European Community
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| This article does not cite any references or sources. (December 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
| Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (December 2007) |
The European Community (EC) is one of the three pillars of the European Union (EU) created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992). Prior to that it was an independent supranational economic organisation founded in 1957 by the Treaty of Rome. It is due to be completely absorbed by the European Union in 2009 if the Treaty of Lisbon comes into force.
Contents |
[edit] History
- Further information: History of the European Union
[edit] Background
In 1951 the Treaty of Paris was signed, creating the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). This was an international community based on supranationalism and international law, designed to help the economy of Europe and prevent future war by integrating its members together.
In the aim of creating a federal Europe two further communities were proposed. A European Defence Community (EDC) and a European Political Community (EPC). While the treaty for the latter was being drawn up by the Common Assembly, the ECSC parliamentary chamber, the EDC was rejected by the French Parliament. President Jean Monnet, a leading figure behind the communities, resigned from the High Authority in protest and began work on alternative communities, based on economic integration rather than political integration.
[edit] Treaty of Rome (1957)
The resulting communities were the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom). These were markedly less supranational than the previous communities, due to protests from some countries that their sovereignty was being infringed (however there would still be concerns with the behaviour of the Hallstein Commission). The EEC (direct ancestor of the modern Community) was to create a customs union while Euratom would promote co-operation in the atomic energy sphere. The EEC rapidly became the most important of these and expanded its activities. One of the first important accomplishments of the EEC was the establishment (1962) of common price levels for agricultural products. In 1968, internal tariffs (tariffs on trade between member nations) were removed on certain products.
In 1967 the Merger Treaty was signed, which combined the institutions of the ECSC and Euratom into that of the EEC, they already shared a Parliamentary Assembly and Courts. Collectively they were known as the European Communities. The Communities still had independent personalities although were increasingly integrated.
Future treaties granted the community new powers beyond simple economic matters which had achieved a high level of integration. As it got closer to the goal of political integration and a peaceful and united Europe, what Mikhail Gorbachev described as a Common European Home.
[edit] Pillar
Maastricht Treaty, which entered into force in 1993, established the three pillars of the European Union. While this expanded co-operation between members into foreign policy and Justice and Home Affairs, the institutions of the EEC, now just known as the European Community (EC) due to its expanded role, had little power over these areas which operated on a more intergovernmental basis. For example, while voting within the EC is conducted by Qualified Majority Voting (QMV), in the other pillars individual members could often veto proposals.
With subsequent treaties some powers were transferred from Home Affairs to the Community, and the role of Community institutions have increase, such as granting more oversight powers to the Parliament.
The ECSC element of the Community ceased to exist when its treaty expired, having a 50 year limit, in 2002. It was seen as redundant so no effort was made to replace it, all its assets and activities were handed over to the core of the EC. In 2006 the first new community was created, the European Energy Community. Although this is not strictly comparable to the original Communities as the Energy Community does not set up institutions but rather is an agreement for neighbouring states to adopt EU standards and open up each others markets. It also does not form part of the EU, rather the EU is a member of it.
[edit] Future
Under the Treaty of Lisbon the pillar structure would be abolished, merging the Community pillar with the others into a single European Union, over which Community institutions would have greater powers. This would include the legal personality of the Community which would hence be transferred to the Union. This was previously proposed under the European Constitution but that treaty failed ratification in 2005. The Treaty of Lisbon is planned to come into force in 2009, if fully ratified.
The Euratom treaty, unlike that of the ECSC, did not expire and despite proposals to merge that fully into the Union, it will continue to exist as a sole independent entity within the Union.
[edit] Members
- Further information: European Union member state and Enlargement of the European Union
European Communities European Union
The EC members have been the same as those of the EU, as the EC forms the core of the EU. The EEC was founded by the original six, France, Germany, Italy and the three Benelux countries: Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
After the merger the Communities enlarged in 1979 to include Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Greece, Spain and Portugal joined throughout the 1980s, after that the EU was created and it enlarged to fifteen further states between its founding in 1993 and 2007.
Each member has a right to one European Commissioner each, although in the European Commission they are not supposed to represent their national interest but that of the Community. Prior to 2004, the larger members (France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom) have had two Commissioners. The Council is also composed of one national minister who represents their national government.
In the European Parliament, members are allocated a set number seats related to their population, however these (since 1979) have been directly elected and they sit according to political allegiance, not national origin.
[edit] Institutions
- Further information: Institutions of the European Union
While the powers of the Parliament, and to an extent the Commission, have increased over the years: the basic structure of the Communities' institutions have remained the same. Executive power is held by the Council of the European Communities/Union, which it confers upon the Commission of the European Communities: the executive branch. The Council also acts as co-legislator with Parliament. The judiciary is the Court of Justice of the European Communities.
The Commission has sole right of initiative to draft EU law, which must then be approved by the Parliament and Council. While in the past the Parliament has had little power, during the pillar era it has gained near equal status with the Council on Community matters. Outside the Community, the Parliament and Commission have less powers over legislation and actions.
However the Commission and its President does have considerable power through its leadership role and by mediating between member states. The Parliament also has more influence through its democratic mandate, although it does not have much power over police matters until the Treaty of Lisbon, the Commission has already begun enacting those powers to involve the Parliament on such matters.
[edit] Evolution of the EU
| 1951/1952 | 1957/1958 | 1965/1967 | 1992/1993 | 1997/1999 | 2001/2003 | 2007/2009 ? |
| European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) | ||||||
| Euratom (European Atomic Energy Community) | ||||||
| European Economic Community (EEC) | European Community (EC) | |||||
| ...European Communities: ECSC, EEC (EC, 1993), Euratom | Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) | |||||
| Police & Judicial Co-operation in Criminal matters (PJCC) | ||||||
| Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) | ||||||
| E U R O P E A N U N I O N ( E U ) | ||||||
| Treaty of Paris | Treaty of Rome | Treaty of Brussels | Treaty of Maastricht | Treaty of Amsterdam | Treaty of Nice | Treaty of Lisbon |
|
"THREE PILLARS" - ECs (ECSC, EEC/EC, Euratom), CFSP, PJCC | ||||||
[edit] External links
- European Union website
- Treaty establishing the European Economic Community European NAvigator
- History of the Rome Treaties European NAvigator
- Europedia: Guide to European policies and legislation
bg:Европейска общност ca:Comunitat Europea cs:Evropské společenství cy:Cymuned Ewropeaidd da:Europæiske Fællesskab de:Europäische Gemeinschaft es:Comunidades Europeas eu:Europako Ekonomia Erkidegoa fr:Communauté européenne gl:Comunidade Económica Europea ko:유럽 공동체 hr:Europska ekonomska zajednica io:Europana Komuneso Ekonomiala id:Komunitas Eropa is:Evrópubandalagið it:Comunità Europea sl:Evropska skupnost sw:Jumuiya ya Kiuchumi ya Ulaya lt:Europos Ekonominė Bendrija mk:Европска економска заедница hu:Európai Közösség nl:Europese Gemeenschap ja:欧州共同体 oc:Comunitat Economica Europèa pl:Wspólnota Europejska pt:Comunidade Económica Europeia ro:Comunitatea Europeană fi:Euroopan yhteisö sv:Europeiska gemenskapen tr:Avrupa Ekonomik Topluluğu uk:Європейські спільноти uk:Європейська економічна спільнота zh:欧洲共同体
