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In modern Europe there are two trends, unification and fragmentation. Discuss both trends, explaining the obstacles to unification in Western Europe, both past and present, efforts to unify and strengthen to EU, and, the balkanization of the former countries of Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.
Unification and Fragmentaion
While the unification of Europe is begining with the EU, the contries themselves are breaking apart. In many of the countries, the ethnicity of the region is so varied that the the people want to be atonomous. Now that many are free to rule themselves, they are joining with the EU. Europe is becoming one nation with many states, all with freedom to govern themselves like the United States of America.
European Community
The European Community (EC)(now EU)--previously called the European Economic Community (EEC) and sometimes known as the Common Market--is an intergovernmental organization of 12 Western European nations with its own institutional structures and decision-making framework. The aim of the EC's founders was to construct a united Europe through peaceful means and create conditions for economic growth, social cohesion among the European peoples, and for greater political integration and cooperation among governments. The member nations of the EC are Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
History
A plan for a united Europe was first put forward by the French statesman Jean Monnet after World War II. In 1950, French foreign minister Robert Schuman proposed a plan that resulted in the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1952. The first of the organizations
that eventually constituted the European Community, the ECSC pooled resources and harmonized industrial policies and activities in the coal, iron ore, and steel sectors of France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. A single economic
market (a customs union and a free trade area) was established for these limited economic sectors and operated without being subjected to national regulations or restrictions. The ECSC was managed by a supranational institution known as the High Authority.
Strengthening of the EU
The Merger Treaty, signed on Apr. 8, 1965, and entering into force on July 1, 1967, established common institutions for the three communities: the Council of Ministers, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Court of Justice, and the European Council. The European Single Act (ESA), signed on Feb. 26, 1986, and entering into force on July 1, 1987, increased the powers of the European Parliament and set the stage for the EC's 1992 Program--an ambitious plan designed to eliminate all remaining barriers to the completion of a Community-wideunified market by the end of 1992. The Maastricht Treaty (December 1991), providing for the creation of a single currency, a European Centralbank, and Community-wide citizenship, was scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 1993. The process was derailed, however, when Danish voters narrowly rejected the treaty in a referendum held on June 2, 1992. The uncertainty created by the Danish vote was increased in September by a currency crisis that caused Britain and Italy to withdraw temporarily from the European Monetary System. Confidence was partially restored when a French referendum approved the Maastricht plan by a small margin on September 20, but the whole integration process was thrown off schedule.
The 1992 Program calls for the creation of a functioning common market in which national borders will present no more of a barrier to trade and free movement of people among the member states than do the borders within the United States. The member nations have established common
policies in foreign trade, agriculture, fisheries, transportation, and fiscal monetary activities. Common rules and joint programs are being developed and applied in sectors such as anti-trust measures and competition, energy, environmental protection, education and training,
research and development, technology, and currency. The EC promotes the economic advancement of its poorer regions, and the European Investment Bank (EIB) provides financing for multipurpose economic development around the world.
Growth of Membership
During the 1960s, British participation in the EC was opposed by French president Charles De Gaulle and others who felt that Britain's ties to the Commonwealth and its close relationship with the United States would conflict with membership in the Community. After de Gaulle's departure from the scene Britain did join the EC along with Ireland and Denmark in 1973, increasing the membership to nine nations. Greece became the tenth member in 1981, and the entrance of Spain and Portugal in 1986 raised the total to twelve. In 1990, with the disappearance of the German
Democratic Republic and the resulting reunification of Germany, the former East German territory was automatically included in the EC--not as a separate member, but as part of the expanded Federal Republic of Germany. A number of other countries have shown an interest in joining
the EC or have actually applied for membership.
External Relations
The EC is the world's largest trading power, accounting for approximately 20 percent of international trade. Because of its economic strength it is an important actor on the world scene, its scope of activity extending far beyond trade and economic matters.
More than 130 countries maintain diplomatic relations with the EC, and the Community represents its members at the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) talks, participates in West Economic Summits, and has observer status at the United Nations and other international
organizations. It also maintains a close relationship with the members of the the European Free Trade Assosation (EFTA). In October 1991, after lengthy negotiations, the EC and EFTA agreed to establish a European Economic Area (EEA) in which people, goods, services, capital,and information will circulate freely among member states in both groups.
Yugoslavia
Until 1991 the country was a federation of six republics (Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, and Montenegro) and two autonomous provinces (Kosovo and Vojvodina). In 1991 Slovenia and Croatia announced their secession from the federation, and Macedonia
and Bosnia also voted for independence. Civil war erupted when Croatia's Serbian minority resisted independence and was backed by the Yugoslav army, which invaded Croatia. The cause of Croatian and Slovenian separation was backed by Germany in late 1991, and on Jan. 15, 1992, the 12 nations of the European Community (EC) recognized the independence of the two republics. Early in April 1992, the EC recognized the independence of Bosnia and Hercegovina. On April 7, the United States recognized the independence of Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Hercegovina.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a central European country that was established as part of Czechoslovakia, an independent state, in 1918, that nation was dismembered by Germany prior to and during World War II and was ruled by a Communist government from 1948 to 1989. After the Communists were forced out, Slovakia asserted its desire for greater autonomy. The two republics were unable to agree on a common formula for their federal union, and on January 1, 1993, they became two separate nations. Slovakia now has an area of 18,919 sq miles and a population of 5,297,000 (1991).
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