• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

ClearIAS

UPSC: Latest News, IAS, IPS, UPSC Online Preparation

UPSC Prelims Test Series 2021Enroll Now
  • Home
  • Start
    • IAS
    • IAS Exam Eligibility
    • UPSC
    • UPSC Syllabus
    • UPSC Exam Date
    • UPSC Results
    • FAQs
  • Programs
    • Prelims
    • Mains
    • Interview
  • Buy
    • Courses
    • Mock Test Series
    • IAS Books
    • eBooks (PDF)
  • Free
    • Study Materials
    • Guidance
    • eBooks (PDFs)
    • Mock Exams
    • ClearIAS App
    • Downloads
  • Toppers
  • Blog
  • Login
ClearIAS » Current Affairs Notes » European Union (EU) – The Next Super Power?

European Union (EU) – The Next Super Power?

Last updated on February 7, 2020 by Alex Andrews George

European Union - EU - FlagWill the European Union become the next superpower?

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. European Union has launched a single European currency – the Euro.

The capital of the European Union is Brussels, Belgium.

The significance of the European Union

European Union Map

The main significance of the European Union is that it is a political union as well.

Have you ever heard of an Asian Union?

130+ Prelims Marks is Possible. Only if you are guided the right way.

Join ClearIAS Prelims Test Series 2021.

Take a Free Test

There is no union of Asian nations yet – only small regional groupings like ASEAN, SAARC, etc exist. Those are not political either.

There is an African Union. However, it does not have the political character of the European Union.

At a time when nations go behind narrow nationalism, European Union is broad thinking. Imagine the difference it can create when individual nations like Germany, France, Italy, Spain etc being ready to work under a common Parliament (and a common Constitution, if attempts succeed).

Will there be the United States of Europe (USE) just like the United States of America (USA)?

Interesting Facts about European Union (EU)

European Union - Interesting Facts

  • Not all nations of Europe are member nations of the European Union. There are 44 counties in Europe as per the United Nations, however, the European Union so far consists only of 28 members.
  • Cyprus lies wholly in Asia but is at times considered as a European country. Cyprus is a member nation of EU, despite its geographical location.
  • Not all member nations use the common currency Euro. Only 19 member states consider the Euro as their currency. However, a few counties in Europe like Montenegro and Kosovo,  even though not part of the EU, use the Euro as their currency.
  • While the attempts to have a Constitution for the EU have failed, it has its own flag, anthem, founding date, and currency.
  • EU has some form of a common foreign and security policy in its dealings with other nations.
  • Under the Schengen agreement, you have to get a visa from just one of the EU countries and that allows you entry in most of the other European Union countries.

European Union – Main bodies and Institutions

European Union Institutions

The EU is run by five main bodies: European Parliament, Council of the Union, European Commission, Court of Justice, and the Court of Auditors.

Don't miss the latest updates of ClearIAS!

Join ClearIAS Telegram Chanel.

Get free studymaterials and guidance.

Join for FREE

History of the European Union – From economic to political union

History of European Union

Europe was a united entity during the era of the Rome Empire. However, it got disintegrated into smaller units later. The situation changed when the rise of nationalism led to the unification of countries in the 1870s (eg: unification of Germany, the unification of Italy etc). Nonetheless, this was not without conflicts.

Conflicts and rivalry between European counties created many wars – including World War I (1914-18) and World War II (1939-45). Europe then recognised that too much nationalism is also dangerous.

The first steps were to foster economic cooperation: the idea being that countries that trade with one another become economically interdependent and so more likely to avoid conflict.

The result was the European Economic Community (EEC) created in 1958. It increased the economic cooperation between six countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Since then, 22 other members joined to create a huge single market (also known as the ‘internal’ market). It continues to develop towards its full potential, under a new banner – European Union (since 1993).

The process acquired a political dimension with the creation of the European Parliament.

Trusted by Toppers. Loved by 3,00,000+ Registered Users.

ClearIAS UPSC Prelims Online Mock Exams.

Take a Free Test

What began as a purely economic union has evolved into an organization spanning policy areas, from climate, environment and health to external relations and security, justice and migration.

Will the European Union be the next Super Power?

European Union - The next superpower

The European Union (EU) has been called an emerging superpower by scholars and academics like T. R. Reid, Andrew Reding, Andrew Moravcsik etc and some politicians like Romano Prodi and Tony Blair.

The EU has an economic, political, diplomatic, and military influence.

Economic Power of EU:

The EU is the worlds biggest economy with GDP larger than that of the United States.

Its currency, the euro, can pose a threat to the dominance of the US dollar.

Its share of world trade is three times larger than that of the United States allowing it to be more assertive in trade disputes with the US and China.

Its economic power gives it influence over its closest neighbours as well as in Asia and Africa.

It also functions as an important bloc in international economic organisations such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Political and Diplomatic Powers of EU:

Two members of the EU, Britain and France, hold permanent seats on the UN Security Council. The EU includes several non-permanent members of the UNSC. This has enabled the EU to influence some US policies such as the current US position on Iran’s nuclear programme.

Its use of diplomacy, economic investments, and negotiations rather than coercion and military force have been effective as in the case of its dialogue with China on human rights and environmental degradation.

Military Powers of EU:

Militarily, the EU’s combined armed forces are the second largest in the world.

It’s total spending on defence is second after the US.

Two EU member states, Britain and France, also have nuclear arsenals of approximately 550 nuclear warheads.

It is also the world’s second most important source of space and communications technology.

Score high. No matter how difficult UPSC sets the question paper!

Follow ClearIAS timetable, study plan, and book-list.

Download Study Plan

Contrary Views – Why the European Union may not emerge as a superpower?

Brexit - European Union

Some do not believe that the EU will achieve superpower status. They cite the following reasons:

No Hard Power: European Union does not have enough hard power (it lack a strong European military). With just soft power, it is not easy to emerge as a superpower.

Lack of unified foreign policy: EU also lacks a unified EU foreign policy. In many areas, its member states have their own foreign relations and defence policies that are often at odds with each other. For example, the UK was America’s partner in the Iraq invasion,  whereas Germany and France opposed American policy.

No common constitution: All members of the EU must pass the constitution for it to take effect. At a time when the idea of a common constitution was proposed,  even though most of the countries voted for the constitution, France and the Netherlands voted against it.

Euro Crisis: The EU and the European Central Bank (ECB) have struggled with high sovereign debt and collapsing growth in Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain since the global financial market collapse of 2008.

Euroskepticism: There is also a deep-seated ‘Euroskepticism’ in some parts of Europe about the EU’s
integrationist agenda. Not every country in the EU adopted the common European currency Euro. This limits the ability of the EU to act in matters of foreign relations and defence.

Brexit: The UK, even earlier, prefered to be out of the European Market, now She left the EU (Brexit).

Timeline of the European Union – Download the Infographic

European Union - EU - History - Infographics

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Share166
Tweet4
WhatsApp
170 Shares

Integrate Learning With Test-Taking!

Is UPSC Prelims your weak area?

Don’t worry!

We can help you score high marks!

Are you ready to practise the right way?

Yes, I want ClearIAS to help me score high!

Get our newsletter

Don't miss our email updates!

About Alex Andrews George

Alex Andrews George is a mentor, author, and entrepreneur. Alex is the founder of ClearIAS and one of the expert Civil Service Exam Trainers in India.

He is the author of many best-seller books like 'Important Judgments that transformed India' and 'Important Acts that transformed India'.

A trusted mentor and pioneer in online training, Alex's guidance, strategies, study-materials, and mock-exams have helped thousands of aspirants to become IAS, IPS, and IFS officers.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mohammed Zekariya says

    December 10, 2018 at 6:20 am

    Indeed its a wonderful notes which help us to fresh up many information which we studied during the school times. Thank you very much.

    Reply
  2. Senti jamir says

    April 5, 2019 at 7:48 pm

    Because of such noble soul people like us from remote areas of Northeast and with least choice and Facilities and most importantly who cannot effort coaching can also learn from here thank u so much sir.. May God always bless u with more happiness..

    Reply
  3. Shobhit says

    May 3, 2019 at 10:05 pm

    Thank you Sir it was a nice article which just covers the main points and writing is very lucid and a flow chart has also been given which makes it even more easy.

    Reply
  4. Kanisk says

    June 29, 2020 at 8:36 pm

    Tremendous contents including the whole article and used a very influence words . Thank you so much it’s contents match a ncert book that’s why it is easy to understand ncert .

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Aim to be an IAS Officer?

Nothing can beat practice!

Join ClearIAS Prelims Test Series 2021

Practice 40+ online mock exams!

Limited Period Offer: 40% OFF!

Enroll Now!

ClearIAS Study Materials for UPSC Prelims and Mains

  • Indian History - Indian History and Culture.
  • Geography - Indian and World Geography.
  • Economics - Indian Economy.
  • Indian Polity - Constitution, Social Justice etc.
  • General Science - Science and Technology.
  • Environment - Biodiversity, Climate Change etc.
  • Current Affairs - National and international.

ClearIAS Study Materials for UPSC Mains (Extra-Topics)

  • World History - GS paper 1.
  • Indian Society - GS paper 1.
  • Foreign Relations - GS paper 2.
  • International Affairs - GS paper 2.
  • Internal Security - GS paper 3.
  • Disaster Management - GS paper 3.
  • Ethics - GS paper 4.

ClearIAS Study Materials for UPSC Mains (Paper-wise)

  • Essay Paper
  • GS 1 Paper
  • GS 2 Paper
  • GS 3 Paper
  • GS 4 Paper

ClearIAS Online Mock Exams (Prelims and Mains)

  • Prelims Mock Exams
  • Mains Mock Exams (AWP)

Congrats! You are at the right place - ClearIAS!

  • 1 million+ monthly users!
  • 9,00,000+ ClearIAS App Downloads!
  • 4,50,000+ Facebook Followers!
  • 3,50,000+ Email Subscribers!
  • 3,00,000+ Registered Aspirants!

Prepare for UPSC Online!

Get Started

UPSC Online Preparation Guidance

  • UPSC - Union Public Service Commission
  • IAS - Indian Administrative Service
  • Civil Services Exam (CSE) - Exam Pattern
  • UPSC Syllabus - Subjects to learn
  • IAS Books - Books to learn
  • UPSC CSE Eligibility - Who can appear?
  • UPSC Exam Dates - When should you apply?
  • UPSC Result - Check UPSC Results
  • UPSC FAQs - Clarify your queries

What do toppers' say about ClearIAS?

Poonam Dalal

"Working 24*7 in the police for the last 5 years and been out of touch with the preparation, I took the guidance from your website, especially the ClearIAS prelims test series. I bought it and found it to be the best available online." - Poonam Dalal, ClearIAS Online Student

Read more reviews by UPSC Toppers...

Enroll in

ClearIAS UPSC Prelims Online Test Series 2021

Score High in the IAS Exam!

Trusted by Toppers

Limited Period Offer: 40% Discount!

Enroll now

Don’t lose out without playing the right game!

Adopt the 3 Strategies for Success in the UPSC Civil Services Exam.

Learn UPSC Strategies

  • Home
  • IAS
  • UPSC
  • FAQs
  • Blog
  • Login

UPSC Online Preparation

  • Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
  • Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
  • Indian Police Service (IPS)
  • IAS Exam Eligibility
  • UPSC Free Study Materials
  • UPSC Exam Guidance
  • UPSC Prelims Test Series
  • UPSC Syllabus
  • UPSC Online
  • UPSC Books
  • UPSC Prelims
  • UPSC Mains
  • UPSC Interview

ClearIAS

  • About ClearIAS
  • ClearIAS Programs
  • IAS Coaching
  • Announcements
  • Book Review
  • ClearIAS App
  • Sitemap
  • Work with us
  • Advertise with us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact Us

UPSC 2021

UPSC Exam Calendar 2021

Follow us

Follow us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterFollow us on YouTubeFollow us on ClearIAS Learning AppFollow us on ClearIAS Test Prep AppFollow us on Telegram

Featured on

ClearIAS Featured in The Hindu
ClearIAS Featured in the Times of India
ClearIAS Featured in the New Indian Express
ClearIAS Featured in the Yourstory

and many more...

Copyright © 2020 - ClearIAS.com