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Introduction:

It started with the Coal and Steel union in 1956 between West Germany, France, Italy and the Benelux countries with the perspective to achieve better cooperation between the countries and regenerate from World War II. Gradually this first big multinational European agreement has developed into the present European Union, EU, with a high degree of political and economical integration, and now with a Eurozone of countries with the Euro as the common currency. Historically the EU is quite unique; probably there are no other examples of such a number of states that deliberately make such supranational integration. EU has 27 member states, and the Eurozone has 17 members. The intentions behind and of the EU, and the development, have always been discussed and disputed, and the history of EU shows periods with different perspectives on the project. The on going discussion between more political and economical integration, maybe a federation, and a situation keeping as much national sovereignty as possible is in even more focus at the moment because of the economical crisis.

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The structure of EU seems by first look complicated, because it is a compromise between states still having most of their sovereignty, and an EU having its area for common decision-making. In EU there are four main bodies for the political process: 1. The European Council is the highest authority consisting of the political leaders from all the member states. They work out the common political strategies behind the EU project and have the final say. 2. The council of ministers make decisions in the various political and economical fields together with the Parliament. 3. The EU Commission has as its mandate to make the strategies into concrete laws/directives, execute them and are the ones to take initiatives according to the strategies. 4. The European Parliament, the members elected by the voters in the member states, take decisions together with the Council of Ministers in most cases and confirm the budgets and the members of the Commission. 5. The EU Court interprets the laws and gives through this standards and procedures for the executing of the mutual affairs. A kind of 6th agent, besides the five bodies already mentioned above, is the highly developed and influential lobby, which pursue its different interests and do their best to influence the legislative development.

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This structure is a mix meant to meet the demands for both national sovereignty of the member states and an effective mutual administration. It is often acknowledged that there is a &ldquo;democratic deficit&rdquo; regarding EU, but until now there have not been made significant changes. Agent number 7 could or should be the people in Europe. They can elect their national leaders, and they can elect their representatives in the European parliament. They do not elect the members of the Commission where the decisions are made. The discussion about this issue is not very tense. Many Europeans seem to think that EU is out of reach for the general European. The voting rate in the elections for the European Parliament has been declining in general and is considerably lower than in the national elections.

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EU has had varied support from the different member states and from different groups of people within the member states. The different trades support in general the EU because of the common free market; it is good for business and their economy. In the recent years there has been a stronger political integration, which has caused more discussion and maybe more rejection or antagonism than before. Today&acute;s EU with a distant, not so transparent and not very democratic, structure has difficulties in demanding more integration and support to regulations, centrally decided by somebody &ldquo;down in Br&uuml;xelles&rdquo;.

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The success of EU mainly depends of the results achieved, good economy and progress and precise restraints respectively possibilities, politically and economically. This is difficult in the present crisis. The old &ldquo;core group&rdquo; in the EU project has further integration, maybe a federation, as a main priority at the moment to overcome the financial crisis and in the future to be a strong global economic player. Several other countries hesitate or reject. The populations in the member states are divided in their views upon the EU project. Many people still do not fully believe in that EU exists for their sake, but is an overall political and economical project for a kind of elite. For the EU it is a question of how to obtain democratic legitimacy, how to balance between national sovereignty and supra-national decisions, how not to be an union for a political and economical elite, how to have a transparent and effective bureaucracy &hellip;?

Directive:

The aim and the product of the task are related to both the title, the introduction and the directives.

Read the introduction and the related issues and make clear the overall aim.

Relevant files are added. Use additional sources if you find it beneficial. The origin of additional sources must be noted for control.

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Products:

1. A presentation for the team:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Title: Is EU a good idea &ndash; for the Europeans, for the world? The reasons behind a growing scepticism towards a EU federal development. How much is this based on the history and structure of the EU? How much it is based on the current economical and political development?

2. Write a conclusion with your answers and arguments referring to the title of the task and the listed issues.

Related issues to include in the product:

1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What are the arguments behind he establishing of the EU. What was the reasoning 
&nbsp;behind the Coal and Steel Union? Argue if these reasons and arguments are valid 
&nbsp;today or not? 
 
2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What have been the major developments and expansions of the EU from the beginning until today and what could be the future main developments?

3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Make an overview over the developments in the relationship between the sovereignty of 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;the member states and the&nbsp;mandate of the EU. What are the main discussions in this? 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Which main areas are left to the member states and which&nbsp;to the EU? Is national 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;sovereignty a relevant issue today? Is EU developing towards a Federation?

4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; How does the EU use its budget? What are the main expenses, and what is the 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;development in this?

5.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What role does the EU play internationally? What impact does it have on main international 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;affairs, and how is it&nbsp;looked upon in general from outside? Examples: Climate Changes, 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Human rights, Development policies, peace&nbsp;efforts economical say etc.

6.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Evaluate the decision processes in the EU. How much do they reflect the wish of the 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;European population, how much&nbsp;the situation on the market, how much different interests 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; carried out by the lobbyists? 
 
7.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; How has the EU managed the financial crisis and its impact on the situation of people, 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;like cuts in services,&nbsp;unemployment, economical growth etc. 
? 
 
 
Files: 
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F1. A History of the European Union.&nbsp;Balancing Nationalism and Federalism,&nbsp;Burgess, Michael. Fall 1996. Introduction: Federalism and Building the European Union. Publius: The Journal of Federalism 26:1-15.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;file:///Users/erlinggroenlund/Desktop/Contemporary%20Europe%20tas&hellip;is%20it/file-A%20History%20of%20the%20European%20Union.webarchive 
 
F2. EU-why&amp;how(for an overview) 
 
F3. The European Union,&nbsp;file:///Users/erlinggroenlund/Desktop/Contemporary%20Europe%20task&hellip;t%20is%20it/file-History%20of%20the%20European%20Union.webarchive 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95CuBI-BL4E&amp;hl=en&amp;gl=en 
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