EU – The European Union

Why was the EU created and when did it happen? It all started as a peace project in Europe, but there have been many challenges.

Accessibility icon EU – The European Union

From war to peace

Following the First and Second World Wars, Europe had been left in ruins after many years of conflict and war.

Tuesday 9 May 1950, the French foreign minister, Robert Schuman proposed a union he called The European Coal and Steel Community. The idea had been developed by the French diplomat Jean Monnet. The purpose was to bring the countries together to work together on trade and economy rather than going to war with each other. The agreement was put in place on 25 July 1952, and was the start of what we today know as the EU.

The first countries to join the Union were Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Kullfabrikker
Kullfabrikker

The four freedoms of the EU

The EU is built on what is called the four freedoms, which were originally found in the Treaty of Rome from 1957. The Treaty of Rome was an agreement of economic cooperation across national borders. The goal was to create free movement of goods, services, capital and people within the Union.

The four freedoms of the EU include

  • … the freedom to create and offer services. If a council wants to build a new town hall, they need people to offer their service. All construction companies within the EU can then compete for the contract to build it.
  • … free movement of capital. Money can be deposited in banks anywhere within the EU.
  • … free movement of goods. EU countries can sell their goods to other EU countries without the need to pay any extra duties (fees).
  • … free movement of people. Any person who is an EU citizen is allowed to move to another EU country to work or study.
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Containerskip
Containerskip

The history of the EU

 

 

 

 

 

 

Expansion and function

After the Treaty of Rome, the EU has expanded to include more member states and has also gained more political functions. The EU has a big influence on everyday life. The food we eat, medicines, safety and research are all regulated by the EU. The EU has very strict regulations around who can become a member state. One of the main criteria is that the country must be democratic and join the EU Court of Human Rights. Thanks to this,  the EU can be considered a strong supporter of democracy in Europe.

Since 2020, the EU has been made up of 27 member states.

EU
EU

The most important EU institutions

The European Parliament

EU citizens vote for 705 political representatives, depending on their political belonging, not on their nationality, for example the Greens, Social Democrats and left-wing radicals.

The EU Parliament is responsible for legislation, control of the executive branch and budgeting. One could almost say that the parliament is the legislative power of the EU. The parliament is located in Brussels, Belgium.

📷  The European Parliament in Brussel.

The European Commission
The Commission has the official power in the Union, and has a president who is elected by the EU Parliament. The president now is Ursula von der Leyen from Germany, and she was elected in 2019. The Commission prepares cases for other institutions and monitors that all the EU countries are following the laws set by the Union. The Commission is located in Brussels, Belgium.

The Council of Ministers
The Council is made up of national ministers who get together to discuss various issues. For example the finance ministers of all the EU countries can gather to discuss law changes in the banking sector.

The Euro and the European Central Bank
In 2002, the Euro was introduced in countries such as Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands. The Euro is a common currency that is meant to make trade easier within the EU. It also makes the administration of the economy across the EU easier.

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EU-parlamentet
EU-parlamentet

Norway and the EU

The EU is Norway’s most important trading partner, but Norway is not a member of the EU. The Norwegian population has voted ‘no’ to joining the EU twice . Elections to decide whether Norway should join the Union were held in 1972 and in 1994.

The election campaigns were tough with wild discussions between the political parties that were pro-EU (The Labour Party and the Conservative Party) and the political parties that were against (The Centre Party, SV and FRP). During these elections two movements were formed: ‘Europabevegelsen’ was for the EU and ‘No to the EU’ was against to Norway joining.

Despite the fact that people of Norway voted against joining the EU, Norway got a trade agreement put in place. The agreement based upon the European Economic Area (EEA), gives Norway, together with Iceland and Liechtenstein, access to the EUmarket. This means that Norway has to accept a number of laws from the EU, despite not being a member and not being represented in the European Parliament. On the other hand, Norway is able to make sure that the EEA agreement does not affect its farming, fisheries and oil policies.

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Norge og EU flagg
Norge og EU flagg

Brexit

The United Kingdom has been a member of the EU for a long time, but has often disagreed with the politics from Brussels. In 2016, the UK held a referendum on whether it should ‘remain in’ or ‘leave’ the EU. The British people voted to leave the EU, but it took a very long time before they reached an agreement with the EU on how to leave. An agreement was finally reached in January 2021.

Britain’s exit from the EU has been called Brexit (derived from ‘Britain’ and ‘exit’). Part of the criticism about the way Brexit happened has been that the organisations that supported the UK leaving the EU focused mainly on immigration policy. Not much was said about the cons of leaving the union.

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Brexit ballonger
Brexit ballonger

The run-up to Brexit

 

Challenges of the EU

Although the EU is often recognised for creating peace and stability in Europe after the Second World War, the EU has faced some big challenges.

In 2008, many of the EU countries experienced a financial crisis which led to high levels of unemployment and large debts. Greece was one of the countries which was badly affected by the financial crisis, and it had to get help from the EU.

The financial crisis led to a new level of dislike with the EU. The countries in the North felt that they were paying for the mistakes of the countries in the South. The Southern countries were unhappy about having to make large cuts in their welfare state in order to pay back large loans from the EU.

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Myntstabel
Myntstabel

Peace and democratic development in Europe

In 2012, the EU was recognised for its work with peace and democratic development in Europe by being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The EU got recognition for the peace of France and Germany after the Second World War.

In the 1980s, the EU worked towards the democratisation of Greece, Portugal and Spain. At the start of the 1990s, the fall of the Berlin Wall created new opportunities for a number of countries in Eastern Europe to join the EU.

The split between East and West in Europe is much less noticeable than before. Democracy has been strengthened in many countries, and several national conflicts have come to an end.

The EU is also a big promoter of human rights across Europe.

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Berlinmuren
Berlinmuren

EU and Covid-19

It hasn’t been an easy ride for the EU with the financial crisis, Brexit and a global pandemic. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the EU tried to strengthen its role by making agreements with member states to secure vaccines. This agreement also applies to Norway.

Covidvaksine i EU
Covidvaksine i EU

The way forward

The EU has approved the ‘Green Deal’ project, which aims to get the EU out of the crisis following the pandemic. The agreement sets out to make the EU more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

In Norway, the EU debate has been put on hold, but during future general elections there will most likely be new debates about how Norway should act in terms of its agreement with the EU and the EEA.

What is the Green Deal?

Green Deal
Green Deal

Sources:

  • Claes, Dag Harald; Hveem, Helge; Tranøy, Bent Sofus:
    Global økonomi, krise og politisk styring (2012)
    Oslo. Universitetsforlaget.

Media Rights:

    1. Getty Images
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    3. NEPinUK – YouTube
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    8. CNBC – YouTube
    9. Getty Images
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    12. European Commission – YouTube