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1. The formation and development process of the EU

The European Union is collection of 27 member nations who exist on the continent

of Europe, share an economic and political bond as well as currency of Euro. With

a combined population of over 500 million inhabitants, GDP of the EU is 16,242billion US dollars in 2010, which represents an estimated 20% of global.

But where did this major alliance come from and why has it become such a

major political and economic player in the world?

Well to find this out we first have to look at how the EU formed.

The EU began as an economic agreement between six European Nations shortly

after WWII. The original EU nations were Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy,

Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

These nations went on to form the European coal and steel community in 1951.

And it was so successful that the six member nations moved to integrate their

economies even more.

So a short 6 years later (1956) the European Economic Community (EEC) was

founded.

The goal of this new entity was to eliminate trade barriers between the six member

nations.

The first enlargement of the EU did not happend until 1972.

Between 1973 and 1995, 9 more nations joined the alliance, and this alliance

finally became known as the EU.

The Currency of the Euro was first used on January 1, 1999. This became the new

currency for the EU except for the UK, Sweden and Denmark.

But the year 2007 the EU encompassed most of Europe with 27 member nations.

At the time the EU is a collection of dozens of treaties.

There have been efforts by france and the Netherlands to make a constitution for

the EU, but it has never been accepted.

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However in recent years the treaty of Lisbon has been signed, which brought major

reforms to the Union and has acted like a constitution in the absence of one.

It streamlined trade between all member nations and officially changed the

European community to the European Union.

But how does the EU pass and enforce laws on super national level?

Welll similar to many constitutional democratic nations the EU is made up of 3

branches: the excutive, the legislative, and the judicial branch.

2. Conclusion

What is the EU ever done for us?

Nobody claims the EU is perfect, but it brings real benefits to our everyday lifes.

Being part of riches consumer market in the world.

Travel in the EU has never been easier from cheaper flights to health insurance

and even pet passports.

Living abroad.

Equal pay and non-discrimination.

Foreign study.

Cheap telephone call.

Consumer protection.

Our environment is clean too, including cleaner beaches, rivers and better air

quality.

And over 500 million people have a power voice on the world stage

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6455879.stm

That is the basic history and structure of the EU and we hope this gave you a better

understanding of this great institution.