The idea of peacefull and prosperous European Union began after the World War II by some European statesmen in (1939-45). Because of the second world war's destruction and the mutual distrust and the tense situations, there was a desire to become one unite. The foundation of the union was initially established when six countries signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957, and formed the European Economic Community (EEC). At the bigining, Britain didn't express its willingness to become one of the union, but instead it contributed in founding the European Free Trade Association in 1959. Britain considered its future in the trading patterns of the commonwealth, and the special long-standing partnership with the USA. Furthermore, it accounted itself as a commercial power and didn't wish to be influenced the union's regulations.
However, ambitions to combine with the union grew amid the different parts of the British society in 1960, which were caused by the country's raising social and economic issues. Therefore, Britain strived to obtain a membership in the union, but all attempts were vetoed by the french president Charles de Gaulle because he was concerned by the relationship that gathered Britain with the USA especially on nuclear weapons policies, also, he didn't want Britain to dominate the EEC.
Since the resignation of the french president in 1969, a new British debates on membership began in 1970 were crowned with acquiring the membership when the European Parliament voted in favour of entry in 1972 despite of growing doubts and the strong opposition of different parts of the community. Moreover, Britain, Denmark, and the Republic of Ireland officially joined the EEC on 1 January 1973. There are six institutions that together compose the EU which are the European Council, the Council of Ministers, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice. Although each of them has its functions and different rules, still the most powerful body is the Parliament. it is the only elected institution that represents the people of the European countries and proposes varied regulations and projects. it consists of 736 MEPs from all the EU countries, 78 of them are from the United Kingdom.
One of the main purposes of the EU is to create an economical unity. Therefore, the euro currency was founded in 1990 by the EU, and it is the official currency of the euro-zone which consists of 17 of the 24 members of the EU. Single currency has a positive results such as currency stability, cheaper mortgages, lower interest rates, and Business benefits, however, this currency have been facing some difficulties, one of them is the euro crisis. The crisis has started and spread over the euro-zone since Germany had broken the dept (3%) followed by France. Debts kept piling up in Spain ,which was the worst affected one, and Italy that caused recession their markets.
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