Before becoming a real political, social and economic objective, the idea of a united

Europe was just a dream shared by philosophers and visionaries. For example, Victor Hugo
dreamed at a paceful „United States of Europe” inspired by humanistic ideals. The dream
was shatterd by the World Wars that ravaged the continent during the first half of the 20th
century.
Now, the European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 28 member states
(27 states will remain in the begining of 29th March 2019 if UK leaves EU)) that are located
primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2 (1,728,099 sq mi) and an estimated
population of about 513 million. The EU has developed an internal single market through a
standardised system of laws that apply in all member states in those matters, and only those
matters, where members have agreed to act as one. EU policies aim to ensure the free
movement of people, goods, services and capital within the internal market, enact legislation
in justice and home affairs and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and
regional development. For travel within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been
abolished. A monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002 and is
composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency.
In the 21th century the main aims of the European Union, is: to maintain and build on
the peace established between its Member States and its neighbours, to bring European
countries together in practical cooperation, to ensure that European citizens can live in
security in the decade of terrorist threaten, to promote economic and social solidarity, to
preserve European identity and diversity in a globalised world and to promote the values that
Europeans share.
But the issues are more and more hard to be resolved. One of the issues it is the
security and the EU in the 21st century still faces considerable. Europe has been a target of
Islamist terrorism by groups associated with Al-Qaeda and so-called Islamic State or
”Daech”. They have shocked the world by attacking the symbols of basic European values
such a religious freedom and freedom of speech. Examples of thes terrorist act include the
attack on staff in the offices of a satirical magazine in Paris in January 2015 and the murder
of hundreds of people in several attacks across Europe. The EU citizens are faced with an
unpredictable enemy, often with financial and military bases in the Middle East and Africa.
In the east , under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, Russia is pursuing a strategy to increase
its power. The Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 and wars in eastern Ukraine are dramas
being played aut on the EU’s doorstep. Also EU faces unpredecented waves of refugees
fleeing wars, dictatorships and hunger. But with all of that EU remain an area of freedom,
security and justice and for its efforts, in 2012 the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Although the economic cooperation is one of the advantanges to be in EU, the short
history of this century demonstrate us the opposite side. The global financial crisis in 2008
triggered the sharpest economic downturn in the EU’s history. Govermments and EU
institutions had to act swiftly to rescue banks, and the EU provided financial assistance to
the hardest-hit countries. The assistance progrannes for Irelad, Portugal, Spain and Cyprus
worked well and, following often difficult national reforms, these countries were able to
conclude their programmers, most of them in 2014. Greece experienced greater difficulties
in implementing the required structural reforms of its public sector and complicated
negotiations on the Greek public debt led in the summer of 2015 to new agreements on
reforms in Greece. In spite of the singular situation in Greece, sharing a single currency
helped protect the euro area against speculation and devaluation during the crisis. Efforts to
revive the economy were mainly required at national level. The main priority for EU
countries was to reduce their public debt, which had escalated as a result of greater
expenditure on social services following the crisis. Some countries rigorusly pursued this
objective whilst others had to ask for more time to reach their agreed debt objective of 3
percent maximum. The big challenge for European countries in the years ahead is to move
aut of the recession in a way that creates new, sustainable jobs, particularly in the areas of
digital and green technologies.
In conclusion, the main question for all EU citizens is: will be or will not be 28 states
in European Union after the March 2019?