Assignment 1:The idea of the EU has its roots back in the 40s after the WWII. The devastation on the continent was due to extreme nationalism and the idea of a union was thought to steer the countries into an alliance for the sake of peace. The first instance of a union in 1957 was after the treaty of Rome when a couple of countries (Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany) came together to create the European Economic Community and facilitate a common market and customs union. The European Union as we know it today, was established in 1993 following the Maastricht treaty. The union has grown in size over time at several instances since then because of the integration of new member states. I.1995, Austria, Finland and Sweden joined the EU. And in 2002 the new euro banknotes were introduced to replace 12 national currencies, seven other countries joined after that. Today, the EU is an economic and political union of 28 countries.The purpose of the EU is mainly the operation of a single market that allows free movement of goods, capital, services and people between member states. For a country to be able to join the EU, it has to abide by the rules of the Copenhagen criteria. These membership criteria were stated in 1993 during a European council in Copenhagen, Denmark. The criteria requires a state to have and preserve a democratic governance system, to respect human rights values, have a functioning market economy and abide to the obligations of the union. AS we reach the 2010s, the EU has been facing several challenges, the most popular ones are the GREXIT and more recently the BREXIT situation, where Greece and Great Britain have been trying to exit the European Union.
Assignment 2:Leaving EU:-No longer pay the membership fee, a value that can be reused elsewhere-Will be able to impose charges on exports (more than 50% of UK exports go to EU countries)-Be able to control the immigration flow from poorer European countries -More jobs in UK -Better security at its borders
Staying in the EU:-Some manufacturers will leave the UK if it’s outside the single market-UK loses weight in the international market by itself-UK companies will lose their rights to operate in EU markets-Migrants contribute to the country’s economyhttp://writedom.com/api/download/208189