(This is an archived page, from the Patterns of Power Edition 3 book. Current versions are at book contents).
The history of the European Union, according to an official EU website, can be traced back to the end of the Second World War in 1945. The first formal unification treaty followed:
“As of 1950, the European Coal and Steel Community begins to unite European countries economically and politically in order to secure lasting peace.”
Subsequent treaties saw changes of name, to the European Economic Community (EEC) and then the European Union (EU).
Fullfact.org published a convenient summary document on How the EU works: the EU's powers. Some key features are listed below:
· Administrative regulations facilitate the free movement of people and trade.
People’s human rights , as defined by the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), are protected by legislation – as described below (5.3.5.4).
· The European Court of Justice makes decisions which are binding on specific cases that have been referred to it. It can impose financial penalties for non-compliance.
· The EU can make laws without countries signing new treaties. New laws have to be agreed by either the European Council (composed of national foreign ministers or other government nominees) or by the democratically-elected European Parliament; most new laws have to be agreed by both these institutions.
These arrangements were agreed in the series of treaties that formed and amended the EU. “The Treaty of Lisbon clarifies the division of competences between the EU and EU countries”, as summarised on an EU web page: Division of competences within the European Union.
There have been many criticisms of the EU, but its unprecedented level of cooperation has made Europe more peaceful than it has ever been and its Legal Dimension of governance has been necessary to achieving its objectives.