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

After the First and Second World Wars, Europe had been destroyed by many years of war.

The French minister, Robert Schuman, suggested a union called The European Coal and Steel Community in 1950. The aim of this was to bring countries together by trade and economy instead of going to war against each other.

It started on 25 July 1952 and was the start of the EU we know today.

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 goal of the four freedoms was to create free movement of goods, services, capital and people within the Union. It came from an agreement called The Treaty of Rome in 1957.

The four freedoms of the EU include

  • … the freedom to create and offer services. If a town wants to build a new town hall, they need people to offer their service. All companies within the EU can then compete for the contract to build it.
  • … free movement of capital. Money can be placed 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

Since the Treaty of Rome, the EU has become bigger and bigger and now has 27 member states. The EU is a part of everyone’s life. The food we eat, medicines, safety and research are all things controlled by the EU. If a state wants to become a member, it has to be democratic and join the EU Court of Human Rights.

EU
EU

The most important EU institutions

The European Parliament

People who live in the EU vote for 705 political representatives. The representatives are elected based on their political view, not on which country they are from. Examples are the Greens or Social Democrats.

The EU Parliament is responsible for laws and budgeting. In other words, the parliament is the law-making power of the EU. The parliament is located in Brussels, Belgium.

📷  The European Parliament in Brussel.

The European Commission
This Commission has a president named Ursula Von der Leyen. She is from Germany and was elected to be president by the EU Parliament in 2019. The Commission makes sure that all 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
Countries like Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands started to use Euros as money in 2002. It is meant to make trade easier if countries use the same money.

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EU-parlamentet
EU-parlamentet

Norway and the EU

Norway is not a member of the EU, but the EU is still Norway’s most important business partner. There have been two elections in Norway about joining the EU, in 1972 and in 1994. Both times, the people voted no.

The campaigning was tough. You were either for or against the EU. Parties for the EU were for example The Labour Party and the Conservative. Parties against the EU were parties like The Centre Party and SV. “Europabevegelsen” (for the EU) and “No to the EU” (against) were formed during the elections.

Norway got a trade agreement despite the fact that the people voted against the EU. Norway has access to the EU market along with Liechtenstein and Iceland. To do so, Norway needs to follow and accept a number of laws from the EU. This agreement will not affect Norwegian farming, fishing, or the oil industry.

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Norge og EU flagg
Norge og EU flagg

Brexit

The United Kingdom was a member of the EU for a long time. The UK was not happy with the politics in Brussels, and in 2016 the people of the UK voted to leave the EU. It took a long time before they agreed with the EU on how to leave. They reached an agreement in 2021.

Britain’s exit from the EU has been called Brexit (from ‘Britain’ and ‘exit’). It has been criticised that organisations who wanted to leave focused too much on immigration politics rather than the downsides of leaving the union.

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Brexit ballonger
Brexit ballonger

The run-up to Brexit

 

Challenges of the EU

The EU is known for creating peace and stability. But there have been some big challenges.

There was a financial crisis in 2008 and many countries experienced large debts and difficulty for people to get work. Greece needed help from the EU after experiencing a huge crisis.

The crisis made countries sceptical of the EU. The countries in the North felt that they were paying for the mistakes of the countries in the South. The Southern countries needed to make cuts to pay back loans from the EU.

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Myntstabel
Myntstabel

Peace and democratic development in Europe

The EU got the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 for its work with peace and democracy in Europe.

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

In the 1980s, The EU worked for more democracy in Greece, Portugal and Spain. The EU became more open to Eastern European countries after the fall of the Berlin Wall in the 1990s.

East and West Europe have fewer differences now than before. Democracy is stronger and many conflicts have ended.

Protecting human rights is an important job for the EU.

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Berlinmuren
Berlinmuren

EU and Covid-19

With everything going on in the world, the EU’s job is difficult. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the EU tried to make agreements with the members to gain enough vaccines, including Norway.

Covidvaksine i EU
Covidvaksine i EU

The way forward

The EU has approved the ‘Green Deal’ project, which will take the EU out of the crisis after the pandemic.

There will probably be more discussions about Norway and the EU in the future.

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
    2. Getty Images
    3. EPinUK – YouTube
    4. Getty Images
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    6. Getty Images
    7. Getty Images
    8. CNBC – YouTube
    9. Getty Images
    10. Getty Images
    11. Getty Images
    12. European Commission – YouTube