The European Union

1
The European Union
2
What is the EU ?

• A family of 27 European countries

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What is the EU The Origins

• The old dream of European
• brotherhood
• From enemies to Family
• From war to peace

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What is the EUThe Origins

• Making war unthinkable among Europeans
• Together managing main materials used in war
• coal and steel

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What is the EU Its birth

• 9 May 1950 Schuman calls for a European Coal and
  Steel Community
• 6 founding States decide to share and co-manage
  coal and steel.

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What is the EU Its birth

• The 6 founding States decide to share and
  co-manage other policy areas and to build up an
  economic union (Treaty of Rome, 1957)
• Other members
• joined gradually in
• the following years

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A few facts

• 27 Member States
• Some European countries would also like to join
• Others prefer not to join for the time being,
  like Norway and Switzerland

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A few facts

• The EU is over 10 times the size of Japan

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A few facts

• The total population of the EU countries is
  approximately 4 times the population of Japan.
  Almost 500 million

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What the EU means for its citizens

• More and more laws that citizens have to follow
  are decided in Brussels, by the 27 Member States

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What the EU means for its citizens examples

• Cheap and easy flights around Europe
• EU laws pushing for
• The opening of more routes
• Lower prices

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What the EU means for its citizens examples

• Mobile phones
• EU laws pushing for
• Investment in research
• Making mobile phones
• work all around Europe
• Lower Prices
• Previously different systems in each country,
• a common one now.

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How it is organised The institutions

• The European Commission
• common interest of the
• Union, proposes legislation
• government
• The European Parliament
• represents the people,
• decides legislation Diet
• The Council Ministers of the
• Member States, decides
• legislation
• (no equivalent in Japan)

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Unity in Diversity

• The people of the EU are all different but united
  as Europeans
• These differences make up European culture
• The EU has 23 official languages
• Dobre rano !
• God Morgen ! Goedemorgen !
• Good morning !
• Tere hommikust !
• Hyvää huomenta ! Bonjour !
• Guten Morgen ! Kalimera ! Jo reggelt !
• Buon giorno ! Labrit ! Labas Rytas !
• L-Ghodwa t-tajba ! Dzien dobry ! Bom dia !
• Dobre rano ! Dobro jutro ! Buenos días !
• God Morgon !

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Some historical developments

• Completion of the single market in 1993, free
  movement of persons, goods, services and capital
• No need to show passports
• inside Schengen area

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Some historical developments

• The Euro
• A single European currency
• Introduced in 2002
• 15 countries use the Euro today
• Bank notes are illustrated with examples of
  European architecture
• One side of the coins is different in each Euro
  country, the other is the same for all

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Some historical developments

• Enlargement
• The fall of the Iron Curtain
• Reunification of Germany
• ?More countries joined the EU family in 2004
  (10 countries) and 2007 ( Romania and Bulgaria)
• This is how we came to be 27 Member States!

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More countries to join ?

• Some countries have declared that they want to
  join and are preparing for it, such as Turkey

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EU in the Worlda trading power

• EU is the main exporter in the world
• EU is the second largest importer
• EU is the third largest export market for Japan,
  and its third largest source of imports

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EU in the World

• Sharing the European way with the world
• Culture of constant consultation and compromise
• Global challenges to be handled together
• Just as Japan and the EU will do with their
  partners at the G8

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Facing Climate Change

• Situation of emergency
• EU in a leading position
• ? Responsibility of developed economies to
  reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
• ? all have to participate
• ? Helping the developing world

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Facing Climate Change

• Affordable, ambitious goal
• EU goals for 2020
• 20 of renewable energy
• - 20 of GHG emissions
• - 30 if others do their part

• Benefits from action
• Lower dependency on imported energy
• Better health for all
• A new impetus for our economies

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EU in the World top donor of development aid

• Development aid (Global solidarity)
• ?The EU provides 55 of total international
  aid
• ?Promotes peace, prosperity and stability in
  less-favoured parts of the globe
• ?E.g. EU emergency and reconstruction help
  to Afghanistan

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The Lisbon Treaty

• The functioning of the EU is based on Treaties,
  not on a constitution
• Last Treaty agreed in Lisbon in December 2007
• For the first time, there will be an EU president
• And a new EU minister of Foreign Affairs

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The Lisbon Treaty

• Greater cooperation on more issues
• More democracy and transparency
• Fairer voting system and more efficient decision
  making

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To learn more about the EUwww.europa.eu
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• Suggestion for junior high schools the following
  slide should substitute slides 21 and 22.

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Climate Change

• Situation of emergency. If
• global temperature increases
• by more than 2C
• Sea-level rising, animal species disappearing,
  etc.
• We can all contribute to slow down global
  warming
• Switching lights off when not necessary,
• walking instead of driving cars etc.