INTRODUCTION
European Union (EU), organization of European countries dedicated to increasing economic integration and strengthening cooperation among its members. The European Union headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium.
The European Union was formally established on November 1, 1993. It is the most recent in a series of European cooperative organizations that originated with the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) of 1951, which became the European Community (EC) in 1967. The members of the EC were Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Spain. In 1991 the governments of the 12 member states signed the Treaty on European Union (commonly called the Maastricht Treaty), which was then ratified by the national legislatures of all the member countries. The Maastricht Treaty transformed the EC into the EU. In 1995 Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU, bringing the total membership to 15 nations.
The EU has a number of objectives. Its principal goal is to promote and expand cooperation among member states in economics and trade, social issues, foreign policy, security and defense, and judicial matters. Another major goal has been to implement Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), which established a single currency for EU members. With the exception of EMU, which went into effect in 1999, progress toward these goals has been erratic. Various factors have limited the EU’s ability to achieve its goals, including disagreements among member states, external political and economic problems, and pressure for membership from the new democracies of Eastern Europe.
European Union (EU), organization of European countries dedicated to increasing economic integration and strengthening cooperation among its members. The European Union headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium.
The European Union was formally established on November 1, 1993. It is the most recent in a series of European cooperative organizations that originated with the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) of 1951, which became the European Community (EC) in 1967. The members of the EC were Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Spain. In 1991 the governments of the 12 member states signed the Treaty on European Union (commonly called the Maastricht Treaty), which was then ratified by the national legislatures of all the member countries. The Maastricht Treaty transformed the EC into the EU. In 1995 Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU, bringing the total membership to 15 nations.
The EU has a number of objectives. Its principal goal is to promote and expand cooperation among member states in economics and trade, social issues, foreign policy, security and defense, and judicial matters. Another major goal has been to implement Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), which established a single currency for EU members. With the exception of EMU, which went into effect in 1999, progress toward these goals has been erratic. Various factors have limited the EU’s ability to achieve its goals, including disagreements among member states, external political and economic problems, and pressure for membership from the new democracies of Eastern Europe.
