THE EUROPEAN UNION

1. The Beginning The European Union (EU) began in 1952 not long after WWII. Members of this community met together to find ways to improve industry, trade and commerce (business) throughout Europe which was still suffering the after-affects of WWII. * The six founding states were Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands

By 1967 this group of nations called themselves the European Community By 1967 this group of nations called themselves the European Community . Later they would change their name to the European Union or EU. 1973: The United Kingdom, Denmark, and Ireland joined 1981: Greece joined. 1986: Spain and Portugal joined 1995: Finland, Sweden, and Austria joined. 2. EC Becomes the EU

3. Early Goals In the early years of the EU, the main goals were simply to improve trade and commerce throughout Europe. To do this meant allowing people and goods to move freely from country to country. So, the EU established the Four Freedoms to improve trade: Free Movement of Goods Free Movement of Citizen Workers Free Movement of Services Free Movement of Capital (money)

This was no easy task! Free movement of goods: meant no tariffs on imports coming from another European country. Free movement of workers: meant no passports for workers traveling between countries Free movement of services: meant letting companies expand their business from one country to another Free movement of capital: meant that all the countries would use the same currency. Now that was the BIG problem. More about it later.

4. Goals of the EU To continue to improve Europe’s economy by regulating trade and commerce. To form a single market for Europe's economic resources. As these goals were accomplished, other goals were developed: Environmental movements (What is pollution damaging?) Regulatory acts (Are products safe?) Human rights concerns. (Are workers being treated fairly?)

5. Principle Objects of the EU Establish European Citizenship Ensure freedom, security, and justice Promote economic and social progress Assert Europe’s role in the world

6. The EU Headquarters Brussels, Belgium Selected as the headquarters of the European Union because of its central location in Europe.

7. THE EURO One of the most important accomplishments of the European Union is the establishment of a single currency called the euro. Now countries that use the euro do not have to worry about exchanging currency. The euro makes trade easier, more efficient and less costly.

United in Diversity - The €uro

8. CURRENT EU CHALLENGES 1. Enlargement: *Twelve countries joined the EU since 2007, making 27 total * There are 439 million people in the EU. 2. The Euro: *The Common Currency for the EU Countries. 3. Multilingualism: *23 official languages (as of 2007) for 27 countries. 4. Openness, Access and Transparency: *How to get the documents to the people? 5. Safety & security of Europe: *Against terrorism.

ENLARGEMENT 10 more countries became EU Member States in 2004 Cyprus - 3 July 1990 Malta - 16 July 1990 Hungary - 31 March 1994 Poland - 5 April 1994 Slovakia - 27 June 1995 Latvia - 13 October 1995 Estonia - 24 November 1995 Lithuania - 8 December 1995 Czech Republic - 17 January 1996 Slovenia - 10 June 1996

25 EU COUNTRIES (2004) Austria Belgium Czech Republic Cyprus Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta The Netherlands Poland Portugal Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom

1951 Founding Members Belgium France Germany Italy Luxembourg Netherlands

1973 Denmark Ireland United Kingdom

1981 Greece

1986 Portugal Spain

1995 Austria Finland Sweden

2004 Cyprus Czech Republic Estonia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Malta Poland Slovakia Slovenia

2007 Bulgaria Romania

Candidate Countries Potential Croatia Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Turkey Potential Albania Bosnia & Herzegovina Montenegro Serbia including Kosovo under UN Security Council Resolution 1244

Trade The EU supports free trade and open markets to promote growth and jobs in both industrialized and developing countries.

9. Peace and Security One of the EU’s main goals is to create a peaceful and stable environment between European countries. But it also works for global peace and security . It often supports the United States and other countries in the struggle against terrorism around the world.