A united Europe, a state without borders is the ideal dream of many philosophers, public figures, politicians and just ordinary citizens. But she was able to incarnate not so long ago, in the middle of the 20th century.
A bit of history
The idea of forming the European Union did not arise from scratch. She became a kind of fruit of the socio-political situation prevailing in Europe at the end of World War II. It was necessary to maintain and strengthen the fragile balance between the world powers, create a real confrontation with the new possible nucleations of fascism, raise the ruined economy, restore and strengthen the international prestige of the leading Western European countries on the world stage. This was especially important in light of the formation of another large political camp - the socialist one - by the countries of Eastern Europe led by the USSR, as well as in connection with the persistent penetration of the US into the European market. Then, China also announced itself quite loudly.
For a successful confrontation and the development of its own economy, any individual power of the capitalist camp needed a common market, consisting of 250 million or more people. Naturally, not one, even the most developed Western European state, could meet such requirements. The situation was aggravated by fierce competition and rivalry within this camp - between France, Germany, Belgium, etc.
Understanding the validity and necessity of unification, the heads of state decided the main question: on what principles should European integration be based? Should we take America as a model and create our own United States of Europe, or limit ourselves to certain agreements in the field of political, economic and legal cooperation, without affecting state sovereignty? Controversial issues on this topic arise to this day, they reflect the main stages of European integration.
EU: take-off period
So, gradually, step by step, the Western European powers began to pursue a policy of rapprochement and unification - first on an economic basis, creating the “Coal and Steel Association” and also “Euratom”, simplifying customs control and organizing a single customs zone for free movement inside it as people, and products, capital, etc. And then a common legislative space was formed in the person of the European Council and the European Parliament.
The idea of unity is gaining widespread popularity, its benefits are being increasingly understood. For several decades, the composition of the European Union has increased significantly. Thus, European integration reflects an increase in the priority of common tasks over private public interests in the field of social economics, as well as those truly global changes in world politics and economics that took place in the second half of the 20th century.
The paradox of geopolitics of this period is that, being a serious competitor to the United States in the world market and fighting with America for spheres of influence and stability in the world arena, the EU countries were strong allies with it in the military-political bloc of NATO, in the Cold War against the USSR, in an effort to win over the states of the East European socialist camp.
The collapse of the Soviet Union, the destruction of the European socialist organism, naturally, was at the mercy of the whole West. The countries of the former Warsaw Pact received real freedom and the possibility of self-determination, as did most of the republics that were part of the USSR. The “dashing nineties” were such not only for those who hardly received the “state” status of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, etc., but also for Romania, Poland, the Balkan region, etc., i.e. the entire vast territory, which was in a state of socio-political and economic crisis.
Realizing that one could not survive alone, that European integration is now the only right step, the countries of Eastern Europe began to seek support in the European Union. Yes, and for the Baltic states, and later Ukraine, Moldova, EU accession, a visa-free regime have become an important guideline of foreign and domestic policy.
Problem with two unknowns
If up to this point the single European community was an approximately equally developed economic organism, then the countries of the former socialist camp in this regard lagged far behind their western neighbors. Therefore, the further stages of European integration were caused by a difficult choice: to accept these countries into the EU, realizing that the Western powers in their person take on a fairly large ballast, or refuse entry. But then the potential threat remained: sooner or later, Russia would again occupy the lost positions of the superpower. And Eastern Europe will again be in the geopolitical orbit of Moscow’s influence. Naturally, the West was not attracted to this state of affairs. Therefore, Brussels and Washington are wide open the gates of the European Union and NATO, hospitably accepting not only former socialist countries, but also three Baltic states.
An increase in quantity does not mean an increase in quality. Expanding the geographic scope of the organization and the sphere of influence, the EU, at the same time, received a considerable number of weak "smaller brothers", and a heavy load fell on the Western European economy. Yes, and it was not worth forgetting about competition with the United States, America everywhere pursued its own interests, although it was "friends" with the European Union.
Some thoughts
Like any large territorial entity, European integration has more than once experienced the stages of ups and downs. Leading economists had high hopes for a single euro, which was supposed to become higher and more significant than the dollar, gradually displace its leadership in the world market and boost the economy of all members of the Union. In the early 2000s, the euro was created, claiming the role of a global reserve banknote. The idea itself was initially correct. And the Maastricht Treaty clearly defined the criteria by which candidates for the eurozone should be selected. The main attention was paid to the budget deficit - it should not exceed 3 percent of the country's GDP. Of course, far from all comers fit into this framework. However, they were accepted into the eurozone - the "undercover" actions of the USA played their role. This decision became a kind of time bomb, and EU members became hostages of the situation.
At first glance, the euro coped well with the mission assigned to it, and today its rate is higher than the dollar. But the traditional “green” currency is popular and ubiquitous. And the new rounds of the economic crisis, shaking Europe, pose a serious threat to the existence of the EU. Greece, Portugal, Spain, Ireland pull the pan-European economic ship to the bottom. And the “founding fathers" of the EU themselves are far from smooth, a crisis - it is a crisis. It is clear that European integration did not foresee such stages in its existence. To finance crisis countries at the expense of their own taxpayers is too expensive a pleasure even for the main donors of the eurozone. But another paradox: there are no opportunities to get rid of ballast countries. Legislative acts for adoption in the European Union and the eurozone have been developed, but the rules for exiting them are not! And the advanced Western states themselves cannot leave their creation, create a new union — otherwise they will rebuild their former neighbors and associates against themselves. And Putin's Russia is firmly on its feet, purposefully strengthening itself in the post-Soviet space and will not miss the opportunity to return to its former sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.
conclusions
So, in order to prevent their own fiasco, the pillars of the European Union, in particular Germany and France, are actually forced to support their allies. Who will benefit from this? The answer is simple. The euro has almost lost confidence and cannot compete with the American dollar. It is the United States, although in the current crisis that it is not sweet for itself, are most satisfied with the precarious situation of the EU.
At present, the European Union is at a crossroads: it is impossible to let go of weak countries under the influence of Moscow, but to maintain them is extremely disadvantageous. However, apparently, it will have to: human and political ambitions have always been expensive …
