European Union

• The European Union (EU) is a unique political and

economic partnership that currently consists of 27
member states.
• The union and EU citizenship were established when
the Maastricht treaty came into force in 1993.
• Built through a series of binding treaties, the EU is the
latest stage in a process of integration begun after
World War II to promote peace and economic
recovery in Europe.
• Its founders hoped that by creating specified areas in
which member states agreed to share sovereignty—
initially in coal and steel production, trade, and
nuclear energy—it would promote interdependence
and make another war in Europe unthinkable.
• Since the 1950s, this European integration project has expanded
to encompass other economic sectors; a customs union; a single
market in which capital, goods, services, and people move freely
(known as the “four freedoms”); a common trade policy; a
common agricultural policy; many aspects of social and
environmental policy; and a common currency (the euro) that is
used by 19 member states.
• Since the mid-1990s, EU members have also taken steps toward
political integration, with decisions to develop a Common
Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and efforts to promote
cooperation in the area of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA).
• Twenty-two EU members participate in the Schengen area of free
movement, which allows individuals to travel without passport
checks among most European countries.
• The EU is generally considered a cornerstone of European
stability and prosperity, but it faces internal and external
challenges.
• Aims
• The aims of the European Union within its borders are:
• promote peace, its values and the well-being of its citizens
• offer freedom, security and justice without internal borders, while also
taking appropriate measures at its external borders to regulate asylum
and immigration and prevent and combat crime
• establish an internal market
• achieve sustainable development based on balanced economic growth
and price stability and a highly competitive market economy with full
employment and social progress
• protect and improve the quality of the environment
• promote scientific and technological progress
• fight social segregation and discrimination
• promote social justice and protection, equality between women and men,
and protection of the rights of the child
• enhance economic, social and territorial unity and solidarity among EU
countries respect its rich cultural and linguistic diversity
• The aims of the EU within the wider world are:
• uphold and promote its values and interests
• contribute to peace and security and the
sustainable development of the Earth
• contribute to solidarity and mutual respect
among peoples, free and fair trade,
eradication of poverty and the protection of
human rights
• strict observance of international law