The four countries that make up the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) are not members of the EU, but they have committed in part to the economy and EU rules: Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, which are part of the single market by the European Economic Area, and Switzerland, which maintains similar relations through bilateral agreements. [126] [127] The use of the euro and other areas of cooperation is part of the relations of the European micro-states Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City. [128] The European Union Association Agreement does something similar for a much larger number of countries, in part as a so-called soft approach („the carrot instead of the stick,“ to influence the policies of these countries). The European Union represents all its members in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and acts on behalf of Member States in all disputes. When EU trade agreements on the WTO are negotiated outside the WTO framework, the following agreement will have to be approved by each government of EU member states. [229] The creation of a single European currency became an official objective of the European Economic Community in 1969. In 1992, following negotiations on the structure and procedures of a monetary union, Member States signed the Maastricht Treaty and were legally obliged to abide by agreed rules, including convergence criteria, if they wished to join the monetary union. States wishing to participate had to first join the European Exchange Exchange Mechanism. The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union with 27 Member States, mainly located in Europe. [11] Its members have a total area of 4,233,255.3 km2 and a total estimated population of about 447 million. The EU has developed an internal market through a standardised legal system applicable in all Member States in this area, and only in those issues where members have agreed to act as a unit. EU policy aims to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital in the internal market; [12] Enact legislation in the areas of justice and home affairs; Common trade policy[13] Agriculture,[14] Fishing and regional development.
[15] Passport controls for travel within the Schengen area have been abolished. [16] A monetary union was created in 1999, which came into force in 2002 and consists of 19 EU Member States that use the single currency. The EU has often been described as a sui generis political entity (unprecedented and unparalleled). [17] [18] After the Second World War, European integration was seen as an antidote to the extreme nationalism that ravaged parts of the continent. [54] In a speech delivered on 19 September 1946 at the University of Zurich, Winston Churchill went further and advocated the birth of the United States of Europe. [55] The 1948 Hague Congress was a defining moment in European federal history, leading to the creation of the European Movement International and the College of Europe, where future European leaders would live and study together. [56] The European Union has free trade agreements [230] and other agreements with a trade component with many countries in the world and negotiates with many other countries. [231] The European Union was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 for its „contribution to the promotion of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe“. [50] [51] The Nobel Committee found that „this terrible suffering of the Second World War showed the need for a new Europe […] Today, a war between Germany and France is unthinkable.