The European Union (EU) is considered the most important economic bloc today, a fact that should not be so only to the economic development of their countries, but also to the great political importance of their member countries. It is, after all, a union between most of the main international actors in the (and also of much of the history of Capitalism), such as France, United Kingdom, Germany and others.
O process of formation and expansion of the European Union it has taken place since the mid-twentieth century, even though there have been discussions around such a congregation on the continent since the fifteenth century. Thus, some historical, economic reasons and the geographical proximity of EU member countries contribute to the extremely advanced integration of its representatives, in order to achieve almost a territorial uniqueness from various points of view, even though the populations of the countries maintain their concern to preserve their identities nationals.
With regard to the main characteristics and general aspects of the European Union, we can highlight the following points:
a) Free movement of goods: Since 1993, the European Union has not imposed any type of barrier to the movement of goods between its member countries. Thus, every product of the block manufactured internally does not know any type of customs barrier or tax collection, which it favors both industries and local commerce and large multinational companies that set up in any of the countries.
b) Free movement of persons: This is a project that has been present among European countries since the 1950s and which was fully consolidated with the Maastricht Treaty, in 1992. With this, the resident population of the bloc can freely move between member countries, although such integration has been accompanied by a strong policy of control of foreign immigrants, in accordance with the Schengen Convention, which differentiates the European population from the population outside the European bloc.
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c) Adoption of a single currency (euro zone): Also with the Maastricht Treaty, the European Union established the creation of a single currency among its members, the euro, with the consequent creation of a European Central Bank (ECB). However, not all EU members adopt the euro: the UK, Denmark and Sweden do not opted for this possibility, causing the other countries to be called as belonging to à eurozone.
Euro, the currency of the European Union
d) European Parliament: The degree of organization of the EU even allows the existence of the European Parliament, based in Strasbourg, with periodic elections and with legislative functions. In addition, the agency cooperates with the European Council in decision-making and acts to ensure maximum democracy within the economic bloc.
European Parliament seat in the city of Strasbourg, France *
All these characteristics, in short, make the European Union the bloc with the highest degree of integration in the world, categorized as a Political, Economic and Monetary Union. There are currently 28 member countries, with a few others in the process of joining, such as Ukraine and Turkey. Thus, due to its economic and political weight on the world stage, the EU is more than a simple economic bloc, is one of the great actors of the multipolar order that characterizes world geopolitics current.
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* Image credits: Buttoned Horvath / Shutterstock
By Me. Rodolfo Alves Pena
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PENA, Rodolfo F. Alves. "General aspects of the European Union"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/aspectos-gerais-uniao-europeia.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
