Emilio Esteban Keel Blanco A00757785 European Regional Scenario

Essay about hanseatic league and European Union

The hanseatic league was basically an association that began as a trade agreement between the merchants of Germany and Sweden in the Baltic Sea. This was because governments didnt put a lot of attention on that area and the merchants needed to protect themselves from pirates and robbers. And also, there wart certain products that for example one city from Germany and other city from Sweden or Russia, and they traded their goods Its decline was due to the more centralized power that was being taken in the capitals of their countries, the towns of the countries were no more autonomous , and at the same time the lac of centralized power on the hanseatic league, there was no leader, or leaders that could take crucial decisions for everyone. The league beag to lose its influence to 1669, when the last diet or reunion was organized. The main similarity that we can find between the hanseatic league and the European union is in its members, both of them are (were) European countries. Being Europe the center of the universe because of its political power and development, they have faced the necessity of do these kind of associations through history due to competition. We have to remember that the European Union was formed after Europe was almost completely destroyed by its own members. Another similarity is when it comes to the functions of these associations, they serve as a trade regulator, so the countries involved could easily trade between them and regulate prices of exportations. They managed taxes as modern associations do nowadays, for example the organization of oil producers, where they decide the prices of the oil that is gonna be sold to oil importers. I think that the European Union is quite strong right now, but it has to give some more power, more centralised power to the association, or else, it will begin to disintegrate because of some conflicts or disagreements within its own members, for example, maybe Germany would become tired of being the richest country in the association and at the same time, the one that has to help the other countries when their economies are falling down, that would cause a disequilibrium in the association.