European Union
The European Union (EU) is a political and economic entity consisting of 27 member states that share a common political ideology. In legal form, it is a complex hybrid structure with elements of federalism (such as the European Court of Justice and the European Parliament), intergovernmentalism (the Council of Ministers) and some characteristics of an international organsation (the European Commission represents the Union in certain international negotiations). It has grown from the six founding member states of the European Economic Community in 1957, through many accessions of new members — especially, in recent years, much of the former European Communist bloc.
Overview
Rationale
Determined to lay the foundations of an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe, ... we are agreed ...
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Perceptions of the rationale for the European Union have differed among its participants. Its founders saw it as the foundation of a union of the peoples of Europe (see box), but some of its later participants have seen it solely as a union of the sovereign nations of Europe. Its member countries have not since relinquished control over their defence and international policies, and the progress toward union that has been achieved has been predominately in the sphere of economic policy. In that sphere, however, every step in the Union's evolution has involved a further partial surrender of its members' national sovereignty. The launch in 1988 of the Economic and Monetary Union[1] was a step further than some of its members were willing to take at that time. The further surrender of national sovereignty by the countries that did take that step included the total relinquishment of control over monetary policy, and submission to agreed limits upon the exercise of fiscal policy. Member countries retained limited discretion over public expenditure and taxation, however, and in that respect the integration of economic policy has so far been incomplete.
The principal advantage of membership to a country has been seen as the unrestricted access that it provides to wider markets for its products. The adoption of a common currency as part of the Economic and Monetary Union was seen as further lowering barriers to those markets by reducing transaction costs and eliminating exchange rate risks. It was generally accepted that there could be offsetting disadvantages arising from loss of control over the domestic economy, but most of the continent's governments judged the balance to be positive. Some have since come to question that judgement because of the unsymmetrical impact of recent demand shocks upon the domestic economies of member countries.
Constitution
The term "european constitution" commonly refers to a document[2] published in 2004, whose proposals have not been given formal effect because they have not received universal ratification. In the absence of an accepted codification, the constitution of the European Union consists of a collection of treaties, protocols, declarations and regulations. Notwithstanding its lack of status, the document of 2004 provides a valuable summary of the existing position as perceived by its authors.