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The European Union (abbreviated as the EU) is a neoliberal political and economic union of 27 European countries established in 1993.[1] Its official currency, not used by all member countries, is the Euro denoted with the € symbol.
History
Predecessors
In 1910, Gerhard Hildebrand, an opportunist and imperialist, proposed a creating a "United States of Western Europe" that would exclude Russia and organize military actions against China, Japan, African freedom fighters, and Islamists.[2]
The European Economic Community, founded in 1957 by the Treaty of Rome, directly preceded the EU.[3]
Founding and expansion
The Maastricht Treaty was signed in 1992, shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and came into effect in 1993, officially establishing the Union. During the 1990s and 2000s, the EU expanded into Eastern Europe.[3]
Brexit
Lua error: Cannot create process: proc_open(/dev/null): Failed to open stream: Operation not permitted In 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.[3]
Policies
Economic policy
By and large, the European Union strives to promote neoliberalism across its member states. The EU's process of integration is designed in such a way as to facilitate "free" capital mobility and to erode social welfare programs.[4] This is evident from their accession criteria alone, which demands a "functioning market economy," defined as:
- high quality of economic governance
- macroeconomic stability (including adequate price stability as well as sustainable public finances and external accounts)
- proper functioning of the goods and services market (including business environment, state influence on product markets, and privatisation and restructuring)
- proper functioning of the financial market (including financial stability and access to finance)
- proper functioning of the labour market[5]
Margarethe Verstager, back when she was the European Commissioner for Competition, explained that member states are only allowed to nationalize companies if said nationalized companies operate "like a private market economy operator."[6] In other words, EU member states are prohibited from not being capitalist.
Foreign Policy
Borders
Over 40,000 people have died trying to cross the border of the European Union,[7] and the EU has constructed nearly 1,000 km of border walls since its founding. By 2027, Frontex, the EU's border police, aims to have 10,000 armed guards.[8]
Funding of Fascists
In 2006, the EU provided 600,000 Euros of funding to the fascist Alliance for Peace and Freedom.[9]
Political Positions
Nazi apologia
The entire European Union voted in favor of Nazism in a 2022 UN resolution, claiming that "they were forced to because the Russian Federation is using Nazism to justify its invasion of Ukraine".[10]
Islamophobia
Top EU officials allow burning the Quran in order to incite hatred against Muslims and distract from domestic failures.[11]
Anti-Communism
In 2019, the EU passed a resolution equating communism and fascism as forms of "totalitarianism", thereby equating the two. The KKE, PCP, and Italian Communist Party condemned the resolution.[12]
Pro-Imperialism
In October 2022, Josep Borrell, the EU's top foreign policy official, delivered a colonialist rant at the inauguration of the European Diplomatic Academy in Brussels in which he called Europe a "garden" and the rest of the world a "jungle", and that the jungle will "invade" the garden. In that same speech, he also advocated for regime change in Russia to install a pro-West government.[13]
The EU has officially censored RT and other Russian media outlets in the wake of the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian conflict, making their websites and other content unavailable to EU citizens.[11]
Member states
| State | Accession to EU | Accession to EU predecessor | MEPs | People/MEP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 1995 | 19 | 472575 | ||
| Founder (1993) | 23 July 1952 | 21 | 553220 | |
| 1 January 2007 | 17 | 402290 | ||
| 1 July 2013 | 12 | 321859 | ||
| 1 May 2004 | 6 | 150784 | ||
| 1 May 2004 | 21 | 500796 | ||
| Founder (1993) | 1 January 1973 | 14 | 419530 | |
| 1 May 2004 | 7 | 190257 | ||
| 1 January 1995 | 14 | 396303 | ||
| Founder (1993) | 23 July 1952 | 79 | 859138 | |
| Founder (1993) | 23 July 1952 | 96 | 867053 | |
| Founder (1993) | 1 January 1981 | 21 | 498085 | |
| 1 May 2004 | 21 | 461381 | ||
| Founder (1993) | 1 January 1973 | 13 | 389231 | |
| Founder (1993) | 23 July 1952 | 76 | 776712 | |
| 1 May 2004 | 8 | 234470 | ||
| 1 May 2004 | 11 | 255091 | ||
| Founder (1993) | 23 July 1952 | 6 | 107566 | |
| 1 May 2004 | 6 | 86829 | ||
| Founder (1993) | 23 July 1952 | 29 | 606575 | |
| 1 May 2004 | 52 | 724120 | ||
| Founder (1993) | 1 January 1986 | 21 | 492954 | |
| 1 January 2007 | 33 | 577044 | ||
| 1 May 2004 | 14 | 388194 | ||
| 1 May 2004 | 8 | 263398 | ||
| Founder (1993) | 1 January 1986 | 59 | 803947 | |
| 1 January 1995 | 21 | 497730 |
See also
References
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- ↑ Lua error: Cannot create process: proc_open(/dev/null): Failed to open stream: Operation not permitted
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error: Cannot create process: proc_open(/dev/null): Failed to open stream: Operation not permitted
- ↑ Lua error: Cannot create process: proc_open(/dev/null): Failed to open stream: Operation not permitted
- ↑ Lua error: Cannot create process: proc_open(/dev/null): Failed to open stream: Operation not permitted
- ↑ Lua error: Cannot create process: proc_open(/dev/null): Failed to open stream: Operation not permitted
- ↑ Lua error: Cannot create process: proc_open(/dev/null): Failed to open stream: Operation not permitted
- ↑ Lua error: Cannot create process: proc_open(/dev/null): Failed to open stream: Operation not permitted
- ↑ Lua error: Cannot create process: proc_open(/dev/null): Failed to open stream: Operation not permitted
- ↑ Lua error: Cannot create process: proc_open(/dev/null): Failed to open stream: Operation not permitted
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error: Cannot create process: proc_open(/dev/null): Failed to open stream: Operation not permitted
- ↑ Lua error: Cannot create process: proc_open(/dev/null): Failed to open stream: Operation not permitted
- ↑ Lua error: Cannot create process: proc_open(/dev/null): Failed to open stream: Operation not permitted