the global economy.

The European Union is not only the largest seller, but also one of the most "wholesale" buyers: various countries are happy to bring their products here and provide various services. In addition, countries that are members of the European Union are very often visited by tourists: for example, the most popular country in the world for "travelers" is France.

When was the European Union formed?

In 1951, the European Coal and Steel Community was created in Europe, which included only 6 countries - Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. These states united in order to produce steel and coal together and at no particular cost. In 1957, this association grew into the European Economic Society, which over several decades was joined by many European countries - Denmark, Great Britain, Greece, Spain, Portugal, etc. In 1992, the European Community begins to be called the European Union and now includes 27 countries.

The European Union has its own parliament, the single European currency is the euro, and residents of some countries can visit each other without a foreign passport.

The relevance of this topic control work obvious. The European Union is a powerful organization that has significant weight in the political and economic world arena. Today it is an organization to which people strive to join, whose opinion is, if not defining and decisive in political and economic processes, then of great importance.

The purpose of my work is to determine the motives for creating such a "titan". After all, the European Union includes 27 countries of the world. What made 27 states unite and develop mechanisms for interaction?

It is also interesting for me to understand the mechanisms of its functioning and interaction, the principles on the basis of which the European Union accepts new members into its ranks. What baggage should a country have to join the European Union?

In my work, I want to analyze specific events that have taken place in the world over the past few years, and understand how these events have affected the interests of the European Union. And how does the European Union itself relate to these events.

European Union(European Union) - an association of 27 European states that signed the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty). The European Union is a unique international entity: it combines the characteristics of an international organization and a state, but formally it is neither one nor the other. The Union is not a subject of international public law, but it has the authority to participate in international relations and plays a significant role in them.

List of countries - members of the European Union:

Austria

Kingdom of Belgium

Bulgaria

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Hungary

Germany

Ireland

The Kingdom of Spain

Luxembourg

Kingdom of the Netherlands (Holland)

Portugal

Romania

Slovakia

Slovenia

Finland

France

Estonia

Since the establishment of the European Union, a single market has been created on the territory of all member states. At the moment, the single currency is used by 17 states of the Union, forming the eurozone. The Eurozone is a term for the 17 countries of the European Union whose official currency is the euro. These states have the right to issue euro-denominated coins and banknotes. The European Central Bank is responsible for the monetary policy of the eurozone countries.

The main institutions of the European Union (EU) are:

European Council(meeting at least twice a year at the level of heads of state or government and the President of the European Commission), determines the general political line of development of the EU. The Lisbon Treaty introduced the post of permanent President of the European Council, elected by the heads of state and government for a term of 2.5 years. It is currently occupied by former Belgian Prime Minister Herman van Rompuy.

Council of the European Union(The Council of Foreign Ministers or, in sectoral matters, the relevant Ministers of the Member States) is empowered to make binding decisions on virtually all aspects of the EU's activities. The order of meetings is determined by the Chairman of the Council. Before entry into force Lisbon Treaty it was the corresponding minister of the EU presidency. From now on, if the meeting of the Council is held at the level of foreign ministers, it will be chaired by the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy K. Ashton (Great Britain).

European Commission– The EC (prior to the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty – the Commission of the European Communities) – an executive body, a kind of government dealing with daily work for the implementation of a common EU policy. It monitors the observance by both states and private companies of "European law", formed by the constituent treaties, legislative acts and international treaties of the Union. Prepares draft regulations for approval by the Council and issues its own administrative regulations. It has 27 members (European Commissioners), who receive, with the general consent of the governments of the member states, a mandate for a period of five years. Since November 22, 2004, the CES has been headed by the Portuguese José Manuel Barroso. On September 16, 2009, the EP approved him as EC President for another five-year term.

European Court participates in the formation of "European law" and ensures its uniform interpretation. The lower chamber of the court also decides on the claims of individuals and legal entities. The Chamber of Auditors examines the financial statements of all income and expenditure of the EU, the bodies it establishes and summarizes the results of the audits at the end of each financial year.

European Central Bank is an organ of the European Union. Officially approved on June 1, 1998. Determines the monetary policy of the EU countries, establishes key interest rates, manages the official reserves of the European System of Central Banks.

In 1922, Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi published his famous Pan-Europe, Project. In it, an aristocrat of Austrian-Hungarian origin analyzes the ideas of a high-ranking French official, Louis Loucher, stating that modern wars require gigantic industrial potential from participants. On the contrary, it is thus possible to avoid conflict between large states by placing their resources under collective control. Thus, there is hope for preventing a new war between Germany and France in the event that these countries jointly control German coal and French steel.

Coudenhove-Kalergi proposes to create the United States of Europe on the American model. In his opinion, this would contribute to the creation of a sovereign Europe along with the USA, the USSR and british empire. In his understanding, Europe stretched from Poland to France.

In 1926, Coudenhove-Kalergi creates an organization called the Pan-European Union and convenes a congress in Vienna, which brought together more than 2,000 participants. Coudenhove-Kalergi proposes a project of peaceful cooperation between sovereign states, opposing the fascist vision of a forcibly united Europe in which nation-states would be destroyed. He wins the support of many intellectuals, including Guillaume Apollinaire, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Thomas Mann, José Ortega y Gasset, Pablo Picasso, Rainer Maria Rilke, Saint-John Perse and others.

The laureate is elected Chairman of the Union Nobel Prize the world of Aristide Briand.

In the 1930s, the project received political incarnation through the activities of Aristide Briand and Edward Harriot.

Twenty-six states are invited to join the Federal European Union. In addition, entrepreneur Jean Monnet, former first Deputy Secretary General of the League of Nations, states that this union is de facto becoming a European intergovernmental organization, and proposes to turn it into the European Union. Unfortunately, these measures come too late to prevent a crisis on Wall Street and increased danger.

At the end of the Second World War, Coudenhove-Kalergi moved to the United States, where he undertook an active lobbying activity in order to convince Washington to impose a federal organization on Europe immediately after the establishment of peace. His efforts lead to success in 1946, when the idea is approved by the Council on Foreign Relations, which puts it on a list of recommendations to the State Department.

For his part, in 1946, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill spoke out against the "iron curtain that fell on Europe." He declares that it is necessary to stabilize the western part of Europe and prevent the communist contagion.

On May 8, 1946, the British twin organization of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Royal Institute of International Affairs (RIIA, the so-called Chatham House), coincides with the first anniversary of the surrender of the Reich with the presentation of a joint project between London and Washington. The Anglo-American position is voiced by Josef Retinger, a former adviser to the fascist Polish government, who is in exile in London and became an agent of Her Majesty's secret services.

This position was popularized by Winston Churchill, who in turn spoke in favor of the creation of a "United States of Europe".

However, this project has nothing to do with the project of Coudenhove-Kalergi and the democrats of the interwar period. London and Washington intend to create a common Anglo-American citizenship, thus cementing the great Anglophone empire. In this context, "Europe" is seen as a constellation of states invited to cooperate with each other and place part of their industrial resources under the control of a supranational entity more or less obviously led by an English-speaking empire. All these measures were to lead to the creation of a vast free trade zone, inaccessible to communist influence.

In 1951, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Italy created the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC - European Coal and Steel Community), the purpose of which was to combine European resources for the production of steel and coal, which, according to its founders, should have been prevent another war in Europe. Britain refused to participate in this organization on grounds of national sovereignty.

In order to deepen economic integration, the same six states in 1957 established the European Economic Community (EEC, Common Market) (EEC - European Economic Community) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom - European Atomic Energy Community). The EEC was created primarily as a customs union of six states, designed to ensure the freedom of movement of goods, services, capital and people. Euratom was supposed to contribute to the unification of the peaceful nuclear resources of these states. The most important of these three European communities was the European Economic Community, so that later (in the 1990s) it became simply the European Community (EC - European Community). The EEC was established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957, which entered into force on January 1, 1958. In 1959, the members of the EEC created the European Parliament - a representative consultative, and later a legislative body.

The process of development and transformation of these European communities into the modern European Union took place through simultaneous structural evolution and institutional transformation into a more cohesive block of states, with the transfer of an increasing number of management functions to the supranational level (the so-called process of European integration, or deepening of the union of states), on the one hand , and increasing the number of members of the European Communities (and later the European Union) from 6 to 27 states (expansion of the union of states).

The European Union, viewed as a single economy, produced in 2009 a gross domestic product of 14.79 trillion international dollars in purchasing power parity terms ($16.45 trillion at nominal value), which is more than 21% of world output. This puts the economy of the Union in first place in the world in terms of nominal GDP and second in terms of GDP at PPP. In addition, the Union is the largest exporter and largest importer of goods and services, as well as the most important trading partner of several large countries such as China and India.

The head office of the 161st of the five hundred largest global companies by revenue (according to the Fortune Global 500 rating in 2010) is located in the EU.

The unemployment rate in April 2010 was 9.7%, while the level of investment was 18.4% of GDP, inflation - 1.5%, the state budget deficit - -0.2%. The level of per capita income varies from state to state and ranges from $7,000 to $78,000.

The function of the European Union is to ensure closer relations between member states. This is done in order to empower member states, such as free trade, freedom of movement, freedom of choice of work. Previously, this was associated with many bureaucratic barriers. The European Union can also be called a counterbalance to the United States as the only global superpower.

The European Union, an organization that actively participates in public and political life society on a global scale. The European Union participates in the assessment of significant events in the world, both positive and negative.

The Georgian-Ossetian conflict in August 2008 also received its assessment from the European Union.

The European Parliament supported the conclusions of the report of the international independent commission of the European Union headed by Heidi Tagliavini to investigate the circumstances of the conflict in South Ossetia, which states that Georgia started the war in August 2008, but Russia provoked it. The document also notes that the response actions of the Russian side during the armed conflict were disproportionate.

The reaction of the world community to the comments of the European Union was not long in coming.

The United States has changed its attitude towards Saakashvili, suffice it to recall that recently at a session of the UN General Assembly, US President Barack Obama refused to meet with him.

“Not only in Russia, but in any other country, Saakashvili is no longer taken seriously. Saakashvili's regime is supported only by anti-Russian rhetoric,” Burdzhanadze believes.

Over a very short period of time by historical standards, the European Union has turned from a small sub-regional grouping of an economic nature into a truly European integration organization of universal competence, which has its own management apparatus and operates in various fields. public life.

At the current stage of development, the EU is already based on other goals and objectives that it plans to achieve and solve. If earlier the unification of the countries of Europe into a single Union was in the nature of cooperation and was expressed in the coordination of common forces to solve a number of problems, now it is a kind of “state” (or supranational entity), which sets itself other tasks and goals.

The leading place among the fundamental tasks facing the EU is occupied by a common foreign and security policy.

Among the main goals that the EU set out to achieve some ten years ago were:

1. pursuing a balanced and long-term social and economic policy, in particular by creating without internal borders, by strengthening economic and social equalization and creating an Economic and Monetary Union, with the ultimate goal of introducing a single currency;

2. assertion of European identity in the international arena, in particular through a common foreign policy and public security policies that could lead at the right time to the establishment of a joint defense system;

3. strengthening the protection of the rights and interests of the citizens of the Member States by holding citizenship of the Union;

4. development of close cooperation in the field of judicial practice and internal affairs;

5. maintaining and developing Community achievements, in order to determine to what extent the policies and forms of cooperation established by the treaty need to be reviewed in order to ensure the effectiveness of EU mechanisms and institutions.

So, summarizing the above, we can conclude that the European Union is an organization with its own history, a developed system of management institutions.

The opinion of this organization is considered by many powers of the world this.

To illustrate the scale of the activities of the Union, it is enough to indicate only some of its main results:

In the socio-economic sphere: building a common market, introducing a single currency "euro", issuing extensive legislation in relation to various sectors of the economy (transport, banking, customs, antimonopoly, agrarian, labor legislation, etc.);

In the political field: the functioning of a very efficient system of "European" authorities, which includes the European Parliament elected directly by the citizens, the courts of the Union, the Commission, the Council, the European Central Bank, etc.;

In law enforcement and humanitarian spheres: establishment of the institution of Union citizenship, adoption of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, creation of the European Police Office (Europol) and a similar institution to coordinate the work of national prosecutors (Eurojust), formation of unified information systems and data banks, centralized fingerprint database “Eurodac”, the establishment in the legislation of the Union of common signs and standards of criminal liability in relation to a number of criminal acts (counterfeiting, terrorism, human trafficking, etc.), the replacement of the ineffective institution of extradition with a “European arrest warrant”, etc.

In addition to this (by no means exhaustive) list of changes already made, the European Union is now preparing to take another step that could have very far-reaching consequences for the whole of Europe. It's about on the adoption of a single Constitutional Treaty of the Union, designed to replace the current constituent documents of the organization.

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5. Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org

EUROPEAN UNION, EU(European Union, EU) - association of European states participating in the process European integration. The predecessors of the EU were: 1951-1957 - European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC); 1957-1967 - European Economic Community (EEC); 1967-1992 - European Communities (EEC, Euratom, ECSC); since November 1993 - European Union. The name "European Communities" is often used to refer to all stages of the development of the EU.

The main declared goals of the Union:

Introduction of European citizenship;
- ensuring freedom, security and legality;
- promotion of economic and social progress;
- strengthening the role of Europe in the world.

The population of the EU countries as of January 1, 2013 amounted to 503.8 million people.

The official languages ​​of the EU are state languages member countries: English, Greek, Spanish (Catalan), Italian, German, Dutch, Portuguese, Finnish, Flemish, French, Swedish.

The EU has its own official symbols- flag and anthem. The flag was approved in 1986 and is a blue panel in the shape of a rectangle with a ratio of length and height of 1.5:1, in the center of which 12 golden stars are located in a circle. For the first time this flag was raised in front of the building of the European Commission in Brussels on May 29, 1986. The anthem of the EU is Ode to Joy Ludwig van Beethoven, fragment of his Ninth Symphony(which is also the anthem of another pan-European organization - the Council of Europe).

History of the formation of the European Union.

The idea of ​​creating a united Europe has a long history. However, it is the second World War and its devastating consequences created a real basis for European integration.

The lessons of the war led to a revival of the ideas of pacifism and an understanding of the need to prevent the growth of nationalism in the post-war world. Another reality that laid the foundation for the process of European integration was the desire of countries Western Europe to restore the economic positions shaken as a result of the war. For countries that were defeated in the war (primarily Germany, divided into several occupation zones), the urgent need was to restore their own political positions and international authority. Due to the start of the Cold War, rallying was also seen as an important step in containing Soviet influence in Western Europe.

By the end of World War II, two fundamental approaches to European integration had emerged: federalist and confederal. The proponents of the first path sought to build a supranational European federation or the United States of Europe, i.e. to the integration of the entire complex of public life, up to the introduction of a single citizenship. The second approach envisaged limited integration based on the principles of interstate consent, while maintaining the sovereignty of the participating countries. For the supporters of this approach, the unification process was reduced to a close economic and political union while maintaining their own governments, authorities and military forces. The whole course of European integration is a constant struggle between these two concepts.

The starting point of the process of European integration is considered to be the declaration of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, Robert Schuman, dated May 9, 1950. It contained a formal proposal to create the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The agreement on the establishment of this community was signed by France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Italy on April 18, 1951. The ECSC aimed to create a common market for modernizing and increasing the efficiency of production in the coal and metallurgical fields, as well as improving working conditions and solving employment problems in these sectors of the economy. The integration of this most important sector of the economy at that time opened the way for the integration of other sectors of the economy, which resulted in the signing on March 25, 1957 by members of the ECSC of the Rome Treaties establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom).

The main objectives of the EEC Treaty were the creation of a customs union and a common market for the free movement of goods, persons, capital and services within the Community, as well as the introduction general policy in the field of agriculture. The countries that signed it pledged to start rapprochement in their economic policies, to harmonize legislation in the field of the economy, working and living conditions, and so on. Euratom was created with the aim of uniting efforts for the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Even at the preparatory stage for the signing of the Rome Treaties, part of the Western European countries considered the proposed federalist version of socio-economic integration to be excessive. Countries such as Austria, Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland formed the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1960. Within the framework of this organization, integration was limited to the construction of a free trade zone. However, with the successful development of the EEC, one after another, the EFTA countries began to strive for a transition to the EEC.

The rapprochement of the states of the continent in the socio-economic sphere has become the core of the process of European unification. The formation of the European Economic Community went through several stages:

Creation free trade zones with the abolition of customs duties, quotas and other restrictions on trade between the participating states while maintaining their autonomy in customs and trade policy in relation to third countries (1957-1968);

Creation customs union with the introduction of a common customs tariff instead of autonomous means of trade and customs policy and the transition to a single trade policy in relation to third countries (1968-1987);

Creation single internal market which provided, in addition to the measures of the customs union, the implementation of measures to ensure the free movement of services, capital and labor (1987-1992);

Creation Economic and Monetary Union, which provided for the introduction of a common currency and monetary policy of the EU (1992-2002) with the replacement national currencies single currency - the euro.