Abstract
This chapter illustrates the integration process of the European Union (EU), focusing both on the ‘deepening perspective’ (from the original European Economic Community and Customs Union to the Single Market) and on the ‘widening viewpoint’ (from the initial 6 members to the current 28, including enlargement to the East with the admission of several formerly planned economies, and the United Kingdom for the time being). It also considers competition policy and structural funds. It then evidences the weight and composition of the EU budget, with a brief discussion of its evolution over time. The EU’s integration process is assessed within the globalization trend, including evidence on the economic weight – of EU countries and the EU as a whole – in the world economy.
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Notes
- 1.
This first economic integration in Europe was advocated by Robert Schuman (French Minister of Foreign Affairs) in an important speech (9 May 1950) putting forward proposals based on the ideas of Jean Monnet (9 May is now celebrated annually as ‘Europe Day’). Besides R. Schuman and J. Monnet, K. Adenauer, A. Spinelli and A. De Gasperi can be considered the persons that contributed most – with ideas and/or political actions – to the realization of an integrated Europe.
- 2.
The ‘European project’ has indeed been successful in favouring the longest period of peace in the European continent, and this eminent achievement led in 2012 to the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the EU. For a comprehensive overview of topics related to the process of European integration in the post-World War II period, see Badinger and Nitsch (2016). For another review of the integration process taking into account economics, politics and history, see Senior Nello (2011). See also the book edited by Alesina and Giavazzi (2010).
- 3.
Notice that Norway, together with the 28 EU countries, Iceland and Liechtenstein, joins the ‘European Economic Area’ (EEA), where the free movement of goods, services, capital and persons is guaranteed, but also the free movement of persons (and there are some contributions to the EU budget). Switzerland, instead, enters various bilateral agreements with the EU to obtain access to the internal market in specific sectors, rather than the market as a whole.
- 4.
The extreme position of the United Kingdom was due to long-standing issues (such as the alleged ‘rigidity’ of Brussels bureaucracy) and recently bolstered by the difficulties and divergences in managing migration flows at the EU level. At the same time, the growing ‘no-Europe’ or ‘no-Euro’ opinions in several EU countries were also favoured by the impact of the double crisis and the EU’s wrong policy responses.
- 5.
The possible advantages of the Brexit were described by some authors (e.g. De Grauwe, 2016c) even before the date of the referendum. According to him ‘it is not in the interest of the EU to keep a country in the union that will continue to be hostile to “l’acquis communautaire” and that will follow a strategy to further undermine it’.
- 6.
It should be mentioned that significant institutional innovations, although they are not actual treaties extended to all members, have been introduced in recent decades: the 1979 agreement on the European Monetary System (EMS); the Schengen Agreement (applied since 1990) on the free movement of persons, as well as rules on visas, asylum and immigration; the Stability and Growth Pact (1997); the Lisbon Strategy (2000), now updated in the Europe 2020 plan; the treaties on the ESM and the Fiscal Compact (these treaties will be discussed in Chap. 6).
- 7.
The creation of the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999 (this will be discussed in the next chapter), at present involving 19 out of 28 EU countries, is the most advanced step of deepening within the EU (‘European Union’ was the new name introduced by the Treaty).
- 8.
We briefly mention the main EU institutions, as amended by the Lisbon Treaty: (i) the European Council consists of the Heads of State or Government of the member countries: as a rule, the Council decides by a simple majority; for specific issues, however, it requires a qualified majority, with a weighted voting system, or unanimity, as in the case of accession of new members; (ii) in the case of decisions on specific matters, the Council of Ministers of the EU meets: for example, the Council of Economic and Finance Ministers, Ecofin (the Eurogroup is instead the Council of Economic and Finance Ministers of the Eurozone countries); (iii) the European Commission, whose members are appointed by the Member States (one for each state) and are in office for a period of 5 years, renewable; it has powers of initiative, preparation, decision and control; (iv) the Parliament, whose members are elected every 5 years; (v) the Court of Justice; (vi) other consultative bodies such as the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions; (vii) bodies with wide autonomy, such as the European Central Bank (its role will be thoroughly discussed in Chap. 3), the European Investment Bank, the European Investment Fund; as well as those created after the sovereign debt crisis (EFSF and ESM).
- 9.
This resource, together with the previous one, is known as ‘traditional own resources’.
- 10.
The well-known US trade deficit and the Chinese surplus are evident.
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Marelli, E., Signorelli, M. (2017). A Progressively Integrated European Community within the Global Economy. In: Europe and the Euro. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45729-1_1
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