The purpose of the European Union

Firstly, let’s identify what is meant by The European Union. Investopedia defines European Union as a “group of European countries that participates in the world economy as one economic unit and operates under one official currency, the euro.”

It’s original purpose was to create a free trade zone without any barriers in order to enhance economic wealth and create efficiency in the market.

(Investopedia, 2013 http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/europeanunion.asp)

Looking back at the history, European Union was originated and officially founded in 1935 by Germany, France, Italy, Romania, and Sweden. Its formalised incarnation took place in early 1993 with an increased numbers of initials members. Up to this day the member list keeps expanding, with a most recent entry of Croatia bringing it up to 28 countries.

There are many different advantages of having a single currency across the members of European Union. They could be finanial, economical, political or customer oriented. From a average customers' point of view, the illimination of different currencies and introductiono of Euro helps travelers and business to overcome the issue with exchange rate. Now there is no requirement to change multiple currencies when traveling thus people not loosing money on exchange rates and they can easialy

The European union is a society in which people come together in order to keep peace and security within their nations. The Union was officially founded by 5 countries in 1935. Germany, France, Italy, Romania, and Sweden. European Union Nationality, Ethnic Groups, Languages and Religions:

Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish.

Languages: Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Gaelic, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish note: only official languages are listed; German, the major language of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, is the most widely spoken mother tongue - over 19% of the EU population; English is the most widely spoken language - about 49% of the EU population is conversant with it (2007) (http://www.economywatch.com/economic-statistics/European-Union/Nationality/) The sole purpose of the European Union is to create a united Europe. To allow freedom of movement and enterprise mainly. (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_purpose_of_the_European_Union)

European Union (EU) consists of 27 state economies. The European Union economy is recognized as a developed economy and mainly focuses on the manufacturing sector. Growth benefits from small- and medium-sized enterprises boost the European Union economy. However, turmoil in financial market is a major concern of European Union economy. Political leaders of major nations of European Union have decided to sign an official agreement to sustain their financial banking sector, which was badly affected by the world financial crisis. The major nations include Germany, France, Italy and Britain.

In case of trade, The EU is the world’s biggest trader, accounting for 20% of the world's imports and exports. Free trade among its members was one of the EU's founding principles, and it is committed to liberalising world trade as well. (http://www.economywatch.com/economic-statistics/country/European-Union/)

(http://europa.eu/pol/comm/index_en.htm)

What is free trade among countries of the European union? Free trade is a system in which goods, capital, and labor flow freely between nations, without barriers which could hinder the trade process. Many nations have free trade agreements, and several international organizations promote free trade between their members. There are a number of arguments both for and against this practice, from a range of economists, politicians, industries, and social scientists.

A number of barriers to trade are struck down in a free trade agreement. Taxes, tariffs, and import quotas are all eliminated, as are subsidies, tax breaks, and other forms of support to domestic producers. Restrictions on the flow of currency are also lifted, as are regulations which could be considered a barrier to free trade. Put simply, free trade enables foreign companies to trade just as efficiently, easily, and effectively as domestic producers.

The idea behind free trade is that it will lower prices for goods and services by promoting competition. Domestic producers will not longer be able to rely on government subsidies and other forms of assistance, including quotas which essentially force citizens to buy from domestic producers, while foreign companies can make inroads on new markets when barriers to trade are lifted. In addition to reducing prices, free trade is also supposed to encourage innovation, since competition between companies sparks a need to come up with innovative products and solutions to capture market share.

(http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-free-trade.htm#didyouknowout)

EU trade policy is made exclusively at EU level. The Commission negotiates agreements on behalf of the EU within WTO rules and works closely with national governments and the European Parliament to maintain the global system and enable it to adapt to worldwide changes.

(http://europa.eu/pol/comm/index_en.htm)

The EU builds a fair and open playing field. The EU negotiates agreements through its worldwide network of trade relations. It engages with a huge range of partners, mostly through free trade agreements. These partnerships seek to create growth and jobs for Europeans by opening new markets with the rest of the world. Transatlantic markets, for example, represent transactions worth around 2 billion euros every day. EU trade policy also aims to reduce child and forced labour, environmental destruction and price volatility. Schemes which ensure transparency and traceability in supply chains are one example.

For the world's poorest countries, EU trade policy looks to combine trade and development. Allowing lower duties, supporting small export businesses, and advising on improvements to governance are just some of the ways trade and development can work hand in hand to ensure the neediest benefit from trade-led growth.

(http://europa.eu/pol/comm/index_en.htm)

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Date: 2014-12-21; view: 1799