In 1992, in Maastricht, in the Netherlands, participants in the future eurozone signed the “Treaty on the European Union”. So the European Union arose. The composition of this unique community today is estimated at 28 states. The EU was created with the aim of interaction in the field of economics and politics. This step was designed to ensure greater growth in the well-being of citizens and the peaceful resolution of possible conflicts.
It all started with coal and steel
Active integration processes in Europe developed in the fifties of the last century. In 1951, a community of six states appeared (Italy, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Germany and the Netherlands), which united the three industrial sectors. The general currency was still far away then. The common market was erected on the powerful foundation of the metallurgical as well as coal industry. In March 1957, this association, as well as another supranational industry alliance (nuclear energy) became the first components of the EEC. It was an economic community. A decade will pass and the process will go far beyond industry boundaries. In the summer of 1985, the Schengen Agreement on the free movement of citizens, capital and goods cleared customs barriers within this community. The final step in uniting the European powers was the European Union, whose composition at the beginning of the twentieth century was replenished at the expense of neighbors from the east, seized by the desire for unity of the part of the world.
And ten new members
States joined the EU alternately for decades. By 2004, the composition of the EU countries was as follows: Italy, France, Malta, Great Britain, Cyprus, Germany, Poland, Luxembourg, Spain, Hungary, Portugal, Austria, Greece, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium. In 2004, Slovenia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia joined these states. In 2007, two more countries - Romania and Bulgaria - joined the European Union. The composition of the community, therefore, has expanded significantly in a short time. This was due to the collapse of the USSR. In 2013, Croatia joined the eurozone.
European Union: composition is tested for strength
Today, a number of countries (for example, Turkey) are candidates for EU membership. Despite the fact that in some countries there are quite a lot of opponents of the eurozone, not a single member of the EU has left it. The composition of 2013 is not its final design. A number of countries in Eastern Europe are considering joining the eurozone: not now, but in the distant future. To become a member of the EU, one must meet the strict requirements regarding human rights, democracy and keep the bar of economic achievements high. Accession to the EU should be preceded by several years of association with it.
New members can bring new problems.
Dissatisfaction with opponents of the European Union, as a rule, is associated with the conditions of financial markets, “debt slavery”. Those who are concerned about the possible destruction of national identities also give their votes. Further construction of Europe will depend on whether the European government can take into account the interests of each sovereign nation.