Introduction.
The European Union or EU is an international organisation of European states, established by the Treaty on European Union (the Maastricht treaty). The European Union is the most powerful international organisation so far in history, in some ways resembling a state; some legal scholars believe that it should not be considered as an international organisation at all, but rather as a sui generis entity. Major issues concerning the European Union at the moment are its projected enlargement, the Convention regarding a proposed European constitution, as well as British participation in the euro.
The original impetus for the founding of (what was later to become) the European Union was the desire to rebuild Europe after the disastrous events of World War II, and to prevent Europe from ever again falling victim to the scourge of war. The body was originally known as the Common Market, this later changed to the European Community and then to the European Union. The EU has evolved from a trade body into an economic and political partnership.
The total area of the European Union is 3,235,000 km2. Were it a country, it would be the eighth largest in the world by area. In October 2001, the population of the European Union was approximately 379 million, which would make it the third most populated country in the world.
The EU, considered as a unit, has the second largest economy in the world, with a 1999 GDP of 7,809 billion euro, second only to that of the United States (8,729 billion euro, 1999 equivalent). The EU economy is expected to grow further over the next decade as more countries join the union - although the new States are invariably poorer than the EU average, and hence GDP per capita over the whole Union will fall over the short-term. The number of EU citizens is the third largest in the world (after India and China).
The three Communities
The European Union grew out of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which was founded in 1951, by the six founding members: Belgium, West Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Its purpose was to pool the steel and coal resources of the member-states, thus preventing another European war. It was in fulfillment of a plan developed by a French civil servant Jean Monnet, publicised by the French foreign minister Robert Schuman. In fact on May 9, 1950 Schuman presented his proposal on the creation of an organized Europe stating that it was indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations. This proposal, known as the "Schuman declaration", is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union. The British were invited to participate in it, but refused on grounds of national sovereignty; thus the six went ahead alone
The ECSC was followed by attempts, by the same member-states, to found a European Defence Community (EDC) and a European Political Community (EPC). The purpose of this was to establish a common European army, under joint control, so that Germany could be safely permitted to rearm and help counter the Soviet threat. The EPC was to establish a federation of European states. However, the French National Assembly refused to ratify the EDC treaty, which lead to its abandonment. After the failure of the EDC treaty, the EPC was quietly shelved. The idea of both institutions can be seen to live on, in a watered down form, in later developments, such as European Politicial Co-operation (also called EPC), the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) pillar established by the Maastricht treaty, and the European Rapid Reaction Force currently in formation.
Following the failure of the EDC and EPC, the six founding members tried again at furthering their integration, and founded the European Economic Community (EEC), and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC). The purpose of the EEC was to establish a customs union among the six founding members, based on the "four freedoms": freedom of movement of goods, services, capital and people. The EAEC was to pool the non-military nuclear resources of the states. The EEC was by far the most important of the three communities, so much so that it was latter renamed simply the European Community (EC). It was established by the Treaty of Rome of 1957.
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