European Union

From Free Talk Live

The European Union is a supranational confederation of European countries.

At present, there are 27 member states and its capital is Brussels.

The EU was founded in 1955 as the European Coal and Steel Community. It was felt that European states should co-operate, so to avert the likelihood of another European war, such as WWI or WWII. The Treaty of Rome founded the EU.

The 1992 Maastrict Treaty created the European Single Currency, which first came into being in 1999.

Someone who believes in closer European integration is a Europhile. Someone who opposes greater European integration is a Eurosceptic.

Criticisms

Because of its supranational nature, the EU makes member states cede some of their sovereignty. This is unpopular in some countries since countries lack the means to administer their own affairs.

The EU is also inherenly undemocratic. Decisions are made by the Council of Ministers and rubber stamped by the European Parliament. The Council of Ministers are the heads of government of the EU member states and the European Parliament is elected by the citizens of the EU.

From a libertarian standpoint, EU regulations simply lead to bigger government. Few EU regulations actually lead to reducing the size and scope of government.