26 Jan 2015
School
Department
Course
Professor
THE EU ACHIEVEMENTS:
The creation of a free trading zone in Europe (even if one is not a liberal as
far as economic matters are concerned, this achievement has to be
acknowledged.
increased the freedom of movement within the EU's borders (the 1985
Schengen treaty and the 1995 Schengen agreement)
Increased intergovernmental cooperation, development of the knowledge
economy
The preservation of peace within the EU's borders.
THE EU SHORTCOMINGS:
The persistence of democratic deficit (despite some improvements since
the late 1970's)
The lack of focus on social policies, believed by labour unions and the left
more generally to have been scarified on the altar of liberal, free trading
policies.
The heavily bureaucratised murky nature of European institutions
its own success: the number of member states (28) can impede (and has
impeded) decision making
the absence of a coherent foreign policy
Regional disparities
Mediterranean Vs. northern Europe (big economic gap between the two)
Western VS. the former Eastern Bloc (additional disparities within the latter)
(gap between the GDP and standards of living)
THE LIMITS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION:
The question of identity
Languages