The European Union, a political entity which has been proving itself from the day it came into existence. The union which once began with only 6 member states has now successfully grown into a 28 member states Union, covering a large part of the European territory.
Some events in life leave a huge impact on our life, turning the history of mankind and WORLD WAR 2 was one such event. The word itself brings back the disastrous phase of mankind to life.
Billions of people lost their life, millions of them lost their livelihood, and thousands of people were injured. It gave the glimpse to the world of the disadvantages of nuclear power.
But this war, became the base , the reason for the formation of the EUROPEAN UNION. One undying principle which laid the basis for the formation was ‘make war unthinkable and materially impossible’.
Along with that, the other principles which also laid its base were from the ideas of federation, confederation and customs union.
After the Second World War there was a new movement to create unity between Germany and France, which ultimately laid the foundations for the European union four decades later. From resistance fighters to lawyers, the Founding Fathers were a diverse group of people who held the same ideals: a peaceful, united and prosperous Europe.
There was a question, a fear among the people what if something like this happens again? Germany, being the main reason behind the war was completely destroyed yet to ensure that Germany could never threaten world peace; the heavy industry was partly dismantled and coal producing regions were detached . Winston Churchill in 1946, post war made a call for UNITED STATES OF EUROPE. This call became louder, a council was formed. A COUNCIL OF EUROPE in 1949. The next year, French minister Robert Schuman proposed to integrate coal and steel industries of Europe.
Inspired by the speech and the emerging ideology 6 nations decided to be the member of this union. The countries being Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
The following decade was considered as a period of economic growth. The main reason behind the same was that the member countries decided to stop charging duties when they traded with each other. During this period, we witnessed another set of event which again helped the European economies to bloom. The member nations decided to have a control over the food production so that all the members have enough.
With the increase in the steps to revive the economy, other nations Denmark, Ireland and united kingdom also became the member of the Union, making the count to nine. As soon as the things started to improve, there was another war. The short Arab- Israeli war resulted in energy crisis and economic problems in Europe. To overcome these problems along with various other issues, the EU regional policy started to transfer huge sums of money to create jobs and infrastructure in the poor areas. The European Parliament increased its influence in EU affairs and in 1979 all citizens could, for the first time, elect their members directly. The fight against pollution intensified in the 1970s. The EU adopted laws to protect the environment, introducing the notion of ‘the polluter pays’ for the first time.
In 1981, Greece become the 10th member of the EU. Spain and Portugal followed five years later. In 1986 the Single European Act was signed. This is a treaty which provided the basis for a vast six-year program aimed at sorting out the problems with the free flow of trade across EU borders and thus created the ‘Single Market’. There is a major political upheaval when, on 9 November 1989, the Berlin Wall was pulled down and the border between East and West Germany was opened for the first time in 28 years. This lead to the reunification of Germany, when both East and West Germany were united in October 1990.
In 1993 the Single Market was completed with the ‘four freedoms’ of movement of goods, services, people and money. The 1990s was also the decade of two treaties: the ‘Maastricht’ Treaty on European Union in 1993 and the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1999. People were concerned about how to protect the environment and also how Europeans could act together when it comes to security and defence matters. In 1995 the EU gained three more new members: Austria, Finland and Sweden. A small village in Luxembourg gave its name to the ‘Schengen’ agreements that gradually allowed people to travel without having their passports checked at the borders. Millions of young people study in other countries with EU support. Communication is made easier as more and more people started using mobile phones and the internet. In 1999, the European union decided to further launch the official currency and thus EURO came into existence.
Everything moved ahead in a slow yet steady pace. Though during the start of 2010, the European economy again faced economic crisis, their efforts helped to maintain the economy. In 2012, the European Union was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The major turn of events took place in the year of 2016 when the people of Britain voted not to be the member of the union anymore. Not only the union lost its member nation but the then prime minister, David Cameron also resigned from his position.
By Krina Shah
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