| 单词 | european union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 释义 | European UnionEuropean UnionEuropean UnionEu′ropean Un′ionn.
European Union→ 欧洲联盟zhCNEuropean UnionEuropean Union(EU), name given since the ratification (Nov., 1993) of the Treaty of European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, to the European Community (EC), an economic and political confederation of European nations, and other organizations (with the same member nations) that are responsible for a common foreign and security policy and for cooperation on justice and home affairs. In Dec., 2009, following the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, the EU officially replaced and succeeded the EC. Twenty-eight countries—Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany (originally West Germany), Great Britain (officially in the process of withdrawing as of 2017), Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden—are full members of the organizations of the EU.Organizational StructureThe former EC, which formed the core of the EU, originally referred to the group of Western European nations that belonged to each of three treaty organizations—the European Coal and Steel CommunityEuropean Coal and Steel Community Although the EU has no single seat of government, many of its most important offices are in Brussels, Belgium. The European Commission is headquartered there, as is the European Council and the Council of the European Union; it is also where the various committees of the European Parliament generally meet to prepare for the monthly sessions in Strasbourg, France. The European Central Bank is in Frankfurt, Germany; the Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors are in Luxembourg, Luxembourg. EvolutionThe history of the EU began shortly after World War II, when there developed in Europe a strong revulsion against national rivalries and parochial loyalties. While postwar recovery was stimulated by the Marshall PlanMarshall Plan The Brussels Treaty (1965) provided for the merger of the organizations into what came to be known as the EC and later the EU. Under Charles de Gaullede Gaulle, Charles The Single European Act (1987) amended the EC's treaties so as to strengthen the organization's ability to create a single internal market. The Treaty of European Union, signed in Maastricht, the Netherlands, in 1992 and ratified in 1993, provided for a central banking system, a common currency to replace the national currencies (the euro), a legal definition of the EU, and a framework for expanding the EU's political role, particularly in the area of foreign and security policy. The member countries completed their move toward a single market in 1993 and agreed to participate in a larger common market, the European Economic Area (est. 1994), with most of the European Free Trade AssociationEuropean Free Trade Association A crisis within the EU was precipitated in 1996 when sales of British beef were banned because of "mad cow disease" (see prionprion The EU was rocked by charges of corruption and mismanagement in its executive body, the European CommissionEuropean Commission The installation in Feb., 2000, of a conservative Austrian government that included the right-wing Freedom party, whose leaders had made xenophobic, racist, and anti-Semitic pronouncements, led the other EU members to impose a number of sanctions on Austria that limited high-level contacts with the Austrian government. Enthusiasm for the sanctions soon waned, however, among smaller EU nations, and the issue threatened to divide the EU. A face-saving fact-finding commission recommended ending the sanctions, stating that the Austrian government had worked to protect human rights, and the sanctions were ended in September. In 2003 the EU and ten non-EU European nations (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Cyprus, and Malta) signed treaties that resulted in the largest expansion of the EU the following year, increasing the its population by 20% and its land area by 23%. Most of the newer members were significantly poorer than the largely W European older members. The old and new member nations at first failed to agree on a constitution for the organization; the main stumbling block concerned voting, with Spain and Poland reluctant to give up a weighted system of voting scheduled for 2006 that would give them a disproportionate influence in the EU relative to their populations. In Oct., 2004, however, EU nations signed a constitution with a provision requiring a supermajority of nations to pass legislation. The constitution, which needed to be ratified by all members to come into effect, was rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands in 2005, leading EU leaders to pause in their push for its ratification. Meanwhile, in 2003 the EU embarked, in minor ways, on its first official military missions when EU peacekeeping forces replaced the NATO force in Macedonia (now North Macedonia) and were sent by the United Nations to Congo (Kinshasa); the following year the EU assumed responsibility for overseeing the peacekeepers in Bosnia. EU members also took steps toward developing a common defense strategy independent of NATO, and agreed in 2004 to admit Bulgaria and Romania in 2007. José Manuel BarrosoBarroso, José Manuel Durão The EU opted for incremental reforms over a new constitution in 2007, when member nations signed the Lisbon Treaty. The treaty reorganized the European Council, established an elected president of the European Council and a single EU foreign policy official, and reformed the EU's system of voting, among other changes. (The reforms were phased in through 2017.) In June, 2008, however, Irish voters—the only national electorate given the opportunity to ratify the treaty—rejected it in a referendum, a potentially fatal setback. A year later, however, EU nations agreed on a number of guarantees to the Irish Republic that were designed to lead to a new Irish referendum on the treaty (several other nations also received various exemptions). Irish voters approved the treaty in a revote in Oct., 2009; ratification was completed the following month; and the treaty came into force in Dec., 2009. Weaknesses in an EU system in which economic and monetary integration was not bolstered by political unity were revealed by the economic crisis of 2008, when measures such as bank-deposit guarantees adopted by some euro nations forced most EU nations to adopt similar measures in order to avoid bank runs. Eurozone nations were unable to agree on a common approach to the crisis and resulting recession, and subsequent high budget deficits in Greece and some other eurozone countries strained the monetary union and forced eurozone nations to adopt sometimes stringent austerity programs. At the same time, however, many non-euro European nations, whether members of the EU or not, found their financial systems stressed, at least initially, to a greater degree by the crisis than many euro nations did. In 2010 the effects of the crisis forced EU nations and the IMF to adopt a $950 billion package to aid financially troubled eurozone nations and support the euro; additional measures were adopted and additional funds set aside in 2011 and 2012, and in Oct., 2012, the eurozone's permanent European Statility Mechanism was established By 2011 Greece, then Ireland, and later Portugal had been forced to accept international rescue packages, and they and some other EU nations were forced to adopt significant austerity budgets that led in many cases to economic recession, increased unemployment, and further budget deficits. In Mar., 2012, all but two EU nations (Britain and the Czech Republic) signed an agreement intended prevent future budget crises, though many criticized the accord for emphasizing budgetary discipline without consideration for its relationship to economic growth. Spain and Cyprus subsequently also sought international financial aid. At the same time, however, there was increasing public resistance to additional austerity measures in many hard-hit EU nations, and in the EU as a whole unemployment increased to record levels. In July, 2013, Croatia joined the EU. In the 2014 elections for the European parliament, a number of parties on the far right and left that were strongly opposed to various aspects of the EU made significant gains, primarily in Great Britain, France, and Greece. Although pro-EU parties nonetheless won a significant majority of the seats, the vote was seen as a sign of increasing unhappiness with the EU within some of its member nations. The subsequent nomination of Jean-Claude JunckerJuncker, Jean-Claude, Negotiations in 2015 over Greece's ongoing economic difficulties and debt produced divisions in the European Union, most notably between Germany and France (with France unsuccessfully favoring a less hardline approach), that combined with economic divisions reinforced national political agendas and undermined the sense of common European purpose and integration. Relations among EU nations were also strained in 2015 as individual countries struggled to cope with and reacted to an influx of more than a million refugees and migrants from the Middle East and parts of Africa. Many EU nations reimposed border controls in an attempt to control or stop the influx, and by early 2016 thousands of refugees and migrants in Greece became essentially trapped there. Beginning in Apr., 2016, the EU began deporting people who had crossed into Greece from Turkey without following immigration procedures back to Turkey, and later in the year the EU established a border and coast guard agency to assist EU nations with policing their borders. Migration remained a problem in subsequent years, both into Greece and into Italy and neighboring nations, though the scale greatly diminished. In June, 2016, a majority of British voters approved leaving the EU in a national referendum, and the unity of the EU and the eurozone came under increasing pressure from nationalist and populist movements in other member countries in subsequent months, most notably in Hungary and Poland, where the governments adopted policies and enacted laws that brought those nations into conflict with the European Commission. The situation with respect to Poland and Hungary led the EU by 2018 to consider measures designed to increase protections for the rule of law as well as legal action by the Commission against both nations. Great Britain formally initiated the process of withdrawing from the EU in Mar., 2017. At the same time, the remaining 27 members signed the Rome Declaration, which recognized that further progress toward integration could proceed at different paces for different groups of nations. Later in 2017, 23 members signed a defense integration agreement. In 2018 EU nations found themselves subjected to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum under the Trump administration, and imposed equivalent tariffs on U.S. trade in retaliation. At the same time, however, the EU was pursuing trade deals with other nations, and signed (2018) a landmark trade agreement with Japan that eliminated most tariffs. After complex, difficult negotations, designed to produce a minimally disruptive, business-friendly plan for Britain's post-withdrawal relationship with the EU, the final plan failed to win the support of the British parliament in 2019, and Britain's exit was then delayed. BibliographySee W. Diebold, The Schuman Plan (1959); R. L. Heilbroner, Forging a United Europe (Public Affairs Pamphlet, 1961); B. Morris and K. Boehm, ed., The European Community (1986); H. Wallace and A. Ridley, Europe: The Challenge of Diversity (1986); M. Burgess, Federalism and European Union (1989); J. Roy, A Historical Dictionary of the European Union (2006); H. James, Making the European Monetary Union (2012); M. K. Brunnermeier et al., The Euro and the Battle of Ideas (2016); J. Stiglitz, The Euro: How a Common Currency Threatens the Future of Europe (2016). European Unionwww.europa.eu.int/index_en.htm www.eia.org.uk/websites.htm European UnionEuropean Union (EU)the economic and political grouping that came into effect in 1993 and resulted from the European Union Treaty, an important treaty signed at Maastricht on 7 February 1992. It amended the EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY (EEC) Treaty, indeed, renaming it the European Community. Thus the present legal structure is called the EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES or the European Union.European UnionEuropean Union (EU)European Union European Union (EU)a regional alliance established by the Treaty of Rome in 1958 with the general objective of integrating the economies of member countries. The EU was originally called the ‘European Economic Community’ (EEC) before changing its name to simply the ‘European Community’ (EC). In 1993, following ratification of the MAASTRICHT TREATY, the current name was adopted to reflect the wider move towards social and political union as well as economic union.In January 1999 the EU put into place a further major step towards integrating the economies of member countries. Under the ECONOMIC and MONETARY UNION (EMU) programme a new single currency, the EURO, was introduced to replace the individual domestic currencies of EMU participants by the end of 2002. The introduction of EMU has meant the end of the EUROPEAN MONETARY SYSTEM and the European Currency Unit. (For further details of this landmark development see ECONOMIC AND MONETARY UNION, EURO, and EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK entries). The deeper integration of member countries implied by EMU has already accentuated a number of underlying difficulties, particularly that of applying ‘one fit’ policies throughout the EMU-zone despite substantial differences in the industrial structures and extent of economic maturity of members (contrast relatively economically ‘advanced’ Germany with that of less-developed Greece). Many economists fear that harmonization will become untenable as more and more countries, most of them possessing weak industrial sectors and thus in need of massive structural funding, join the EU. The EU has a total population of some 450 million and accounts for around 44% of the world production and world exports. There were six founding countries of the EU: (West) Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Nineteen more countries have since joined the EU bringing its current membership up to 25. The UK, Ireland and Denmark joined in 1973, Greece in 1981, Spain and Portugal in 1986, and Austria, Sweden and Finland in 1995. In 2004 a further 10 countries joined the EU under an ‘Accession’ arrangement which required them to have undertaken major reforms of their economies to make them market-orientated: Poland, Hungary Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus and Malta. The strategic and operational policies of the EU are formulated by member country governments acting through the Council of Ministers (one appointed member per country) and the European Parliament (democratically elected). The European Commission is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day administration of the EU and in controlling its general budget finances while various other bodies are responsible for running specific programmes such as the Common Agricultural Policy Agricultural price support and structural operations (the EU's regional and social, programmes) currently account for around four fifths of the total EU Budget. In 2004 the EU Budget totalled some 103 billion Euros. Contributions and receipts for the 15 member countries of the EU are listed in Fig 39. The budget is financed from four sources – a charge on each country proportional to their share of the EU's Gross National Product (GNP); a proportional charge on each countries value added tax (VAT) receipts; levies on agricultural imports and customs duties on other imports from non-EU countries. The main economic developments within the EU down to EMU include:
EU laws generally take precedence over the national laws of member countries but in some areas the principle of subsidiarity can be invoked which involves the devolvement of responsibility for decisionmaking from the European Commission to national administrations. See, for example, COMPETITION POLICY (EU). In 2000 the Treaty of Nice introduced several changes to the administration of the EU in order to facilitate the enlargement of the EU, and enable the integration of members' economies to proceed more rapidly. Member countries vote allocations were re-weigh ted in favour of the larger states; qualified majority voting replaced the national veto on a range of issues; limits were introduced on the size of the European Commission (big nations lose their second Commissioner in 2005); groups of eight or more countries can push ahead with integration in agreed policy areas. However, tax and social security matters will remain subject to unanimity in voting. European Union (EU)A regional alliance established by the Treaty of Rome in 1958 with the general objective of integrating the economies of member countries. The EU was originally called the ‘European Economic Community’ (EEC) before changing its name to simply the ‘European Community’ (EC). In 1993, following ratification of the MAASTRICHT TREATY, the current name was adopted to reflect the wider move towards social and political union as well as economic union. The EU has a collective population of some 465 million people (b) Member country payments and receipts 2003/4. European Unionand accounts for over 40% of world production and world exports.There were six founding countries of the EU: (West) Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, which had previously cooperated (with the exception of the Netherlands) in the EUROPEAN COAL AND STEEL COMMUNITY. Nine more countries then joined the EU, bringing its membership up to 15. The UK, Ireland and Denmark joined in 1973, Greece in 1981, Spain and Portugal in 1986, and Austria, Sweden and Finland in 1995. In April 2004 a further 10 countries joined the EU under a previously negotiated Accession’ arrangement that required these countries to undertake reforms of their institutions and policies to align them with EU practice. Eight of the new members are formerly centrally planned ‘socialist’ countries, which for them has meant a major transformation of their economies to meet the ‘market’ conditions prevailing in the EU: Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania. The other two new members are Cyprus and Malta. Compared to the long-established members of the EU, the new entrants are mostly relatively economically undeveloped, with low levels of per capita income (see below), and this had led to concerns about how quickly they could meet the convergence criteria required for entry to the EURO-zone and their likely drain on the EU budget, with the richer members having to make further contributions to make ends meet. Looking to the longer term, another 10 countries are lined up to join the EU from 2010 onwards.
The strategic and operational policies of the EU are formulated by member country governments acting through the Council of Ministers (one appointed member per country) and the European Parliament (democratically elected). The EUROPEAN COMMISSION is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day administration of the EU and in controlling its general budget finances while various bodies are responsible for running specific programmes such as the COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY (CAP). As Fig. 62 (a) shows, agricultural price support and structural operations (the EU's regional and social programmes) currently account for around four-fifths of the total EU Budget. Fig. 62 (b) shows member countries’ contributions to, and receipts from, the EU budget in 2003/4. As regards national BUDGETS, each member state at the present time is under an obligation to conform to certain budgetary restrictions as established by the ‘Stability and Growth Pact’, namely, that current budget deficits should not exceed more than 3% of GDP and accumulated total debts should not exceed 60% of GDP. These provisions are in the process of being ‘relaxed’ as a number of leading European economies (Germany, France, Italy) have gone over the prescribed 3% current budget deficit/GDP ratio as a result of having to cope with recessionary conditions. The main economic developments within the EU down to 2004 are listed below:
EU laws generally take precedence over the national laws of member countries, but in some areas the principle of subsidiarity can be invoked, which involves the devolvement of responsibilities for decision-making from the European Commission to national administrations. See, for example, COMPETITION POLICY (EU). In January 1999, the EU put into place a further major step towards integrating the economies of member countries. Under the ECONOMIC and MONETARY UNION (EMU) programme, a new single currency, the EURO, was introduced, that replaced the individual domestic currencies of EMU participants by the end of 2002. The introduction of EMU has meant the end of the EUROPEAN MONETARY SYSTEM and the EUROPEAN CURRENCY UNIT. (For further details of this landmark development see ECONOMIC AND MONETARY UNION, EURO, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK and MAASTRICHT TREATY entries). The deeper integration of member countries implied by EMU has already accentuated a number of underlying difficulties, particularly that of applying ‘one-fit’ policies throughout the EMU-zone despite substantial differences in the industrial structures and extent of economic maturity of members (contrast relatively economically ‘advanced’ Germany with that of less developed Greece). Many economists fear that harmonization will become untenable as more and more countries, most of them possessing weak industrial sectors and thus in need of massive structural funding, j oin the EU. European Union
Synonyms for European Union
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European Union - an international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members; "he tried to take Britain into the Europen Union"