TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. The short history of European union 2 2. EU – Lithuania relationship 3 3. The advantages of EU 4 4. The disadvantages of EU 5 5. Literature 7 6. Vocabulary 8 THE SHORT HISTORY OF EUROPEAN UNION European integration has delivered half a century of stability,peace and economic prosperity. It has helped to raise standards of living,built and internal market, launched the euro and strengthened the Union’svoice in the world. The European Union (EU) was set up after the 2nd World War. Theprocess of European integration was launched on 9 May 1950 when Franceofficially proposed to create “the first concrete foundation of a Europeanfederation “. Six countries (Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxemburg andNetherlands) joined from the very beginning. TToday, after four waves of accessions (1973: Denmark, Ireland and theUnited Kingdom; 1981: Greece; 1986:Spain and Portugal; 1995: Austria,Finland and Sweden) the EU has 15 Member States and is preparing for theaccession of 13 eastern and southern European countries. In the nearestfuture we hope Lithuania will join this union, too. The EU is based on the rule of law and democracy. It is neither anew State replacing existing ones nor it is comparable to otherinternational organizations. Its Member States delegate sovereignty tocommon institutions representing the interests of the Union as a whole onquestions of joint interest. All decisions and procedures are derived fromthe basic treaties ratified by the Member States. Principle objectives of the Union are: • Establish European citizenship (Fundamental rights; Freedom of movement; Civil and political rights); • Ensure freedom, security and justice (Cooperation in the field of Justice and Home Affairs); • Promote economic and social progress (Single market; Euro, the common currency; Job creation; Regional development; Environmental protection); • Assert Europe’s role in the world (Common foreign and security; The EU in the world). The EU is run by five institutions, each playing a specific role:
• European Parliament (elected by the peoples of the Member States); • Council of the Union (composed of the governments of the Member States); • European Commission (driving force and executive body) • Court of Justice (compliance with the law); • Court of Auditors (sound and lawful management of EU budget). EU – LITHUANIA RELATIONSHIP Official relationship and cooperation between Lithuania and EuropeanCommunity started on 27 August 1991 when the European Community decided torecognize the independence of Lithuania. On 11 May 1992, Lithuania and the European Community signed theAgreement on Trade and Commercial and Economic Cooperation, which came intoforce on 1 February 1993, and adopted the Declaration on a PoliticalDialogue between EC and the Republic of Lithuania. On 21 – 22 June 1993, the European Summit Meeting was held inCopenhagen where the EC for the first time clearly formulated its positionon the membership of the Central and East European countries in the EU.However, this term was applied to the countries, which had signed EuropeAgreements. The Baltic States were mentioned in a separate paragraph. Therethe European Commission was obligated to present proposals on thedevelopment of trade agreements with the Baltic States that were in effectat that time into Free Trade Agreements. On 18 July 1994, a Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Lithuaniawas signed. At the end of the same year, i.e. on 16 December 1994,negotiations on the Europe Agreement started. The said negotiations came toan end in April. The Europe Agreement was signed on 12 June 1995. On 8 December 1995, the Government of the Republic of Lithuaniasubmitted an official membership application. In the Opinion of theCommission announced in July 1995 a conclusion was drawn that the currentlevel of readiness for the EU membership allowed to maintain that in fiveyears only the following five associate Central and East European countrieswould be ready for the EU membership: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary,Poland and Slovenia. Lithuania was invited to start negotiations in 1999 together withother countries belonging to the so–called Group Two of the CandidateCountries. Such a decision was recommended by the European Commission inits 1999 Regular Report on the progress made by the Candidate Countries. InDecember 1999, the European Council approved of this recommendation anddecided about the start of the negotiations. On 15 February 2000, Lithuaniastarted negotiations for the EU membership. What are the negotiations about? The negotiations determine the conditions under which Lithuania willjoin the EU. On joining the Union, Lithuania is expected to accept the“acquis” , i.e. the detailed laws and rules adopted on the basis of the EUfounding treaties, mainly the treaties of Rome, Mastricht and Amsterdam.THE ADVANTAGES OF EU Politically EU membership will mean the increase of stability ofLithuania and it beyond a doubt will be felt in economy. Besides trade cansuccessfully develop only in that case if there is clear and varying steadylaw basis. The foreign investments will always bypass that state whichcan’t stand the political and economical pressure of internal and externalpowers. That is why the integration to EU and EU membership is the mostreal opportunity for state to successfully develop and streamline itseconomy. EU membership will give the real leverages which allow Lithuania torun foreign policy and not stay in the backwoods of the world. AfterLithuania join in EU she will become a state which participates inestablishment of prospective Europe. Lithuanian’s participating in EuropeanCommission, Council of the Union, European Parliament and otherinstitutions will vouchsafe such our “being” in Europe that Lithuaniahadn’t since the late Middle Ages. EU membership will strengthen Lithuanian’s cultural dependence onEurope. This cultural dependence signifies a trust among citizens, national
economy and other countries and accordingly is essential condition ofsecurity and even the health of the economy. The takeover of EU privilege and EU membership consolidates modernand effective regulatory structure of economy and other branches of policy,besides it will improve on Lithuanian’s law system very much. EU membership is related with enlarged opportunities. First of allthat enlarged opportunities are for active and mobile set of society. Thestudent body will be able to study in the foreign universities and themagistral staff and professoriate will be able to lecture there. For theart and culture people the integration will mean enlarged opportunities inthe programmes which are designed for EU culture. Businessmen will be able to sell their production or purveyfacilities not only for three million their countrymen, but also forseveral hundred million European habitants. Besides there will be lesssnags for trade in the EU market. EU membership will benefit farmers who purpot to EU support. Thismeans the further investments in economy, creation of new workplaces,opportunity to start a new activity and sell one’s production to severalhundred million European consumers. For village’s and little town’s habitants the EU membership meansthe creation of new workplaces, the vouchsafe of better life conditions,the decrease of unemployment, opportunity to develop one’s trade. This wayeconomical and social development differences between Lithuanian regionswill decrease. According to expert calculation Lithuania joined the EUwould annually get the support (400-600 million Lt.) from EU structuralfunds to solve economical and social problems. In the matter of allocation (which Lithuania will get from EUbudget), the first year Lithuania should get about 1.7 billion Lt. and thesubscriptions to EU budget would amount about 640 million Lt., i.e. almostthree times off. Considering that all Lithuanian budget of 2001 is about7.4 billion Lt., this support would be really touchable. 4-5 years afterLithuanian entry to EU the investments from the EU budget will reach about3.3-3.7 billion Lt., i.e. 2.8-3.3 billion Lt. clear investments. Sure theessential condition to get that allocation is financial interest ofLithuania. To put it simply the EU will finance about two thirds of newroad or bridge and Lithuania will finance the last one. The improvement of life quality is conditioned by strict anti-pollution standards, the requirements of goods and facilities quality andattention attracted to consumer’s protection. We can hardily state thatonly because integration to EU Lithuanian’s habitants will be able to drinkclearer water and breathe clearer air in the instant, not after five years. In summary we can state that the prime advantage of EU membership isthe new opportunities. And will we use them or not depend only on us.THE DISADVANTAGES OF EU To unambiguously name the subsequences of EU membership just likepositive or negative is impossible. They are closely interdependent and forexample the transference of EU law deed has both advantages anddisadvantages (it depends on what interest groups or state institutions itwill touch, when will it happen, etc.). But still we can state that expenditures of integration ismanifesting or will show up in the short run. These expenditures will fallon special business and social groups. Though we must not directly referthem as disadvantages (this probably is investments into future orendeavour to use the benefit of integration as soon as possible), butseveral danger signals we can note. I have mentioned before that integration is also the improvement oflife quality: clearer water, fresher air, better quality goods, safer andbetter workplaces. Everything, however, costs and eventually all
expenditures are transferenced to the ultimate consumer of goods andfacilities, i.e. to us. Consequently, integration and EU membership isrelated with movement and, in other words, upward movement. Usually suchupward movement is compensated by the rise of wages, but society,undoubtedly, follows that movement more strictly than rise of salaries. The negative effect of integration should be felt in companies ofalimentary recast, butcheries (because of higher veterinary andphytosanitation standards), industrial and service companies (because ofrequirement to invest in the new technologies, necessity to afford moreinformation to state institutions), state institutions (because ofrequirement to change the procedure, to retrain as concerns increase ofworkload and, in a number of cases, a decimation of their functions). Integration and preparation to EU membership can be more painful forsmall business and small farmers (because of increased competition, higherquality standards, increase of expenditures and opportunities of theircompensation). General import duty standard will lightly increase – increase 90.2million Lt., decrease 10.8 million Lt. Therefore consumers and importerswill feel a negative effect. On the other hand, the protection of somelocal producers will enlarge. Trading with Russia the duties of elements ofnuclear fuel, natural gas, several chemical goods, manure, cars willincrease or spring up, but duty of petrol will decrease. Looking into possible direct effect of EU is set that the consumerswho prefer cheap and mean quality goods and Lithuanian companies whichcan’t finance products and technological modernization will suffer themost. If products don’t suit the EU standards, they will be forbidden toimport. Integration is closely related with shake–up and modernization ofLithuanian’s economy. That’s why results of shake-up – retrainity,necessity to change a workplace – can awhile strengthen and enlarge. On the other hand we can’t these temporal negative effects impute toEU integration. Anyhow Lithuania must reform its economy and this processcould be much more painful and last longer without support of EU.LITERATURE
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VOCABULARY
1. Deliver [δ??λ?ϖ?] įteikti, pateikti2. Prosperity [πρ??σπερ?τ?] (su)klestėjimas3. Raise [ρε?ζ] (pa)kelti; iškelti4. Market [?μα:κ?τ] rinka5. Launch [λ?:ντ?] išleisti6. Propose [πρ??π?υζ] (pa)siūlyti; pateikti7. Foundation [φαυν?δε??ν] pamatas, pagrindas8. Accession [?κ?σε?ν] prieaugis, padidėjimas9. Base [βε?σ] pagrindas, pamatas10. Comparable [?κ?μπ?ρ?βλ] panašus11. Common [?κ?μ?ν] bendras12. Represent [?ρεπρ??ζεντ] atstovauti13. Derive [δ??ρα?ϖ] gauti; įgyti14. Treaty [?τρι:τ?] sutartis; susitarimas15. Objective [?β?δ?εκτ?ϖ] tikslas; siekis16. Establish [??στ?βλ??] (į)steigti, (į)kurti17. Citizenship [?σ?τ?ζν??π] pilietybė18. Ensure [?ν??υ?] laiduoti, garantuoti19. Promote [πρ??μ?υτ] skatinti20. Single market [?σ??γλ] [?μα:κ?τ] bendra rinka21. Assert [??σ?:τ] tvirtinti, pareikšti22. Council [?καυνσλ] taryba23. Force [φ?:σ] galia, jėga24. Management [?μ?ν?δ?μ?ντ] vadovavimas, valdymas25. Adopt [??δ?πτ priimti26. Negotiation [ν??γ?υ???ε??ν] derybos27. Government [?γ?ϖνμ?ντ] vyriausybė; valdžia28. Submit [σ?β?μ?τ] pateikti, atiduoti29. Application [??πλ??κε??ν] prašymas30. Current [?κ?ρ?ντ] dabartinis31. Maintain [με?ν?τε?ν] išlaikyti32. Approve [??πρυ:ϖ] pritarti33. Trade [τρε?δ] verslas34. Varying [?ϖ??ρ??] daugiau ar mažiau35. Streamline [?στρι:μλα?ν] modernizuoti, racionalizuoti36. Leverage [?λι:ϖ?ρ?δ?] svertas37. Participate [πα:?τ?σ?πε?τ] dalyvauti38. Prospective [πρ??σπεκτ?ϖ] ateities39. Vouchsafe [ϖαυτ??σε?φ] užtikrinti, garantuoti40. Strengthen [?στρε??ν] (su)stiprinti41. Signify [?σ?γν?φα?] turėti reikšmę42. Accordingly [??κ?:δ??λ?] atitinkamai43. Privilege [?πρ?ϖ?λ?δ?] teisė44. Takeover [?τε?κ??υϖ?] perėmimas45. Consolidate [κ?ν?σ?λ?δε?τ] (su)tvirtinti46. Branch [βρα:ντ?] sritis, šaka47. Regulatory [?ρεγϕυλε?τρ?] reguliavimo48. Improve [?μ?πρυ:ϖ] (pa)gerinti, (pa)tobulinti49. Set [σετ] sluoksnis50. The magistral staff [μ??δ??στρ?λ] dėstytojai51. Professoriate [?πρ?φ??σ?:ρ??τ] profesūra52. Lecture [?λεκτ??] dėstyti53. Designed [δ??ζαινδ] skirtas54. Purvey [π??ϖε?] tiekti55. Facility [φ??σ?λ?τ?] paslaugos56. Countryman [?κ?ντρ?μ?ν] tautietis57. Habitant [?η?β?τ?ντ] gyventojas58. Snag [σν?γ] kliūtis59. Purport [?π?:π?τ] pretenduoti60. Support [σ??π?:τ] parama61. Further [?φ?:??] papildomas62. Eventually [??ϖεντ?υ?λ?] galiausiai63. Ultimate [??λτ?μ?τ] galutinis64. Consequently [?κ?νσ?κω?ντλ?] vadinasi65. Wage [ωε?δ?] darbo užmokestis66. Recast [?ρι:?κα:στ] perdirbimas67. Requirement [ρ??κωα??μ?ντ] poreikis, reikalavimas68. Procedure [πρ??σι:δ??] darbo tvarka69. Retrain [?ρι:?τρε?ν] per(si)kvalifikuoti70. Afford [??φ?:δ] teikti71. Workload [?ω?:κλ?υδ] darbo krūvis72. Decimation [?δεσ??με??ν] (su)mažinimas73. Competition [?κ?μπ??τ??ν] konkurencija74. Lightly [?λα?τλ?] truputį75. Import duty [??μπ?:τ] importo muitas76. Manure [μ??νϕυ?] trąšos77. Spring [σπρ??] atsirasti78. Look [λυκ] τιρτι79. Suit [συ:τ] atitikti80. Forbidden [φ??β?δν] draudžiamas81. Fund [φ?νδ] fondas82. Allocation [??λ??κε??ν] lėšos83. Subscription [σ?β?σκρ?π?ν] įmoka84. Considering [κ?ν?σ?δ?ρ??] turint omenyje85. Entry [?εντρ?] įstojimas86. Interest [??ντρ?στ] dalyvavimas87. Amount [??μαυντ] sudaryti88. Improvement [?μ?πρυ:ϖμ?ντ] pagerėjimas89. Hardily [?ηα:δ?λ?] drąsiai90. In the instant [??νστ?ντ] tuoj91. Prime [πρα?μ] pagrindinis92. Subsequence [?σ?βσ?κω?νσ] pasekmė93. Unambiguous [??ν?μ?β?γϕυ?σ] vienareikšmis94. Interdependent [??ντ?δ??πενδ?ντ] tarpusavyje susiję95. Transference [?τρ?νσφ?ρ?νσ] perkėlimas
96. Deed [δι:δ] aktas97. Expenditure [?κ?σπενδ?τ??] išlaidos98. Manifest [?μ?ν?φεστ] pasireikšti99. Refer [ρ??φ?:] vadinti100. Endeavour [?ν?δεϖ?] siekimas101. Shake-up [??ε?κ?π] restruktūrizacija102. Awhile [??ωα?λ] kurį laiką103. Temporal [?τεμπ?ρ?λ] laikinas104. Impute [?μ?πϕυ:τ] priskirti