EU- the Euro, potential candidates and our personal expierience

Adrian Frings, Nicole Rydz

Table of Content 1.Introduction 2.Eurozone 3.Being an Eu citizen 4.Why some countries do not join the EU 5.Potential EU Candidates

Introduction

Basic Information about the EU -Founded after second world war as European

Economic Community

-Starting Countries: Belgium, Germany, France,

Italy

Luxembourg, Netherlands

-Now includes 28 Countries (the newest is Croatia)

Eu GDP vs other countries

Poland Capital: Warsaw (Warszawa)

Size: 312 685 km²

Population: 39 million (7th)

GDP: 488.4 billion (10th)

GDP per capita: 12,866.7 USD (22nd)

Main export products: furniture, foods, motor

boats, light planes, hardwood products, casual

clothing, shoes and cosmetics.

Famous companies: Delphia Yachts, Melex,

Solaris, Bumar, KGHM

Germany Capital: Berlin

Size: 357.376 km²

Population: 82,6 million (1st)

GDP: 3800 Billion USD (1st)

GDP per capita: 46220 USD (7th)

Main export products: Vehicles, Pharmaceuticals,

Chemical Products, high tech machinery and

sensors

Famous companies: Daimler, Volkswagen, BMW,

Siemens, Adidas, Puma, Bayer, Allianz, E.ON

Eurozone

Eurozone

-Introduced in 1999/2000 with 11 starting

Countries.

-Today 19 Countries use the Euro as their currency

-Second most used and traded currency in the

World

-1 Euro is currently approximatly 1350 Won

-Controlled by the European Central Bank in

Frankfurth, Germany

How to join the Euro (Maastricht treaty)

-stable prices (HICP inflation rate lower than 0,7%)

-stable exchange rate (+/- 10%)

-budget balance (less than 3% budget deficit and 60% gdp to debt ratio)

-stable long term interest rates (max 4%)

-Be in ERM II for 2 or more years

-Have compatible legislation

Euro Advantages

-Currency stability (low inflation, protection from external shocks)

-Simplified and therefore increasing trade in the EU (economic integration)

-Advantages for consumers (traveling/price transparency)

-Weaker countries enjoy lower interest rates and receive more foreign direct investment

-Stronger countries enjoy bigger exports due to decreased currency value

Euro Disadvantages

-Difficult to find the right monetary policy in heterogenus economic situations (economic cycles)

-Country is unable to react with financial tools on its own (Greece in the EU-Crisis)

-Cost of Introduction

Being an EU citizen

Schengen-treaty

Blue= EU Schengen Members

Yellow= Non EU Schengen Members

Purple= EU Non/Special Schengen Members

-Allows border crossing without controls

-Common visa policie (“Schengenvisa”)

Refugee Crisis

-Schengen at some borders got suspended temporarily at some borders

-Very heated topic in the EU and individual countries (rise of right wing political movements)

-Some took in many refugees, others nearly none (of 400.000 refugees approved in the EU in 2016

295.000 got taken in by Germany/ Uk accepted 1850)

“The Visegrad Group (also known as the "Visegrad

Four" or simply "V4") reflects the efforts of the

countries of the Central European region to work

together in a number of fields of common interest

within the all-European integration. Czechia,

Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have always been

part of a single civilization sharing cultural and

intellectual values and common roots in diverse

religious traditions, which they wish to preserve

and further strengthen.”

The Visegrad Group <V4)

the Visegrad Group (V4)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDPZbAWtEaU&t

Freedom of living and working in the EU

-A right reserved for EU citizens

-Currently about 17 Million europeans live in another EU country (3% )

-additionally many “hop borders” for work and remain residing in their home country

EU-15 nationals residing in another member state (share of total population)

-Every EU citizen is entitled to study at any EU university under the same conditions as nationals (language

barrier and difference in fees can occur)

-Erasmus Program helps EU Students and trainees to study or work in another EU country (general

support as well as money is granted)

-Per year about 300.000 use the system

-Projected that by 2020 20% of students spend a period abroad during their studies

Freedom of studying and Erasmus

Why do some countries not join the EU?

Conditions for membership

-Conditions for membership:

*“respects the democratic values of the EU and is

committed to promoting them.”

*'Copenhagen criteria'-1993

*The Western Balkans

-Negotiations:

*the "acquis"

*35 different policy fields (chapters)-transport, energy,

environment, etc

-Other issues discussed:

*financial arrangements

*transitional arrangements

Steps towards joining

-When a country is ready it becomes an official candidate for membership

-Screening /EU membership negotiations

-Concluding the negotiations/closing the chapters

-Accession treaty/an acceding country

*Special process for Western Balkans

Potential Candidates

NON-EU nations’ situation Current member states

Member state which has given notice of its intent to withdraw from the EU:

United Kingdom

Candidates: Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey

Potential candidates that have applied for membership: Bosnia and

Herzegovina

Potential candidates that have not applied for membership: Kosovo* (status

disputed).

States that have frozen or withdrawn their applications: Iceland (frozen),

Norway (withdrawn), Switzerland (withdrawn)

States which have both ratified an EU Association Agreement and have had

their European perspective for membership explicitly recognised by the EU:

Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine[2]

Could’t go there because blabla

wanted to go to belarus and others

gifts

Iceland, Norway and Greenland

-very stable,even without membership

-Schengen members

-Members of European Economic Area (EEA)aplies major

economic EU laws and negotiations were expected to proceed

rapid

-norway has the oil it in the North Sea

-Iceland prefer to keep tighter political relations with north

american countries

-the main issues in all countries are the fisheries sector and whale

hunting, while progress had been made concerning the Icesave

dispute.

*Even Though Norway has already suspended its application it can

renew it,like Malta did.

NorwayEditMalta

Switzerland

-has a tradition of neutrality that made it wait decades

before joining the united nations.

-plus all its special banking legislation would have to

be changed to fit the european one and this would

have serious consequences on its economy.

-territory issues- Bosnia&Herzegovina vs.

Serbian State-new issue!

-Kosovo Vs. Serbia

-Despite interventions of many IOs the

former Yugoslavia has been divided very

badly into it’s new countries, just like

Africa

-Human trafficking in Albania

-Strong Russian influence in all nations(former USSR)(Bastions of Communism) -worse GDP per capita1 900,20 USD ‎(2016),than Balkan nations,especially Moldova(the poorest country in Europe) -Dictatorship and corruption-Belarus and Ukraine to some extend-poisoning of Viktor Yushchenko-gold in Viktor’s Yanukovich palace -War in Ukraine,caused partially by UE -Volynhia -Russian minorities-Crimea

Viktor Yushchenko

Yulia Tymoshenko

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Euromai

dan_on_Maidan_Nezalezhnosti%2C_Kiev_2013-12-08.webm

Turkey

-one of the biggest successes of IMF (meets

the economic criteria)

-threatening with opening borders to refugees

-human rights issues-Kurds (40 million people

in total in Syria, Iraq, Iran & Turkey), Armenian

Genocide, Northern Cyprus

Georgia, Azerbaijan, Nadgorno-Karabakh, Armenia, Kazkhstan

-Europeanised culture and cultural heritage-USSR, Ottoman

Empire

-Geographically in Europe, do not cross Ural Mountains

-Are really far from the heart of the EU, too close to Russia and

the Middle Eastern influences,

-Territory disputes

-Nagorno-Karabakh-Azerbaijan

-Southern Ossetia and Abhazia-Georgia

-Baikonur

“In May 2008, Poland and Sweden put forward a joint proposal for an "Eastern Partnership" with Ukraine,

Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, with Russia and Belarus participating in some aspects. Eventually,

Belarus joined the initiative as a full member, while Russia does not participate at all. The Polish foreign minister

Radosław Sikorski said "We all know the EU has enlargement fatigue. We have to use this time to prepare as much

as possible so that when the fatigue passes, membership becomes something natural" In May 2009, the Eastern

Partnership was inaugurated. Its members include the European Union as well as the post-Soviet states Armenia,

Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.”

History of enlargement

overseas territories

you were in monaco, san marino, vatikan and switzerland

when poland joined EU

Discussion

Why do some countries join the Euro and others do not?

Would you want your country to join an EU type union? Why?

What positive and negative effects do refugees have on a country?

What problems do keep Eastern European countries from joining the EU? Solutions?

Possible resources for discussion

Reference

https://europa.eu/european-union/sites/europaeu/files/enlargement_en.pdf

https://europa.eu/european-union/sites/europaeu/files/wealth_world_en.pdf

https://europa.eu/european-union/sites/europaeu/files/population_world_en.pdf

https://europa.eu/european-union/sites/europaeu/files/surface_area_world_en.pdf

https://europa.eu/european-union/sites/europaeu/files/euro_en.pdf

https://europa.eu/european-union/sites/europaeu/files/candidates_en.pdf

https://europa.eu/european-union/documents-publications/slide-presentations_en

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/050515/why-these-european-countries-dont-use-euro.asp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnQT7mO4doo

https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/policy/conditions-membership_en

https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/policy/steps-towards-joining_en

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/turkey-eu-membership-germany-warning-erdogan-president-a7911456.html

http://www.theweek.co.uk/24083/turkey-and-the-eu-the-pros-and-cons-of-membership

http://www.mfa.gov.pl/en/foreign_policy/europe/wweimar_triangle1/

http://www.visegradgroup.eu/about/aims-and-structure

http://www.visegradgroup.eu/about/cooperation

http://www.imf.org/

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Main_Page

http://www.asylumineurope.org/

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/convergence/html/index.en.html

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/education/library/statistics/erasmus-plus-facts-

figures_en.pdf