World Regions EU Assignment
As detailed in the class syllabus, your assignment is read about the current status of the European Union, and write a paragraph in which you discuss a particularly interesting problem or situation that the Union or one of the member states are facing (for example, see the Special Reports on the Euro and Immigration under the resource section for some additional details). To receive credit, make sure to sign your post with your first name and last initial.
posted by The Professor at 8:53 AM
26 Comments:
interesting to learn that, if the turks can come to recognize the greek cypriots,they will enter the eu, demonstating that muslims and christians can when they put their mind to it reach peaceful accord.
I read the story about the European Union Constitution that was signed by the nine origional European Union members in Rome, Italy in the same building that they signed the measure to get the EU ball rolling some odd years before. Some things in the constitution the not all of the countries like and want to be simmilar about. When you first think about a constitution you think of one country or one state constitution, not an entire continent. That was the first thing that came to my head when I thought of the European Unionm creating a constitution. They made it to give the union a sharper internetional profile but if it isn't ratified then it will just be another skeleton in Europe's closet.
The European Union has been using rules set to work with six members. This has worked since the begining of the Union but now when 10 former communitst European countries join the current 15 members the system will not be able to function properly. So their is a new constitution being developed that needs to be ratified by all member countries before it goes into effect. The new constitution has clauses to include a permenant president and a mutual defence clause.
I found the idea of a new EU constitution to be quite interesting. The reading states that the original constitution was created with the original 6 members of the EU in mind.
New challenges arise beacuase of the addition of the former Soviet Bloc states. Also it has to be ratified by all 25 memebers of the Union. I could be wrong but thiat fact alnone will make the process harder. We are talking about new members with a totally different way of conducting politics and business, at least from a historical perspective.
Also I find the possibility of a Mutual Defense clause interesting. This basically states that it's one for all and all for one as related to the defense of the Union members. I can see this causing a modicum of friction because of prior non-EU alliances.
A problem that has risen amongst one of the member states of the EU is expansion. Germany fears an economic drain that will lead to an increase of unemployment and crime. They feel that if the EU expands from 15-25 countries that it will do more harm to their ecomony than good, because it will be easier to find cheaper labor form bordering countries like Poland than to increase the rate of pay for Germans. The Siemans electronic company has threated to move several thousand jobs eastward of Germany if labor unions dont agree to longer hours with no pay raise. People who support the movement of companies have been call "unpatriotic"
Edit: Typo on the words "because" and "alone" in my previous statement.
Europe held a summit in 2002 to admit 10 newcomers in may 2004 to the European Union. Turkey has a problem with becoming apart of the european Union Because 10 of 13 applicants were amitted into the union, Turkey not being one of them. Turkey had met the political and economical criteria but they needed to make improvements on their human rights record. The europen Union told Turkey if they could fix their human rights record then they would review the application in december of 2004.
I believe the admission of the 10 mostly ex-communist eastern bloc states have put Europe under immense strain. From them excepting new members from these states also caused a fear. When combining these 25 seperate countries has made integration slow and complex. The different outlooks is what makes the EU legislation a complex process. Which i believe will all be solved over time.
I believe the admission of the 10 mostly ex-communist eastern bloc states have put Europe under immense strain. From them excepting new members from these states also caused a fear. When combining these 25 seperate countries has made integration slow and complex. The different outlooks is what makes the EU legislation a complex process. Which i believe will all be solved over time.
I thought it was interesting that the nations of the EU were looking to immigrants to fill job openings. The lack of skilled workers in these countries indicate to me a shortcoming on the part of the government. There are enough people living in these places to fill the jobs. It would seem to be a better idea to train the citizens and avoid the backlash that comes with bringing in outside labor. Also, since human trafficking is such a problem, aren't the members of the EU being double-minded? On one hand they don't want to allow just anyone in to their countries and on the other, they are willing to allow them to stay IF they can fill certain positions advantageous to the countries' GNP. It seems to me that the EU has allowed hypocracy to legislate the policies.
As the people of Lativa prepare to enter the European Union the country is facing new problems that will hender its united progress in this movement. I think that the people who live in Latvia should be allowed to become full citizens without having to learn to speak the national language of Latvia. The government of Latvia is also trying to pass a law that will require 60 percent of instruction to be given in Latvian. Students feel that are being forced to learn Latvian and that they should be able to study in whatever language they want to.
There are many problems with the EU. It is to big in size, and I believe that is a problem. After reading the article, I believe that the "The Six" have become bullies. They are pressuring the other Countries to join the EU. Also I believe that Turkey should not join because they should not change their views for the EU.
The article, "Slovakia Seeks Help on Roma Issue," was very interesting. It's about the poor living conditions in Svinia, Slovakia, where there is no running water, electricity, or gas. It is a filthy place. It talks about the family of Ivan Cervenak and how him and his wife have to depend on state handouts; however, they have to do criminal things like stealing food to keep their children alive. They don't want to do this and I found it to be really sad.
one question that comes up. what is the reasoning for wanting to join the union, besides what is stadted in the article? I believe that the way the u.s.a. is looked by other nations and how we present ourselves, would cause other nations want to join up together. sort of like a bully ...
To be cont.
When I was goin through the Timeline The plan for the coming togther of europe was something that I never read about before the timeline reads: June 14, 1985
there was a Agreement signed by Germany, France, Holland, Luxembourg and Belgium. Eliminates border states.
Italy signs 1990,
Spain and Portugal 1991,
Greece 1992, Austria 1995, Denmark,
Finland and Sweden 1996.
So the plan was in progress for a while and really start moving foward in late 1980 earily 90's.
phase of Economic growth came along when the central banks came togther. A few more steps and in 02 it all work out. Called one of the biggest changes in history.
One of the problems that the European Union faces is that it has a conflict between supernationalism and intergovermentalism. Regaurdless of the broad acceptance of the supernational principle, national goverments have been reluctant to cede control over all policy areas to EU institutions. Without everyone abiding to the policies there is no union because a union is the act of joining together people and policies to form whole.
Last may the eu added 10 new nations even thought turkey qualified to become one of the new eu nations they were not accepted until they can make improvements on their human rights record they will not be accepted into the eu.
Last may the eu added 10 new nations even thought turkey qualified to become one of the new eu nations they were not accepted until they can make improvements on their human rights record they will not be accepted into the eu.
After reading the articles, I have come to the conclusion that there is a sundry of problems facing the growing European Union. The biggest problem I see is that of the language barrier. In Latvia, Russian-speaking citizens, who grew up in the times when the country was under Soviet rule, are being forced to learn Latvian or else face "alienation" by the government, whereby the inability to speak Latvian prohibits one from being a citizen. This is a problem because it would cause the loss of jobs and the overall degredation of the economy as whole. Just one of many worst-case scenarios.
The EU is a great idea and in my personal opinion it almost seems unrealistic. It amazes me that all of these countries can work together and come up with a "government" that governs a large portion of the continent of Europe. The biggest issues facing the EU are issues that are common around the world, money and power. This is why I feel that it is a good idea, but I am not sure how realistic it is for the union to stay together. Every country has its own agenda and they are going to put their needs above everyone elses. This causes conflict.
Immigration:Human Trafficking a Bigger Problem.
Millions of immigrants are risking death in the hopes of a better life. Europe could scarely be in a greater tangle about immigration because the trafficking of people is the worlds fastest growing crime. With as many as 500,000 illegal immigrants making their way into Western Europe each year, many through the Balkans, EU governments are turning their attention more and more to countermeasures.In war-torn countries like Bosnia, people may have little to lose by leaving. So with situations like this happening in many of the member states how do we solve the human trafficking problem? Jackie W.
Europes tangle over immigration, Immigration is becoming a crucial factor. People are facing prosecution or oppression in their native lands because of their race, political beliefs or religious faith are attracted to Europe's freedom of speech, association and worship. Some economic migrants may take their jobs. Some other problems are racial tension and labor shortage. Shaneika N.
In my opinion I don't think its right for the EU to hold so much authority to controling things. With the currency becoming one, it still expesses some independency by allowing the one side to represent the location of which it began. By conforming people to become all as one no one has the ability to thinnk and or act freely and expect results. Different people and things make the world, if we were all alike how productive could we really be? Diana G.
I was interested to read that the EU has not yet admitted Turkey because of concerns about its human rights abuses. After reading the article on the Roma in Slovakia, I had to wonder if their situation and treatment by the Slovak government could also be termed "human rights abuses." They appear to be victims of segregation, isolation, and abuse. The Slovak government has asked for help, but if these people are their citizens, why are they asking for help from others to deal with the situation?
from what I read, one of the problems with the EU is the matter of culture and language. Will joining a organization that size have dramatic effects on the individual countries? On that note,it seems to me that some of the countries will eventually become pressured to join if the EU gathers enough countries.
As I read the artcle on the European Union, I found some interesting concerns. I noticed how the union seem to have a lot of countries involved. I believe that it will be very difficult to pass votes and keep order when so many counties are involved in the union. I wonder how they plan on keeping mostly all happy or come to any conclusions about situations when the size of the union continues to grow.
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