The European Union

The European Union

The European Union is European supranational organisation dedicated to increasing economic integration and strengthening co-operation among its member states. The European Union was established on November 1, 1993, when the Treaty on European Union was ratified by the 12 members of the European Community – Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. Upon ratification of the treaty, the countries of the EC became members of the EU, and the EC became the policy-making body off the EU.

Under the Treaty on EU, European citizenship was granted to citizens of each member state. Customs and immigration agreements were enhanced to allow European citizens greater freedom to live, work, or study in any of the member states, and border controls were relaxed.

Prior to November 1993, the European Union was called the European Community. The EC was composed of the European Coal, the European Economic Community, and European Atomic Energy Commission. The three institutions merged in 1967, creating the EC annd establishing headquarters in Brussels.

Nowadays Lithuania is going to join the EU. Let’s see the pros and cons of that. The advantages are that Lithuanian people would be able to live, work, or study in ant of the member states. Al

lso Lithuanian inhabitants could travel without visas almost in every country of Europe. Of course there are some disadvantages. Firstly, for joining the EU, Lithuania would have to pay a big fee, and at the moment our country doesn’t have so much money. Also prices for petrol and other oil products would rise. Besides, joining the European Union would make our political and economic relation to Russia worse. I think that Lithuania firstly have to improve its economy and only then join the European Union.