European Union and Its Impact on Member Countries

Introduction

The European Union (EU) founded in 1992 in Maastricht, the Netherlands. It began functioning as a political organization in November 1993 and has gradually become one of the vital actors in international affairs. In Europe, the EU has undoubtedly become a political unit toward which the small, and extraordinary powers tend to look before anything else and toward which political, regional, and economic activities increasingly tend to be geared. The EU currently includes 27 European states and structured around three key institutions: the European Parliament (with 736 members), the European Commission (with 27 commissioners), and the European Council.

Evolution of the European Union

The EU is the most recent stage of the post-World War II European integration process, which was launched in the early 1950s. The institutional dimension of this process has developed systematically during the past decades. The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), founded in 1951, first governed the coal and steel industries of the six founder states. The enlargement process has continued steadily, if unevenly, during all but 7 years. Originally, European integration involved only six Western European states: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Luxemburg. The first round of enlargement took place in 1973, when Britain, Ireland, and Denmark joined the EC. This round was followed by the accession of Greece in 1981. The southern dimension of the integration strengthened 5 yrs., when Spain and Portugal became members. After the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 and the consequent establishment of the EU, the expansion, which included Sweden, Finland, and Austria, took effect in 1995. This phase of the EU lasted 9 yrs., after which the eastern expansion of the EU brought in 10 new members in 2004. The eastern expansion finalized in 2007, when Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU (Jones, 2-12).

Pros and Cons of EU Membership

Arguments supporting the idea that the country should join the EU but is not yet ready

While supporting the idea of Romania joining the EU, some critics argue that the country is not yet fully prepared to do so. As determined by the European Union, there is still significant number of areas the government has to improve in order to satisfy the admission criteria. The government has not yet completely reformed the public administration and judicial systems. Also, despite adopting measures to fight corruption (probably one of the biggest problems that Romania currently faces); their implementation was not very successful as it depends on the “independence, effectiveness, and accountability of the National Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office”. Thus, despite achieving economic improvements in the past few years, the country lags far behind its neighbors (Pollack, 221-224).

Cons

The ultimate goal of the government is to accept the EU membership and take advantage of it, but there were still some opposing of Romania to accept it as they think it will not be beneficial. As a result, of EU's decision disperse billion Euros into a country whose administration is weaker reasonably will intensify to corruption in the ...