European Union’s Mission in 21st century

European Union (EU) is an economic and political union unique in the world, that comprises 28
European countries and covers almost the entire continent. The organization that later became EU
was created after World War II. In the first stage, the focus was to consolidate the economic
cooperation, the countries involved in commercial exchanges becoming independent from an
economic point of view and thus avoid the risk of the emergence of a new conflict.

In 1958, the Economic European Community (EEC) was founded, which initially intensified the
economic cooperation between six countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxemburg and
Netherlands. Ever since then, 22 other countries joined, which led to the creation of a huge unique
market that continues to develop to harness its whole potential. What started as a pure economic
union evolved gradually, becoming an organization that activates in various political areas, from
climate changes, environment and health protection, to external affairs, security, justice and
migration.
Among the objectives of EU we can mention:

- Promote peace, European values and its citizen’s wellness

- Offer freedom, security and justice without internal frontiers
- Ensure a lasting development based on a balanced economic growth and price stability,
maintain a competitive market economy that favors full employment and social progress
and protect the environment
- Encourage the scientific and technological progress
- Consolidate the economic, social and territorial cohesion, as well as the solidarity among
member states
- Respect the cultural and linguistic diversity of its people
- Create an economic and monetary union whose unique currency is Euro
The values promoted within the EU are common to all its member states and these values are an
integral part of the European way of life:

- Human dignity – human dignity must be respected and protected and is the basis for the
fundamental rights
- Freedom – Freedom of movement gives the citizens the right to move freely within the
Union. Individual liberties such as respect for private life, freedom of thought, of religion,
of assembly, freedom of expression and access to information are protected by the EU
Charter of Fundamental Rights
- Democracy – Every adult citizen in the EU has the right to run and vote in elections for the
European Parliament, either in the country of residence or in the country of origin.
- Equality – Equality implies equal rights in front of the law for all citizens. The principle of
equality between men and women is the basis of all European policies and is the
 cornerstone of European integration. It applies in all fields. Although there are still some
inequalities, EU has made substantial progress in this aspect.
- The rule of law - Rule of law guarantees fundamental rights and values, allows the
application of EU law, and supports an investment-friendly business environment. It is one
of the fundamental values upon which the EU is based on.
- Human rights – Human rights are protected by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the
EU. These include the right of not being discriminated against on grounds of sex, racial or
ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation, the right to protection
of personal data and the right to access to justice

Since more than half a century, the European continent is enjoying peace, stability and prosperity.
Its population lives on high standards and benefits from a common European currency (more than
340 million EU citizens in 19 countries use the euro as their own currency), as well as other
advantages.
There are fewer checkpoints, customs entry points and other identification verification stops
required when travelling from nation to nation, which means citizens with appropriate
identification papers can freely travel on almost the entire continent. This makes it easier to move,
work and travel in other countries in Europe. Each member country must treat the Union
citizenship the same way they treat their own citizens in terms of employment, social benefits and
taxes.

The EU’s main economic engine is the single market. This allows the free movement of goods,
services, capital and people. The EU also aims to exploit this huge resource in other areas, such as
energy, knowledge and capital markets, in order to maximize the benefits offered to European
citizens. The EU is the greatest goods and services exporter worldwide and the largest import
market for over 100 countries. Outside of its frontiers, the Union is determined to continue its
efforts towards the liberalization of world trade.

The EU has also committed itself to supporting the victims of natural and man-made disasters
around the world and helps over 120 million people annually and the EU is the world’s largest
donor of humanitarian aid

In my opinion, EU has brought up many advantages to its citizens, making it possible to live, work
or study in any of the Member States. This is an opportunity that could be harder to achieve without
the freedom of movement among these countries. Especially for poor countries citizens, having
access to better education or better paid jobs is quite an advantage that could not be easily obtained
prior to EU coming into shape. Also, the guidelines that prevent any of the member states from
getting into political or economic problems is contributing to maintaining and promoting peace
throughout the continent.
I also believe that such a structure could also have its disadvantages.
For example, fewer borders and restrictions could lead to more opportunities for wrongful deeds,
as proven by the numerous terrorist attacks that have happened across Europe in recent years. In
addition, EU somehow ties the hands of local governments in certain aspects. An example of this
would be one of the issues EU is dealing with recently, the refugee migration. In Germany for
instance, around 1 million refugees have settled in. Despite the numerous needs that these people
have, just 6 billion Euro has been dedicated to building facilities for these refugees outside of the
humanitarian aid that is already being offered. This means local governments must provide support
to the EU without much in return for the crises they face at home. Furthermore, members states
are providing billions to support the EU every year and the Union has power over the government
in each of the countries.

Another drawback of having such an union could also be the fact that strong and wealthy countries
which are part of the EU have to share their wealth with countries that are much smaller or poorer.
This is to maintain a balance and preventing one country to become too powerful, which could be
a negative aspect for the countries that really have the ability to become world leaders.

The concept of unique currency also has both advantages and disadvantages. Among the
advantages, I can mention the fact that the use of a single currency would make travelling,
business, buying and selling much simpler. Also, on a long term, the loans and interests would
stabilize as a consequence of a unique currency. However, we have also seen in recent years that
switching from own currency to Euro has its side effects. The main ones would be the difficulty
to establish a fair parity and also the risk of an economic imbalance. The banking crisis in Greece
for example led to austerity measures to be forced upon the country ( cut spending, increase taxes,
etc.), which also caused high unemployment rates, riots and political instability.

All in all, the advantages and disadvantages of the European Union show us that a greater good
can come from such a structure. The disadvantages must be recognized, however, and then
proactively removed from the equation to prevent loss of life, reduced economic influence, and
other unforeseen issues that may arise. By being competitive globally, each member state can grow
locally, and that is really what the European Union is all about.