Alessandro Simoniti
April 17, 2023
The European Union
In 1958, six European countries have begun fostering economic cooperation in order to become
economically interdependent from one another and to ward off the threat of a new conflict, under
the name of European Economic Community. Since then, after several changes, 22 other countries
have joined the community, creating a very important single market and shifting the name to
European Union in 1993. In the present day, the European Union is one of the most important
economic powers in the world; nevertheless, several crises are being faced, which can pose a
concrete danger economically as well as politically.
The European Union is an international organization of 27 states governing common economic,
social and security policies. The core feature of the EU is that although the member states all
remain sovereign and independent, they share some of their sovereignty in areas where it can
provide added value. In practice, this means that the Member States delegate some of their decisionmaking powers to the shared institutions they have created, so that decisions on specific matters of
common interest can be made democratically at the EU level. Some of these policy areas are
climate, environment, health, foreign relations, security, justice and migration. The institutions
responsible for making decisions at the European level are in particular the European Parliament,
the European Council, the Council of the European Union, and the European Commission. The task
of proposing new laws belongs to the Commission, while the Council of the EU and the Parliament
can approve them.
Another important strength of the European Union is the existence of the single currency, the Euro,
in the majority of its member states. The Euro is a reliable, stable and strong currency. It is
currently the second most widely used currency in the world, accounting for 36.7% of the share of
global payments, behind the US dollar (38.7% of total payments). Currently, 20 Member States are
using the Euro as the official currency. The single currency allows the European Union to better
protect its citizens and businesses, uphold its values and promote its interests in shaping global
affairs. The international economy is also less vulnerable to shocks linked to the strong reliance of
many sectors on a single currency.
However, the implementation of the single currency may bring some short-term disadvantages to
the nation that has just adopted it. For instance, Croatia, the latest country to join the EU and
implement the Euro instead of the Kuna, has complained of moderate price increases due to the
fixed exchange rate, especially in the service sector. However, the European Central Bank has
reassured consumers, claiming that the impact of increased prices is relatively low compared to the
various benefits that joining the European Union will bring to citizens, and in time it will stabilize
at the European level.
The presence of the Euro allows its Member States to trade freely between each other, as workers,
products and capitals are free to move inside the European Union. The lack of need to change
currency makes the free market even simpler and more efficient. Although most trade takes place
within the single market, many goods are traded outside the European Union: as of 2021, 38.8% of
the trade share was with non-EU countries, corresponding to 4300 billion €. The main trading
partners are the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Switzerland. In 2020, China became
the EU's top trading partner, surpassing the US and UK.
Alessandro Simoniti
April 17, 2023
While there are numerous benefits for nations in being member states, individual citizens can also
benefit from membership in the European Union. As mentioned earlier, citizens can move freely
within each member state, without worrying about obtaining visas or passing border controls, and
they can conduct transactions in Euros, avoiding money exchange. Furthermore, European citizens
can benefit from the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which protects every citizen against
discrimination of any kind and guarantees freedom of speech; they are protected by employment
laws, but also by privacy and consumer rights laws at the European level. In addition, various
regulations are in place regarding food, the environment and public health. Finally, the European
Union has guaranteed 70 years of uninterrupted peace, which was one of the main objectives since
the formation of the EEC.
In the recent years, European Union has faced a series of consequent crisis that are threatening its
integrity. Starting from the Brexit, the procedure that ended the United Kingdom’s adhesion to the
EU between 2016 and 2020, passing through the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of
Russia, which led to the inflationary crisis and the rise in interest rates. In 2022, through a survey,
the European Union has identified 15 areas in which most of the efforts should be made. Defence
and security are considered to be the top priority for the EU, which relates mainly to the danger
posed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, followed by making the EU more autonomous in energy
supply, which is linked to the breakdown of trade relations with Russia, and, at the lowest step of
the podium, dealing with the current economic situation in the EU, which is related to the
inflationary crisis. Furthermore, the Union has set itself the goal of tackling environmental issues
and climate change, and some regulations, such as a stop to the production of petrol and diesel cars
from 2035, have already been approved.
In conclusion, the European Union is a powerful organization that provides Member States and its
citizens with numerous benefits. However, the EU needs to pay close attention to the many dangers
that can undermine its economic and political strength, as the risk that the repercussions of poorly
managing these crises can harm individual citizens is very high. Currently, the situation is decidedly
unstable: the war in Ukraine is stagnant and inflation shows no signs of abating. The geopolitical
situation is in an extremely fragile condition; therefore, it must be borne in mind that everything can
change within an extremely short span.
List of references
European Commission/Directorate-General for Communication (ed.) (2022): Key Challenges of our
Times - The EU in 2022. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
European Commission/Directorate-General for Communication (ed.) (2023): Key European Union
achievements and tangible benefits. In: European Union. URL: https://europeanunion.europa.eu/priorities-and-actions/achievements_en (Accessed: 15 Apr 2023).
European Commission/Directorate-General for Communication (ed.) (2023): The European Union What it is and what it does. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
Alessandro Simoniti
April 17, 2023
European Commission/Directorate-General for Communication (ed.) (2021): The international role
of the euro. In: European Commission. URL: https://finance.ec.europa.eu/eu-and-world/openstrategic-autonomy/international-role-euro_en (Accessed: 15 Apr 2023).
Eurostat (ed.) (2022): International trades in goods by partner. In: Eurostat. URL:
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statisticsexplained/index.php?title=International_trade_in_goods_by_partner (Accessed: 15 Apr 2023).
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Falagiarda, M./Gartner, C./ Mužić, I./Pufnik, A. (2023): Has the euro changeover really caused
extra inflation in Croatia? In: ECB Blog. URL:
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(Accessed: 15 Apr 2023).
Gabel, M. J. (2023): European Union. In: Britannica. URL:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/European-Union/Creation-of-the-European-EconomicCommunity (Accessed: 15 Apr 2023).
Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia (ed.) (2013): The European single currency. In:
Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia. URL: https://www.eiro.lv/en/media/frequentlyasked-questions/the-european-single-currency (Accessed: 15 Apr 2023).