Context:
India, EU expected to make ‘meaningful’ progress on FTA talks in 2025: diplomats.
European Union (EU)
- Formation and History –
- 1951 – European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) founded by 6 countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) under the Treaty of Paris.
- 1957 – European Economic Community (EEC) and European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) established by the Treaty of Rome.
- 1993 – European Union officially formed by the Maastricht Treaty, replacing the EEC.
- 2009 – Treaty of Lisbon enacted, giving the EU more powers.
- Member States –
- Current Members – 27 countries.
- UK left the EU in 2020 (Brexit).
- Demography –
- Germany has the largest population
- France is the largest by area
- Smallest Country is Malta.
- Institutions –
- European Commission: Executive body responsible for proposing legislation and implementing decisions.
- European Parliament: Legislative body elected by EU citizens.
- European Council: Defines the general political direction and priorities of the EU.
- Council of the European Union: Represents the governments of the member states.
- Court of Justice of the European Union: Ensures EU law is interpreted and applied uniformly.
- Key Policies and Agreements –
- Single Market: Allows goods, services, capital, and people to move freely within the EU.
- Schengen Area: Enables passport-free travel across most EU countries, excluding Cyprus and Ireland.
- 4 non-EU countries (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein) are also part of Schengen.
- Eurozone: Monetary union of 19 EU countries that use the euro as their currency.
- Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) that supports farmers and ensures food security.
- Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) that coordinates foreign policy and defense matters.
Source: TH
Previous Year Question
Consider the following statements:
The ‘Stability and Growth Pact’ of the European Union is a treaty that
1. limits the levels of the budgetary deficit of the countries of the European Union
2. makes the countries of the European Union to share their infrastructure facilities
3. enables the countries of the European Union to share their technologies
How many of the above statements are correct?
[UPSC Civil Serice Exam – 2023 Prelims]
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None
Answer: (a)
Explanation:
The European Union Stability and Trade Pact does not make any provision related to sharing of infrastructure and technology. Hence, statements 2 and 3 are not correct.
