The European Union - a Simpleton Explanation

The club was formed in 1958 by countries in Western Europe that had all been ravaged by the Second World War and wanted to set up a political organisation that would prevent tyranny from emerging on the continent. This had happened under Kaiser Wilhelm in the very early part of the 20^th Century (beginning World War 1), Hitler and Mussolini in the mid 20^th Century and a number of times in the centuries previous – Napoleon being most famous. 

The tenets of the club are as a free trade organisation, a political cooperation club, and as a means of unifying law to one set of common goals. We’ll look at the building blocks then discuss the politics.

The European Commission (EC) is a bureaucracy – every political club needs one. Where most bureaucracies administer, this has a certain law making power. A legally binding Directive can come from the EC about the contents of sausages and all countries must abide by that Directive.

The European Parliament is like any Parliament. It is made up of elected representatives from all member countries. For a Union that wishes to avert tyranny it is ironic therefore that the Parliament has somewhat less law making power than the unelected EC.

The Judiciary is comprised of two strands – the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The EU has a charter of fundamental human rights and people of any member country can go to the ECHR once they have exhausted challenges to human rights injustice in their own court system. The ECJ is an inter-country court system where the treaties that form the EU are ruled upon. If the French refuse to take Polish immigrant workers then they can be challenged in the ECJ.

Overarching these three bodies is the European Council. This body is for current heads of state and members of government of member countries. They discuss EU law, the way it acts, and agree Treaties as the EU goes toward the worrying goal of ‘ever closer union’. They are on the frontline of discussions of the European debt crisis right now.

The inner circle is the Eurozone. In 1999, 17 countries ditched their old currencies and took on the Euro. This appeals to many but appals others. The UK did not join the Euro because we have a generally strong currency that carries weight globally. Germany’s Deutschmark was even bigger globally but it became the kingpin of the Euro.

The UK finds cooperation with the other EU countries somewhat difficult at times. The population is traditionally suspicious of other countries foisting their political and economic traditions on us. Put simply, over the centuries we’ve had to step in to sort out their squabbles so often (winning three major wars in two centuries and playing a large part in winning the Cold War too, that have kept global tyranny at bay) that we like to be a step aside.

There are broadly two groups of people who take a view on the EU – the ‘Eurosceptics’ and the ‘pro Europeans’. These are subdivided in multiple ways and to different degrees. There are those who would like to forge trade links with our old Empire and ditch membership altogether. As a fellow Eurosceptic I take the view that this is like ditching your wife for your college girlfriend who you remember as hot, tight and firm, despite 20 years passing and her body changing with the years.

 The moderates like me take the view that a free trade area is a brilliant idea, and mobility of labour within is another positive point. Labour goes where it is needed, and countries can forge ahead. This element has enabled the body to become the richest economic bloc in the world.

One of the major tenets of the EU at founding was ‘ever closer union’. In theory that would ultimately mean turning the Houses of Parliament into a museum and posh apartments, and ditching all governance in member countries – giving it all to the bureaucracy in Brussels.

Another issue I have personally is the weight of power lying in the Commission. The Parliament is weaker and has fewer law making than an unelected bureaucracy. One of the tenets of the forming of the EU was to end tyranny. Isn’t an unelected bureaucracy sucking the power from modern democracies, the re emergence of tyranny?

Among my left wing friends, who because of our overarching politics will be pro Europe, I can argue for weeks on minor issues around the EU. I hope this explains what you see from the outside, as both a major force on the global stage and a group of counties that made the world as it is, divesting all power and political culture to a club that wants in itself to be a superstate in its own right.