Describe briefly the main changes which have occurred in the European Union over the last fifteen years, then outline the changes which, in your view, are likely to happen in the next 5-10 years, indicating how these changes are likely to affect the UK economy in the future.
In order to understand the implications of the changes over the last fifteen years in the European Union it is important that we understand exactly what the European Union is.
The European Union can be defined as:.
The economic association of over a dozen European countries which seek to create a unified, barrier-free market for products and services throughout the continent, as well as a common currency with a unified authority over that currency.
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The hard work and dedication of men and women striving towards a united Europe has resulted in today's European Union. Their achievements are the foundations on which the EU is built. Europe is the only region of the world to have countries pools their sovereignty to this degree and in so many areas of crucial importance to their citizens. A dynamic single market in which people, services, goods and capital move around freely has been created by the EU. The EU has also introduced a single currency. .
It endeavours to ensure that, through social progress and fair competition, as many people as possible enjoy the benefits of this single market.
The ground rules of the European Union are set out in a series of treaties:.
• the Treaty of Paris, which set up the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951;.
• the Treaties of Rome, which set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957.
These founding treaties were subsequently amended by .
• the Single European Act (1986),.
• the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht, 1992).
• the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) and .
• the Treaty of Nice (2001).