Internal European Union affairs

My first morning in Brussells I started quite badly. I woke up to the depressing news that the Umass men's basketball time blew it in the Atlantic 10 tournament for the second year in a row. Fortunately, the day spent at the European Commission was quite interesting, and helped take my mind off of Umass's crushing defeat. I apologize in advance if my explanations get a bit long-winded, especially of the sessions which happenned in the morning. I was heavily under the influence of strong European coffee, and thus took extensive notes.

Our first session was with a member of the Speakers Team of the European Union, and gave a talk about the current state of the European Union.

He started with a basic explanation of the structure of the EU. In a sentence, the EU is a International Treaty Organization in which member states give up part of their sovereignty to provide a federal structure. The current tension among EU nations are between the principles of supernatural integration and inter-governmental cooperation. Countries in favor of supernatural integration include Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, and support national governments further integrating to create a stronger EU. Smaller countries such as those in the balkans tend to be in this boat for economic gain, and easier access to more markets. Another positive of a stronger EU for the three countries mentioned above would be gauranteed peace in Europe, thus world wars would probably no longer be fought on their land. Countries in favor of inter-governmental cooperation include the UK and France, who are more into sovereignty as a principle, and national pride. (In the UK's case, pride in their currency) France, however, would be more likely to support a stronger EU, as long as they could lead it, crafty French.

The executive branch of the EU is run by the European Commission. The Commission is made up of 27 members, one representative from each country who is bound to serve the interests of the EU, not their home nation. (technically) The budget, and all initiatives can only begin in the Commission. The lerislative branches include the Council, which represents national governments, and the European Parliament, which represents the people. The main powers of the Parliament, over 800 members elected directly by the people, are the ability to veto the budget, and has a veto over appointments to the Commission. The council, can initiate legislation on foreign and security policy, and criminal and judicial matters in the EU. Countries are represented in the council proportionately, Germany has 29 members, Malta has three.

The most intriguing issue currently facing the EU is Turkey. Turkey has been discussed as a possible addition to the EU for the last 25 years, but the EU nations remain deeply divided over it. The obvious positives would be the addition of a large, young, population which would no doubt provide the EU with vast oppurtunities for economic advances, and trade. The negatives are more social. If Turkey joined the EU, they would be the largest nation population-wise, and thus immediately have a large amount of influence over European affairs. The EU also stands for democracy and civil liberties, which are not extensive in Turkey, not to mention the non-secular government. The most concrete issue that has kept Turkey from joining the EU, however, is Cyprus. Turkey claims to own a part of the island, but the EU recognizes Cyprus as the entire island. Since all countries must agree to let another nation into the EU, it's hard to see Cyprus letting them in when they claim to own part of their nation.