Will the European Union Survive? :: European Union Essays

"Europe must prevent Greece from becoming an out-and-out catastrophe and make sure that the same fiscal 'remedy' is not applied to other weak economies" -- Franziska Brantner. The EU (European Union) has gone thru many changes. For some countries it has been a blessing and a huge success. For others adapting to a single currency and marketplace has been quite a struggle. The EU hopes to expand even further with the introduction of more states and become one of the largest marketplaces in the world. But will the EU survive in the long term? Is it really of benefit to its members? The EU was established in 1993. It was the EEC (European Economic Community) before that in 1967 and the ECSC (European Coal and Steal Community) in 1951. Its main focus has been for the economic development of its members. Now it seems to be more focused on government, social and legal issues. But the primary reason for the EU was to create a united states of Europe. The objective for this union is to create free trade among member states creating a more competitive market place thus developing competition and in doing so giving a better standard of living for its people. This could be said true for one of its members, Ireland. Ireland has been a textbook case for the EU. Obviously each country in the EU has its different experiences with membership. Ireland has been quite the model EU member in its ability to adapt to the concept of the EU and has seen its GDP almost double in size. Currently Ireland holds the presidency for the EU and will play host to the introduction of the newer members this summer. But has Ireland really benefited from its membership or is its success due to its nearest neighbor west, America. Since its independence from the United Kingdom in 1940 Ireland has had to establish its own economy independent from British rule. Prior to this time being a part of the British Empire guaranteed commercialism for ones country. Although it could be said to be one-sided the British Empire relied on its colonies for trade. In some respects Ireland was not an industrialist nation and was predominantly an agricultural country. In order to succeed and further develop itself she had to change its way of doing business. One of the first orders of business was to introduce a better educational system.