France and Germany, the two largest economies in the European Union, pushed new proposals for the enlargement of the 27­ member bloc

France and Germany, the two largest economies in the European Union, pushed new proposals for the enlargement of the 27­ member bloc

Subject :IR

Section: International Groupings

• The European Union must radically overhaul its decision-making and funding before it can accept more countries to join the 27-nation bloc by 2030, a paper commissioned from experts by the French and German governments said, polarising EU countries.
• Eight countries currently have official EU candidate status – Turkey, Ukraine, Moldova, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia – while two, Georgia and Kosovo, are potential candidate countries.
• The authors envision an model EU in four concentric circles.
• The inner circle; 2. The EU; 3. Associate members; 4. The European Political Community
• the study also examines several options on how to run a larger EU, including a bigger budget; linking EU payouts more strictly to rule-of-law conditions; and moving toward majority voting instead of unanimity in the European Council.
• In a move that could prove controversial to France and Germany, the experts also propose to reapportion more voting weight in the Council to smaller EU countries in order to balance the loss of national vetoes.

EU

• The European Union is a unique economic and political union between 27 EU countries that together cover much of the continent.
• 19 of these countries use EURO as their official currency. 8 EU members (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden) do not use the euro.
• The EU grew out of a desire to form a single European political entity to end centuries of warfare among European countries that culminated with World War II and decimated much of the continent.
• The EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states in matters, where members have agreed to act as one.

Origin of the European Union:

• Despite not being officially formed until 1993, the European Union’s foundations actually reach further back to 1957, when the European Economic Community was established.
• The EEC was formed out of a previous group called the European Coal and Steel Community – which had its own start in 1951.
• In 1993, the EEC morphed into the European Union following the new Maastricht Treaty (also known as the Treaty on European Union).
• Additionally, the Treaty of Lisbon, enacted in 2009, gave the European Union more broad powers that included being authorized to sign international treaties, increase border patrol, and other security and enforcement provisions.