The European Union

 

The European Union

• France has encouraged EU allies to adopt measures against Turkey after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a boycott of French goods.
• The EU Commission has now warned that Turkish membership of the European Union bloc is further away than ever in light of Erdogan’s remarks.

Background:

• Turkey applied to join the then European Economic Community in 1987 and began formal accession negotiations to the European Union in 2005, but the talks are seen as effectively frozen.

About the European Union:

• It is a group of 27 countries that operate as a cohesive economic and political block.
• The EU has often been described as a sui generis political entity (without precedent or comparison).

Origin of the European Union:

• Despite not being officially formed until 1993, the European Union’s foundations actually reach further back to 1957, when the European Economic Community was established.
• The EEC was formed out of a previous group called the European Coal and Steel Community – which had its own start in 1951.
• In 1993, the EEC morphed into the European Union following the new Maastricht Treaty (also known as the Treaty on European Union).
• Additionally, the Treaty of Lisbon, enacted in 2009, gave the European Union more broad powers that included being authorized to sign international treaties, increase border patrol, and other security and enforcement provisions.