![Member states
The following 28 sovereign states constitute the union
Sr
No.
Name Capital Accession Population Area (km2)
1 Austria Vienna 1 January 1995 8,584,926 83,855
2 Belgium Brussels Founder 11,258,434 30,528
3 Bulgaria Sofia 1 January 2007 7,202,198 110,994
4 Croatia Zagreb 1 July 2013 4,225,316 56,594
5 Cyprus Nicosia 1 May 2004 847,008 9,251
6 Czech Republic Prague 1 May 2004 10,538,275 78,866
7 Denmark Copenhagen 1 January 1973 5,659,715 43,075
8 Estonia Tallinn 1 May 2004 1,313,271 45,227
9 Finland Helsinki 1 January 1995 5,471,753 338,424
10 France Paris Founder 66,352,469 640,679
11 Germany Berlin Founder[d] 81,174,000 357,021
12 Greece Athens 1 January 1981 10,812,467 131,990
13 Hungary Budapest 1 May 2004 9,849,000 93,030](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/ecoprojects-161015101746/85/Project-Report-on-European-Union-9-320.jpg)
![Brussels agreement and aftermath
On 26 October 2011, leaders of the 17 Eurozone countries met in Brussels and agreed on a
50% write-off of Greek sovereign debt held by banks, a fourfold increase (to about €1
trillion) in bail-out funds held under the European Financial Stability Facility, an increased
mandatory level of 9% for bank capitalisation within the EU and a set of commitments from
Italy to take measures to reduce its national debt. Also pledged was €35 billion in "credit
enhancement" to mitigate losses likely to be suffered by European banks. José Manuel
Barroso characterised the package as a set of "exceptional measures for exceptional times".
The package's acceptance was put into doubt on 31 October when Greek Prime Minister
George Papandreou announced that a referendum would be held so that the Greek people
would have the final say on the bailout, upsetting financial markets. On 3 November 2011 the
promised Greek referendum on the bailout package was withdrawn by Prime Minister
Papandreou.
In late 2011, Landon Thomas in the New York Times noted that some, at least, European
banks were maintaining high dividend payout rates and none were getting capital injections
from their governments even while being required to improve capital ratios. Thomas quoted
Richard Koo, an economist based in Japan, an expert on that country's banking crisis, and
specialist in balance sheet recessions, as saying:
I do not think Europeans understand the implications of a systemic banking crisis. ... When
all banks are forced to raise capital at the same time, the result is going to be even weaker
banks and an even longer recession—if not depression. ... Government intervention should be
the first resort, not the last resort.
Beyond equity issuance and debt-to-equity conversion, then, one analyst "said that as banks
find it more difficult to raise funds, they will move faster to cut down on loans and unload
lagging assets" as they work to improve capital ratios. This latter contraction of balance
sheets "could lead to a depression", the analyst said. Reduced lending was a circumstance
already at the time being seen in a "deepen[ing] crisis" in commodities trade finance in
Western Europe.
Final agreement on the second bailout package](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/ecoprojects-161015101746/85/Project-Report-on-European-Union-34-320.jpg)
Project Report on European Union
- 1. UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI PROJECT REPORT ON BUSINESS ECONOMICS EUROPEAN UNION BY Mr. OJAS NITIN NARSALE M.COM (Part-I) (SEM-I) (Roll No.40) ACADEMIC YEAR 2015-2016 PROJECT GUIDE PROF. R.A.JOSHI PARLE TILAK VIDYALAYA ASSOCIATION’S M.L. DAHANUKAR COLLEGE OF COMMERCE DIXIT ROAD, VILE PARLE ( E) MUMBAI- 400057
- 2. DECLERATION I, Mr. OJAS NITIN NARSALE of PARLE TILAK VIDYALAYA ASSOCIATION’S M.L. DAHANUKAR COLLEGE OF COMMERCE of M.COM(Part-I) (SEM-I) (Roll No.40) hereby declare that I have completed this project on EUROPEAN UNION in the ACADEMIC YEAR 2015-2016. This information submitted is true and original to the best of my knowledge. (Signature of Student)
- 3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT To list who all helped me is difficult because they are so numerous and the depth is so enormous. I would like to acknowledge the following as being idealistic channels and fresh dimensions in the completion of this project. I would firstly thank the University of Mumbai for giving me chance to do this project. I would like to thank my Principal, Dr. Madhavi Pethe for providing the necessary facilities required for completion of this project. I even will like to thank our co-ordinator, for the moral support that I received. I would like to thank our College Library, for providing various books and magazines related to my project. Finally I proudly thank my Parents and Friends for their support throughout the Project.
- 4. INDEX No Topic Pages 1 Preface 1 2 History 2 3 Member States 5 4 Politics 8 5 Budget 12 6 Legal system 13 7 Fundamental Rights 14 7 Acts 15 8 Foreign Relation 16 9 Economy 19 10 EU,s Role In European Debt Crises 27
- 5. Preface The European Union (EU) is a politico-economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe The EU operates through a system of supranational institutions and intergovernmental-negotiated decisions by the member states The institutions are: the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank, the European Court of Auditors, and the European Parliament. The European Parliament is elected every five years by EU citizens. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), formed by the Inner Six countries in 1951 and 1958, respectively. In the intervening years, the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. The Maastricht Treaty established the European Union under its current name in 1993 and introduced European citizenship. The latest major amendment to the constitutional basis of the EU, the Treaty of Lisbon, came into force in 2009. The EU has developed a single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital, enact legislation in justice and home affairs, and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries, and regional development. The monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002. It is currently composed of 19 member states that use the euro as their legal tender. Through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU has developed a role in external relationsand defence. The union maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the WTO, the G8, and the G-20. With a combined population of over 508 million inhabitants, or 7.3% of the world population, the EU in 2014 generated a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of 18.495 trillion US dollars, constituting approximately 24% of global nominal GDP and 17% when measured in terms of purchasing power parity. As of 2014 the EU has the largest economy in the world, generating a GDP bigger than any other economic union or country. Additionally, 26 out of 28 EU countries have a very high Human Development Index, according to the UNDP. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
- 6. HISTORY Preliminary After World War II, European integration was eyed as an escape from the extreme nationalism that had devastated the continent. The 1948 Hague Congress was a pivotal moment in European federal history, as it led to the creation of the European Movement International and of the College of Europe, where Europe's future leaders would live and study together.1952 saw the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, which was declared to be "a first step in the federation of Europe.". The supporters of the Community included Alcide De Gasperi, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak. Treaty of Rome and growth In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome, which created the European Economic Community (EEC) and established a customs union. They also signed another pact creating the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) for co-operation in developing nuclear energy. Both treaties came into force in 1958. The EEC and Euratom were created separately from ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein (Hallstein Commission) and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand (Armand Commission) and then Étienne Hirsch. Euratom was to integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union among members. Through the 1960s, tensions began to show, with France seeking to limit supranational power. Nevertheless, in 1965 an agreement was reached and on 1 July 1967 the Merger Treaty created a single set of institutions for the three communities, which were collectively referred to as the European Communities. Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission (Rey Commission). In 1989, the Iron Curtain fell, enabling the union to expand further (Berlin Wall pictured).
- 7. In 1973, the Communities enlarged to include Denmark (including Greenland, which later left the Community in 1985, following a dispute over fishing rights), Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Norway had negotiated to join at the same time, but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum. In 1979, the first direct, democratic elections to the European Parliament were held. Greece joined in 1981; Portugal and Spain in 1986. In 1985, the Schengen Agreement led the way toward the creation of open borders without passport controls between most member states and some non-member states. In 1986, the European flag began to be used by the Community and the Single European Act was signed. In 1990, after the fall of the Eastern Bloc, the former East Germany became part of the Community as part of a reunited Germany. With further enlargement planned for former communist states, Cyprus, and Malta, the Copenhagen criteria for candidate members to join the EU were agreed upon in June 1993. Maastricht Treaty and after The European Union was formally established when the Maastricht Treaty whose main architects were Helmut Kohl and François Mitterrand came into force on 1 November 1993. The treaty also gave the name European community to the EEC, even if it was referred as such before the treaty. In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU. In 2002, euro banknotes and coins replaced national currencies in 12 of the member states. Since then, the euro zone has increased to encompass 19 countries. In 2004, the EU sawits biggest enlargement to date when Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia joined the Union. On 1 January 2007, Romania and Bulgaria became EU members. In the same year, Slovenia adopted the euro, followed in 2008 by Cyprus and Malta, by Slovakia in 2009, by Estonia in 2011, by Latvia in 2014 and by Lithuania in 2015. In June 2009, the European Parliament elections were held, leading to the second Barroso Commission, and by July, Iceland formally applied for EU membership, but has since suspended negotiations. On 1 December 2009, the Lisbon Treaty entered into force and reformed many aspects of the EU. In particular, it changed the legal structure of the European Union, merging the EU three
- 8. pillars system into a single legal entity provisioned with a legal personality, created a permanent President of the European Council, the first of which was Herman Van Rompuy, and strengthened the High Representative, Catherine Ashton. In 2012 the Union received the Nobel Peace Prize for having contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy, and human rights in Europe. On 1 July 2013, Croatia became the 28th EU member.
- 9. Member states The following 28 sovereign states constitute the union Sr No. Name Capital Accession Population Area (km2) 1 Austria Vienna 1 January 1995 8,584,926 83,855 2 Belgium Brussels Founder 11,258,434 30,528 3 Bulgaria Sofia 1 January 2007 7,202,198 110,994 4 Croatia Zagreb 1 July 2013 4,225,316 56,594 5 Cyprus Nicosia 1 May 2004 847,008 9,251 6 Czech Republic Prague 1 May 2004 10,538,275 78,866 7 Denmark Copenhagen 1 January 1973 5,659,715 43,075 8 Estonia Tallinn 1 May 2004 1,313,271 45,227 9 Finland Helsinki 1 January 1995 5,471,753 338,424 10 France Paris Founder 66,352,469 640,679 11 Germany Berlin Founder[d] 81,174,000 357,021 12 Greece Athens 1 January 1981 10,812,467 131,990 13 Hungary Budapest 1 May 2004 9,849,000 93,030
- 10. 14 Ireland Dublin 1 January 1973 4,625,885 70,273 15 Italy Rome Founder 60,795,612 301,338 16 Latvia Riga 1 May 2004 1,986,096 64,589 17 Lithuania Vilnius 1 May 2004 2,921,262 65,200 18 Luxembourg Luxembourg Founder 562,958 2,586 19 Malta Valletta 1 May 2004 429,344 316 20 Netherlands Amsterdam Founder 16,900,726 41,543 21 Poland Warsaw 1 May 2004 38,005,614 312,685 22 Portugal Lisbon 1 January 1986 10,374,822 92,390 23 Romania Bucharest 1 January 2007 19,861,408 238,391 24 Slovakia Bratislava 1 May 2004 5,421,349 49,035 25 Slovenia Ljubljana 1 May 2004 2,062,874 20,273 26 Spain Madrid 1 January 1986 46,439,864 504,030 27 Sweden Stockholm 1 January 1995 9,747,355 449,964 28 United Kingdom London 1 January 1973 64,767,115 243,610
- 11. Through successive enlargements, the Union has grown from the six founding states— Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands—to the current 28. Countries accede to the union by becoming party to the founding treaties, thereby subjecting themselves to the privileges and obligations of EU membership. This entails a partial delegation of sovereignty to the institutions in return for representation within those institutions, a practice often referred to as "pooling of sovereignty". To become a member, a country must meet the Copenhagen criteria, defined at the 1993 meeting of the European Council in Copenhagen. These require a stable democracy that respects human rights and the rule of law; a functioning market economy; and the acceptance of the obligations of membership, including EU law. Evaluation of a country's fulfillment of the criteria is the responsibility of the European Council. No member state has ever left the Union, although Greenland (an autonomous of Denmark) withdrew in 1985. The Lisbon Treaty now contains a clause providing for a member to leave the EU. There are six countries which are recognized as candidates for membership: Albania, Iceland, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey. However, on 13 June 2013, Iceland's Foreign Minister, Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, informed the European Commission that the newly elected government intended to "put negotiations on hold". Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are officially recognised as potential candidates, but have not submitted membership applications. Due to the lack of recognition by five of the 28 EU member states, the European Commission refers only to "Kosovo*", with an asterisked footnote containing the text agreed to by the Belgrade–Pristina negotiations: "This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence." Four countries forming the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) (that are not EU members) have partly committed to the EU's economy and regulations: Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, which are a part of the single market through the European Economic Area, and Switzerland, which has similar ties through bilateral treaties. The relationships of the European microstates, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican include the use of the euro and other areas of co-operation.
- 12. Politics The EU operates within those competencies conferred on it by the treaties and according to the principle of subsidiarity (which dictates that action by the EU should only be taken where an objective cannot be sufficiently achieved by the member states alone). Laws made by the EU institutions are passed in a variety of forms. Generally speaking, they can be classified into two groups: those which come into force without the necessity for national implementation measures and those which specifically require national implementation measures. Constitutional nature The classification of the European Union in terms of international or constitutional law has been much debated, often in the light of the degree of integration that is perceived, desired, or expected. Historically, at least, the EU is an international organisation, and by some criteria, it could be classified as a confederation; but it also has many attributes of a federation, so some would classify it as a (de facto) federation of states.For this reason, the organisation has, in the past, been termed sui generis (incomparable, one of a kind), though it is also argued that this designation is no longer true. The organisation itself has traditionally used the terms "community", and later "union". The difficulties of classification involve the difference between national law (where the subjects of the law include natural persons and corporations) and international law (where the subjects include sovereign states and international organisations); they can also be seen in the light of differing European and American constitutional traditions. Especially in terms of the European constitutional tradition, the term federation is equated with a sovereign federal state in international law; so the EU cannot be called a federal state or federation—at least, not without qualification. Though not, strictly, a federation, it is more than a free-trade association. It is, however, described as being based on a federal model or federal in nature. Walter Hallstein, in the original German edition of Europe in the Making called it "an unfinished federal state". The German Constitutional Court refers to the European Union as
- 13. an association of sovereign states and affirms that making the EU a federation would require replacement of the German constitution. Others claim that it will not develop into a federal state but has reached maturity as an international organisation. Governance The European Union has seven institutions: the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the European Council, the European Central Bank, the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Auditors. Competencies in scrutinizing and amending legislation are divided between the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union while executive tasks are carried out by the European Commission and in a limited capacity by the European Council (not to be confused with the aforementioned Council of the European Union). The monetary policy of the Eurozone is governed by the European Central Bank. The interpretation and the application of EU law and the treaties are ensured by the Court of Justice of the European Union. The EU budget is scrutinized by the European Court of Auditors. There are also a number of ancillary bodies which advise the EU or operate in a specific area. European Council The European Council gives direction to the EU, and convenes at least four times a year. It comprises the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission and one representative per member state; either its head of state or head of government. The European Council has been described by some as the Union's "supreme political authority". It is actively involved in the negotiation of the treaty changes and defines the EU's policy agenda and strategies. The European Council uses its leadership role to sort out disputes between member states and the institutions, and to resolve political crises and disagreements over controversial issues and policies. It acts externally as a "collective head of state" and ratifies important documents (for example, international agreements and treaties). On 19 November 2009, Herman Van Rompuy was chosen as the first permanent President of the European Council. On 1 December 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force and he assumed office. Ensuring the external representation of the EU, driving consensus and
- 14. settling divergences among members are tasks for the President both during the convocations of the European Council and in the time periods between them. The European Council should not be mistaken for the Council of Europe, an international organisation independent from the EU. European Commission The European Commission acts as the EU's executive arm and is responsible for initiating legislation and the day-to-day running of the EU. The Commission is also seen as the motor of European integration. It operates as a cabinet government, with 28 Commissioners for different areas of policy, one from each member state, though Commissioners are bound to represent the interests of the EU as a whole rather than their home state. One of the 28 is the Commission President (currently Jean-Claude Juncker) appointed by the European Council. After the President, the most prominent Commissioner is the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy who is ex-officio Vice- President of the Commission and is chosen by the European Council too. The other 26 Commissioners are subsequently appointed by the Council of the European Union (also known as the Council of Ministers) in agreement with the nominated President. The 28 Commissioners as a single body are subject to a vote of approval by the European Parliament. European Parliament The European Parliament forms one half of the EU's legislature (the other half is the Council of the European Union). The 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are directly elected by EU citizens every five years on the basis of proportional representation. Although MEPs are elected on a national basis, they sit according to political groups rather than their nationality. Each country has a set number of seats and is divided into sub-national constituencies where this does not affect the proportional nature of the voting system. The Parliament and the Council of the European Union pass legislation jointly in nearly all areas under the ordinary legislative procedure. This also applies to the EU budget. Finally, the Commission is accountable to Parliament, requiring its approval to take office, having to report back to it and subject to motions of censure from it. The President of the European
- 15. Parliament carries out the role of speaker in parliament and represents it externally. The EP President and Vice-Presidents are elected by MEPs every two and a half years. Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union (also called the "Council" and sometimes referred to as the "Council of Ministers") forms the other half of the EU's legislature. It consists of a government minister from each member state and meets in different compositions depending on the policy area being addressed. Notwithstanding its different configurations, it is considered to be one single body. In addition to its legislative functions, the Council also exercises executive functions in relations to the Common Foreign and Security Policy. Political systemof the European Union
- 16. Budget The EU had an agreed budget of €120.7 billion for the year 2007 and €864.3 billion for the period 2007–2013, representing 1.10% and 1.05% of the EU-27's GNI forecast for the respective periods. By comparison, the United Kingdom's expenditure for 2004 was estimated to be €759 billion, and France was estimated to have spent €801 billion. In 1960, the budget of the then European Economic Community was 0.03% of GDP. In the 2010 budget of €141.5 billion, the largest single expenditure item is "cohesion & competitiveness" with around 45% of the total budget. Next comes "agriculture" with approximately 31% of the total. "Rural development, environment and fisheries" takes up around 11%. "Administration" accounts for around 6%.The "EU as a global partner" and "citizenship, freedom, security and justice" bring up the rear with approximately 6% and 1% respectively. The Court of Auditors aims to ensure that the budget of the European Union has been properly accounted for. The court provides an audit report for each financial year to the Council and the European Parliament. The Parliament uses this to decide whether to approve the Commission's handling of the budget. The Court also gives opinions and proposals on financial legislation and anti-fraud actions. The Court of Auditors is legally obliged to provide the Parliament and the Council with "a statement of assurance as to the reliability of the accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions". The Court has refused to do so every year since 1993, qualifying their report of the Union's accounts every year since then. In their report on 2009 the auditors found that five areas of Union expenditure, agriculture and the cohesion fund, were materially affected by error. The European Commission estimated that the financial impact of irregularities was €1,863 million.
- 17. Legal system The EU is based on a series of treaties. These first established the European Community and the EU, and then made amendments to those founding treaties. These are power-giving treaties which set broad policy goals and establish institutions with the necessary legal powers to implement those goals. These legal powers include the ability to enact legislation which can directly affect all member states and their inhabitants. The EU has legal personality, with the right to sign agreements and international treaties. Under the principle of supremacy, national courts are required to enforce the treaties that their member states have ratified, and thus the laws enacted under them, even if doing so requires them to ignore conflicting national law, and (within limits) even constitutional provisions. Courts of Justice The judicial branch of the EU—formally called the Court of Justice of the European Union— consists of three courts: the Court of Justice, the General Court, and the European Union Civil Service Tribunal. Together they interpret and apply the treaties and the law of the EU. The Court of Justice primarily deals with cases taken by member states, the institutions, and cases referred to it by the courts of member states. The General Court mainly deals with cases taken by individuals and companies directly before the EU's courts, and the European Union Civil Service Tribunal adjudicates in disputes between the European Union and its civil service. Decisions from the General Court can be appealed to the Court of Justice but only on a point of law.
- 18. Fundamental rights The treaties declare that the EU itself is "founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail." In 2009 the Lisbon Treaty gave legal effect to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The charter is a codified catalogue of fundamental rights against which the EU's legal acts can be judged. It consolidates many rights which were previously recognised by the Court of Justice and derived from the "constitutional traditions common to the member states." The Court of Justice has long recognised fundamental rights and has, on occasion, invalidated EU legislation based on its failure to adhere to those fundamental rights. The Charter of Fundamental Rights was drawn up in 2000. Although originally not legally binding the Charter was frequently cited by the EU's courts as encapsulating rights which the courts had long recognised as the fundamental principles of EU law. Although signing the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is a condition for EU membership, previously, the EU itself could not accede to the Convention as it is neither a state nor had the competence to accede. The Lisbon Treaty and Protocol 14 to the ECHR have changed this: the former binds the EU to accede to the Convention while the latter formally permits it. Although, the EU is independent from Council of Europe, they share purpose and ideas especially on rule of law, human rights and democracy. Further European Convention on Human Rights and European Social Charter, the source of law of Charter of Fundamental Rights are created by Council of Europe. The EU also promoted human rights issues in the wider world. The EU opposes the death penalty and has proposed its worldwide abolition. Abolition of the death penalty is a condition for EU membership.
- 19. Acts The main legal acts of the EU come in three forms: regulations, directives, and decisions. Regulations become law in all member states the moment they come into force, without the requirement for any implementing measures, and automatically override conflicting domestic provisions. Directives require member states to achieve a certain result while leaving them discretion as to how to achieve the result. The details of how they are to be implemented are left to member states .When the time limit for implementing directives passes, they may, under certain conditions, have direct effect in national law against member states. Decisions offer an alternative to the two above modes of legislation. They are legal acts which only apply to specified individuals, companies or a particular member state. They are most often used in competition law, or on rulings on State Aid, but are also frequently used for procedural or administrative matters within the institutions. Regulations, directives, and decisions are of equal legal value and apply without any formal hierarchy. Area of freedom, security and justice Since the creation of the EU in 1993, it has developed its competencies in the area of freedom, security and justice, initially at an intergovernmental level and later by supranationalism. To this end, agencies have been established that co-ordinate associated actions: Europol for co-operation of police forces, Euro just for co-operation between prosecutors, and Frontex for co-operation between border control authorities. The EU also operates the Schengen Information System which provides a common database for police and immigration authorities. This co-operation had to particularly be developed with the advent of open borders through the Schengen Agreement and the associated cross border crime. Furthermore, the Union has legislated in areas such as extradition, family law, asylum law, and criminal justice. Prohibitions against sexual and nationality discrimination have a long standing in the treaties. In more recent years, these have been supplemented by powers to legislate against discrimination based on race, religion, disability, age, and sexual orientation. By virtue of these powers, the EU has enacted legislation on sexual discrimination in the work-place, age discrimination, and racial discrimination.
- 20. Foreign relations Foreign policy co-operation between member states dates from the establishment of the Community in 1957, when member states negotiated as a bloc in international trade negotiations under the Common Commercial policy. Steps for a more wide ranging co- ordination in foreign relations began in 1970 with the establishment of European Political Cooperation which created an informal consultation process between member states with the aim of forming common foreign policies. It was not, however, until 1987 when European Political Cooperation was introduced on a formal basis by the Single European Act. EPC was renamed as the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) by the Maastricht Treaty. The aims of the CFSP are to promote both the EU's own interests and those of the international community as a whole, including the furtherance of international co-operation, respect for human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.The CFSP requires unanimity among the member states on the appropriate policy to follow on any particular issue. The unanimity and difficult issues treated under the CFSP sometimes lead to disagreements, such as those which occurred over the war in Iraq. The coordinator and representative of the CFSP within the EU is the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (currently Federica Mogherini) who speaks on behalf of the EU in foreign policy and defence matters, and has the task of articulating the positions expressed by the member states on these fields of policy into a common alignment. The High Representative heads up the European External Action Service (EEAS), a unique EU department that has been officially implemented and operational since 1 December 2010 on the occasion of the first anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. The EEAS will serve as a foreign ministry and diplomatic corps for the European Union. Besides the emerging international policy of the European Union, the international influence of the EU is also felt through enlargement. The perceived benefits of becoming a member of the EU act as an incentive for both political and economic reform in states wishing to fulfil the EU's accession criteria, and are considered an important factor contributing to the reform of European formerly Communist countries. This influence on the internal affairs of other countries is generally referred to as "soft power", as opposed to military "hard power".
- 21. Military The European Union does not have one unified military. The predecessors of the European Union were not devised as a strong military alliance because NATO was largely seen as appropriate and sufficient for defense purposes. 22 EU members are members of NATO while the remaining member states follow policies of neutrality. The Western European Union, a military alliance with a mutual defense clause, was disbanded in 2010 as its role had been transferred to the EU. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), France spent more than €44 billion ($59bn) on defense in 2010, placing it third in the world after the US and China, while the United Kingdom spent almost £38 billion ($58bn), the fourth largest. Together, France and the United Kingdom account for 45 per cent of Europe's defense budget, 50 per cent of its military capacity and 70 per cent of all spending in military research and development. Britain and France are also officially recognised nuclear weapon states and are the only two European nations to hold permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council. In 2000, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany accounted for 97% of the total military research budget of the then 15 EU member states. Following the Kosovo War in 1999, the European Council agreed that "the Union must have the capacity for autonomous action, backed by credible military forces, the means to decide to use them, and the readiness to do so, in order to respond to international crises without prejudice to actions by NATO". To that end, a number of efforts were made to increase the EU's military capability, notably the Helsinki Headline Goal process. After much discussion, the most concrete result was the EU Battle groups initiative, each of which is planned to be able to deploy quickly about 1500 personnel. EU forces have been deployed on peacekeeping missions from middle and northern Africa to the western Balkans and western Asia. EU military operations are supported by a number of bodies, including the European Defense Agency, European Union Satellite Centre and the European Union Military Staff. In an EU consisting of 28 members, substantial security and defense co-operation is increasingly relying on co-operation of the great powers.
- 22. Humanitarian aid The European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department, or "ECHO", provides humanitarian aid from the EU to developing countries. In 2012, its budget amounted to €874 million, 51% of the budget went to Africa and 20% to Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Pacific, and 20% to the Middle East and Mediterranean. Humanitarian aid is financed directly by the budget (70%) as part of the financial instruments for external action and also by the European Development Fund (30%).The EU's external action financing is divided into 'geographic' instruments and 'thematic' instruments. The 'geographic' instruments provide aid through the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI, €16.9 billion, 2007–2013), which must spend 95% of its budget on overseas development assistance (ODA), and from the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI), which contains some relevant programmes. The European Development Fund (EDF, €22.7 bn, 2008–2013) is made up of voluntary contributions by member states, but there is pressure to merge the EDF into the budget-financed instruments to encourage increased contributions to match the 0.7% target and allow the European Parliament greater oversight. However, five countries have reached the 0.7% target: Sweden, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Denmark and the United Kingdom. In 2011, EU aid was 0.42% of the EU's GNI making it the world's most generous aid donor. The previous Commissioner for Aid, Louis Michel, has called for aid to be delivered more rapidly, to greater effect, and on humanitarian principles.
- 23. Economy The EU has established a single market across the territory of all its members. 19 member states have also joined a monetary union known as the eurozone, which uses the Euro as a single currency. In 2012, the EU had a combined GDP of 16.073 trillions international dollars, a 20% share of the global gross domestic product (in terms of purchasing power parity).According to Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report 2012, the EU owns the largest net wealth in the world; it is estimated to equal 30% of the $223 trillion global wealth. Of the top 500 largest corporations measured by revenue (Fortune Global 500 in 2010), 161 have their headquarters in the EU. In 2007, unemployment in the EU stood at 7% while investment was at 21.4% of GDP, inflation at 2.2%, and current account balance at −0.9% of GDP (i.e., slightly more import than export). In 2015, unemployment in the EU stood, per August 2015, at 9.5%. There is a significant variance for GDP (PPP) per capita within individual EU states, these range from €11,300 to €69,800 (about US$15,700 to US$97,000). The difference between the richest and poorest regions (271 NUTS-2 regions of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) ranged, in 2009, from 27% of the EU27 average in the region of Severozapaden in Bulgaria, to 332% of the average in Inner London in the United Kingdom. On the high end, Inner London has €78,000 PPP per capita, Luxembourg €62,500, and Bruxelles-Cap €52,500, while the poorest regions, are Severozapaden with €6,400 PPP per capita, Nord-Est with €6,900 PPP per capita, Severen tsentralen with €6,900 and Yuzhen tsentralen with €7,200. Structural Funds and Cohesion Funds are supporting the development of underdeveloped regions of the EU. Such regions are primarily located in the states of central and southern Europe.Several funds provide emergency aid, support for candidate members to transform their country to conform to the EU's standard (Phare, ISPA, and SAPARD), and support to the former USSR Commonwealth of Independent States (TACIS). TACIS has now become part of the worldwide EuropeAid programme. EU research and technological framework programmes sponsor research conducted by consortia from all EU members to work towards a single European Research Area
- 24. Internal market Two of the original core objectives of the European Economic Community were the development of a common market, subsequently renamed the single market, and a customs union between its member states. The single market involves the free circulation of goods, capital, people, and services within the EU, and the customs union involves the application of a common external tariff on all goods entering the market. Once goods have been admitted into the market they cannot be subjected to customs duties, discriminatory taxes or import quotas, as they travel internally. The non-EU member states of Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland participate in the single market but not in the customs union. Half the trade in the EU is covered by legislation harmonised by the EU. Free movement of capital is intended to permit movement of investments such as property purchases and buying of shares between countries. Until the drive towards economic and monetary union the development of the capital provisions had been slow. Post-Maastricht there has been a rapidly developing corpus of ECJ judgements regarding this initially neglected freedom. The free movement of capital is unique insofar as it is granted equally to non-member states. The free movement of persons means that EU citizens can move freely between member states to live, work, study or retire in another country. This required the lowering of administrative formalities and recognition of professional qualifications of other states. The free movement of services and of establishment allows self-employed persons to move between member states to provide services on a temporary or permanent basis. While services account for 60–70% of GDP, legislation in the area is not as developed as in other areas. This lacuna has been addressed by the recently passed Directive on services in the internal market which aims to liberalise the cross border provision of services.According to the Treaty the provision of services is a residual freedom that only applies if no other freedom is being exercised.
- 25. Monetary union The creation of a European single currency became an official objective of the European Economic Community in 1969. In 1992, after having negotiated the structure and procedures of a currency union, the member states signed the Maastricht Treaty and were legally bound to fulfill the agreed-on rules including the convergence criteria if they wanted to join the monetary union. The states wanting to participate had first to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. In 1999 the currency union started, first as an accounting currency with eleven member states joining. In 2002, the currency was fully put into place, when euro notes and coins were issued and national currencies began to phase out in the eurozone, which by then consisted of 12 member states. The eurozone (constituted by the EU member states which have adopted the euro) has since grown to 19 countries, the most recent being Lithuania which joined on 1 January 2015. Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Sweden decided not to join the euro. Since its launch the euro has become the second reserve currency in the world with a quarter of foreign exchanges reserves being in euro.The euro, and the monetary policies of those who have adopted it in agreement with the EU, are under the control of the European Central Bank (ECB). The ECB is the central bank for the eurozone, and thus controls monetary policy in that area with an agenda to maintain price stability. It is at the centre of the European System of Central Banks, which comprehends all EU national central banks and is controlled by its General Council, consisting of the President of the ECB, who is appointed by the European Council, the Vice-President of the ECB, and the governors of the national central banks of all 28 EU member states. The European System of Financial Supervision is an institutional architecture of the EU's framework of financial supervision composed by three authorities: the European Banking Authority, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority and the European Securities and Markets Authority. To complement this framework, there is also a European Systemic Risk Board under the responsibility of the ECB. The aim of this financial control system is to ensure the economic stability of the EU.
- 26. To prevent the joining states from getting into financial trouble or crisis after entering the monetary union, they were obliged in the Maastricht treaty to fulfill important financial obligations and procedures, especially to show budgetary discipline and a high degree of sustainable economic convergence, as well as to avoid excessive government deficits and limit the government debt to a sustainable level. Some states joined the euro but violated these rules and contracts to an extent that they slid into a debt crisis and had to be financially supported with emergency rescue funds. These states were Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus and Spain. Even though the Maastricht treaty forbids eurozone states to assume the debts of other states ("bailout"), various emergency rescue funds had been created by the members to support the debt crisis states to meet their financial obligations and buy time for reforms that those states can gain back their competitiveness.
- 27. Energy In 2006, the EU-27 had a gross inland energy consumption of 1,825 million tonnes of oil equivalent (toe). Around 46% of the energy consumed was produced within the member states while 54% was imported. In these statistics, nuclear energy is treated as primary energy produced in the EU, regardless of the source of the uranium, of which less than 3% is produced in the EU. The EU has had legislative power in the area of energy policy for most of its existence; this has its roots in the original European Coal and Steel Community. The introduction of a mandatory and comprehensive European energy policy was approved at the meeting of the European Council in October 2005, and the first draft policy was published in January 2007. The EU has five key points in its energy policy: increase competition in the internal market, encourage investment and boost interconnections between electricity grids; diversify energy resources with better systems to respond to a crisis; establish a new treaty framework for energy co-operation with Russia while improving relations with energy-rich states in Central Asia and North Africa; use existing energy supplies more efficiently while increasing renewable energy commercialisation; and finally increase funding for new energy technologies. The EU currently imports 82% of its oil, 57% of its natural gas and 97.48% of its uranium demands. There are concerns that Europe's dependence on Russian energy is endangering the Union and its member countries. The EU is attempting to diversify its energy supply.
- 28. Infrastructure The EU is working to improve cross-border infrastructure within the EU, for example through the Trans-European Networks (TEN). Projects under TEN include the Channel Tunnel, LGV Est, the Fréjus Rail Tunnel, the Öresund Bridge, the Brenner Base Tunnel and the Strait of Messina Bridge. In 2001 it was estimated that by 2010 the network would cover: 75,200 kilometres (46,700 mi) of roads; 78,000 kilometres (48,000 mi) of railways; 330 airports; 270 maritime harbours; and 210 internal harbours. The developing European transport policies will increase the pressure on the environment in many regions by the increased transport network. In the pre-2004 EU members, the major problem in transport deals with congestion and pollution. After the recent enlargement, the new states that joined since 2004 added the problem of solving accessibility to the transport agenda. The Polish road network in particular was in poor condition: at Poland's accession to the EU, a number of roads needed to be upgraded, particularly the A4 autostrada, requiring approximately €13 billion. The Galileo positioning system is another EU infrastructure project. Galileo is a proposed Satellite navigation system, to be built by the EU and launched by the European Space Agency (ESA), and is to be operational by 2012.The Galileo project was launched partly to reduce the EU's dependency on the US-operated Global Positioning System, but also to give more complete global coverage and allow for far greater accuracy, given the aged nature of the GPS system. It has been criticised by some due to costs, delays, and their perception of redundancy given the existence of the GPS system.
- 29. Agriculture The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is one of the oldest policies of the European Community, and was one of its core aims. The policy has the objectives of increasing agricultural production, providing certainty in food supplies, ensuring a high quality of life for farmers, stabilising markets, and ensuring reasonable prices for consumers. It was, until recently, operated by a system of subsidies and market intervention. Until the 1990s, the policy accounted for over 60% of the then European Community's annual budget, and still accounts for around 34%. The policy's price controls and market interventions led to considerable overproduction, resulting in so-called butter mountains and wine lakes. These were intervention stores of products bought up by the Community to maintain minimum price levels. To dispose of surplus stores, they were often sold on the world market at prices considerably below Community guaranteed prices, or farmers were offered subsidies (amounting to the difference between the Community and world prices) to export their products outside the Community. This system has been criticised for under-cutting farmers outside Europe, especially those in the developing world. The overproduction has also been criticised for encouraging environmentally unfriendly intensive farming methods. Supporters of CAP say that the economic support which it gives to farmers provides them with a reasonable standard of living, in what would otherwise be an economically unviable way of life. However, the EU's small farmers receive only 8% of CAP's available subsidies. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the CAP has been subject to a series of reforms. Initially, these reforms included the introduction of set-aside in 1988, where a proportion of farm land was deliberately withdrawn from production, milk quotas (by the McSharry reforms in 1992) and, more recently, the 'de-coupling' (or disassociation) of the money farmers receive from the EU and the amount they produce (by the Fischler reforms in 2004). Agriculture expenditure will move away from subsidy payments linked to specific produce, toward direct payments based on farm size. This is intended to allow the market to dictate production levels, while maintaining agricultural income levels.
- 30. Demographics As of 1 January 2015, the population of the EU is about 508.2 million people. The EU contains 16 cities with populations of over one million, the largest being London. Besides many large cities, the EU also includes several densely populated regions that have no single core but have emerged from the connection of several cites and now encompass large metropolitan areas. The largest are Rhine-Ruhr having approximately 11.5 million inhabitants (Cologne, Dortmund, Düsseldorf et al.), Randstad approx. 7 million (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht et al.), Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region approx. 5.8 million (Frankfurt, Wiesbaden et al.), the Flemish Diamond approx. 5.5 million (urban area in between Antwerp, Brussels, Leuven and Ghent), Katowice and its Upper Silesian metropolitan area approx. 5.3 million and the Øresund Region approx. 3.7 million (Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmö, Sweden). In 2010, 47.3 million people lived in the EU, who were born outside their resident country. This corresponds to 9.4% of the total EU population. Of these, 31.4 million (6.3%) were born outside the EU and 16.0 million (3.2%) were born in another EU member state. The largest absolute numbers of people born outside the EU were in Germany (6.4 million), France (5.1 million), the United Kingdom (4.7 million), Spain (4.1 million), Italy (3.2 million), and the Netherlands (1.4 million). Vital statistics in recent years (in thousands) Year Population Live births ‰ Deaths ‰ Natural change ‰ Net migration Total change 2012 505 730.5 5 231,1 10.4 5 013,9 9.9 217,3 0.4 882,2 1 099,5 2013 507 416.6 5 075,7 10.0 4 999,2 9.9 76,5 0.1 653,1 729,6
- 31. EU,s Role in European Debt Crises European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) Main article: European Financial Stability Facility On 9 May 2010, the 27 EU member states agreed to create the European Financial Stability Facility, a legal instrument aiming at preserving financial stability in Europe by providing financial assistance to Eurozone states in difficulty. The EFSF can issue bonds or other debt instruments on the market with the support of the German Debt Management Office to raise the funds needed to provide loans to Eurozone countries in financial troubles recapitalise banks or buy sovereign debt. Emissions of bonds are backed by guarantees given by the euro area member states in proportion to their share in the paid-up capital of the European Central Bank. The €440 billion lending capacity of the facility is jointly and severally guaranteed by the Eurozone countries' governments and may be combined with loans up to €60 billion from the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (reliant on funds raised by the European Commission using the EU budget as collateral) and up to €250 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to obtain a financial safety net up to €750 billion. The EFSF issued €5 billion of five-year bonds in its inaugural benchmark issue 25 January 2011, attracting an order book of €44.5 billion. This amount is a record for any sovereign bond in Europe, and €24.5 billion more than the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM), a separate European Union funding vehicle, with a €5 billion issue in the first week of January 2011. On 29 November 2011, the member state finance ministers agreed to expand the EFSF by creating certificates that could guarantee up to 30% of new issues from troubled euro-area governments and to create investment vehicles that would boost the EFSF's firepower to intervene in primary and secondary bond markets. The transfers of bailout funds were performed in tranches over several years and were conditional on the governments simultaneously implementing a package of fiscal
- 32. consolidation, structural reforms, and privatization of public assets and setting up funds for further bank recapitalization and resolution. Reception by financial markets Stocks surged worldwide after the EU announced the EFSF's creation. The facility eased fears that the Greek debt crisis would spread, and this led to some stocks rising to the highest level in a year or more. The euro made its biggest gain in 18 months, before falling to a new four-year low a week later. Shortly after the euro rose again as hedge funds and other short- term traders unwound short positions and carry trades in the currency. Commodity prices also rose following the announcement. The dollar Libor held at a nine-month high. Default swaps also fell. The VIX closed down a record almost 30%, after a record weekly rise the preceding week that prompted the bailout. The agreement is interpreted as allowing the ECB to start buying government debt from the secondary market, which is expected to reduce bond yields. As a result, Greek bond yields fell sharply from over 10% to just over 5%. Asian bonds yields also fell with the EU bailout.) Usage of EFSF funds The EFSF only raises funds after an aid request is made by a country. As of the end of July 2012, it has been activated various times. In November 2010, it financed €17.7 billion of the total €67.5 billion rescue package for Ireland (the rest was loaned from individual European countries, the European Commission and the IMF). In May 2011 it contributed one-third of the €78 billion package for Portugal. As part of the second bailout for Greece, the loan was shifted to the EFSF, amounting to €164 billion (130bn new package plus 34.4bn remaining from Greek Loan Facility) throughout 2014. On 20 July 2012, European finance ministers sanctioned the first tranche of a partial bailout worth up to €100 billion for Spanish banks. This leaves the EFSF with €148 billion or an equivalent of €444 billion in leveraged firepower. The EFSF is set to expire in 2013, running some months parallel to the permanent €500 billion rescue funding program called the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), which will start operating as soon as member states representing 90% of the capital commitments have ratified it. (See section: ESM)
- 33. On 13 January 2012, Standard & Poor's downgraded France and Austria from AAA rating, lowered Spain, Italy (and five other) euro members further. Shortly after, S&P also downgraded the EFSF from AAA to AA+. European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM) Main article: European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism On 5 January 2011, the European Union created the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM), an emergency funding programme reliant upon funds raised on the financial markets and guaranteed by the European Commission using the budget of the European Union as collateral. It runs under the supervision of the Commission and aims at preserving financial stability in Europe by providing financial assistance to EU member states in economic difficulty. The Commission fund, backed by all 27 European Union members, has the authority to raise up to €60 billion and is rated AAA by Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poor's. Under the EFSM, the EU successfully placed in the capital markets an €5 billion issue of bonds as part of the financial support package agreed for Ireland, at a borrowing cost for the EFSM of 2.59%. Like the EFSF, the EFSM was replaced by the permanent rescue funding programme ESM, which was launched in September 2012.
- 34. Brussels agreement and aftermath On 26 October 2011, leaders of the 17 Eurozone countries met in Brussels and agreed on a 50% write-off of Greek sovereign debt held by banks, a fourfold increase (to about €1 trillion) in bail-out funds held under the European Financial Stability Facility, an increased mandatory level of 9% for bank capitalisation within the EU and a set of commitments from Italy to take measures to reduce its national debt. Also pledged was €35 billion in "credit enhancement" to mitigate losses likely to be suffered by European banks. José Manuel Barroso characterised the package as a set of "exceptional measures for exceptional times". The package's acceptance was put into doubt on 31 October when Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou announced that a referendum would be held so that the Greek people would have the final say on the bailout, upsetting financial markets. On 3 November 2011 the promised Greek referendum on the bailout package was withdrawn by Prime Minister Papandreou. In late 2011, Landon Thomas in the New York Times noted that some, at least, European banks were maintaining high dividend payout rates and none were getting capital injections from their governments even while being required to improve capital ratios. Thomas quoted Richard Koo, an economist based in Japan, an expert on that country's banking crisis, and specialist in balance sheet recessions, as saying: I do not think Europeans understand the implications of a systemic banking crisis. ... When all banks are forced to raise capital at the same time, the result is going to be even weaker banks and an even longer recession—if not depression. ... Government intervention should be the first resort, not the last resort. Beyond equity issuance and debt-to-equity conversion, then, one analyst "said that as banks find it more difficult to raise funds, they will move faster to cut down on loans and unload lagging assets" as they work to improve capital ratios. This latter contraction of balance sheets "could lead to a depression", the analyst said. Reduced lending was a circumstance already at the time being seen in a "deepen[ing] crisis" in commodities trade finance in Western Europe. Final agreement on the second bailout package
- 35. In a marathon meeting on 20/21 February 2012 the Euro group agreed with the IMF and the Institute of International Finance on the final conditions of the second bailout package worth €130 billion. The lenders agreed to increase the nominal haircut from 50% to 53.5%. EU Member States agreed to an additional retroactive lowering of the interest rates of the Greek Loan Facility to a level of just 150 basis points above Euribor. Furthermore, governments of Member States where central banks currently hold Greek government bonds in their investment portfolio commit to pass on to Greece an amount equal to any future income until 2020. Altogether this should bring down Greece's debt to between 117% and 120.5% of GDP by 2020.
- 36. Further progress towards a deep and genuine economic monetary union Expert group publishes its final report on debt redemption fund and eurobills The final report of the Expert Group on a Debt Redemption Fund and Eurobills (5) was submitted to the Commission at the end of March. The Commission established the expert group in 2013 to examine the possible merits and risks of, requirements for and obstacles to the partial substitution of national issuance of debt by joint issuance in the form of a redemption fund and eurobills. The report concluded that both a debt redemption fund/pact and eurobills would have merits in relation to stabilising government debt markets, supporting monetary policy transmission and promoting financial stability and integration. However, these merits would be coupled with economic, financial and moral risks. The expert group recommended first collecting evidence on the efficiency of the EU’s reformed economic governance before taking any decisions on joint issuance schemes. The idea for a debt redemption fund and eurobills was first proposed in the Commission’s blueprint for a deep and genuine EMU (6), published in November 2012. Based on the expert report, the Commission will consider how to bring forward consideration of these issues. Closer coordination of economic policies The Euro Summit in October concluded that closer coordination of economic policies is essential to ensure the smooth functioning of EMU. It called for work to continue, in close cooperation with the Commission, to develop concrete mechanisms for stronger economic policy coordination, convergence and solidarity. This approach was endorsed by the European Council in December (7), which also went on to state that its informal summit in February 2015 would return to this subject in more detail. Subsequently, the President of the Commission, in close cooperation with the President of the Euro Summit, the President of the Eurogroup and the President of the European Central Bank, will report to the June 2015 European Council at the latest. The Member States will be closely involved in the preparatory work.
- 37. Financial assistance: details of programmes European financial assistance mechanisms provide support to EU Member States in difficulty and thereby preserve the financial stability of the EU and the euro area. Financial assistance is linked to macroeconomic conditionality. The adjustment programmes that have been initiated and followed have brought substantial benefits to the Member States concerned in terms of stability, growth, structural reforms leading to competitiveness gains and, in the case of those that have successfully exited programmes, a return to normal lending conditions in capital markets. Greece Since May 2010 the euro-area Member States and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been providing financial support to Greece through an economic adjustment programme in the context of a sharp deterioration in its financing conditions. The aim is to support the Greek government’s efforts to restore fiscal sustainability and to implement structural reforms in order to improve the competitiveness of the economy, thereby laying the foundations for sustainable economic growth and job creation. The release of each disbursement to Greece under each financial facility must be approved by both the Eurogroup and the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) Board, and by the IMF’s Executive Board, respectively. Prior to this decision, the Commission,the ECB and IMF staff conduct joint review missions to Greece in order to monitor compliance with the terms and conditions of the programme. In 2014 the fifth instalment of the financial support programme amounted to €9.9 billion in total from the EFSF and the IMF, and was provided in several tranches in the period from July to August. Following the favourable attitude expressed by the Eurogroup on 8 December, on 9 December Greece officially requested a 2-month technical extension of the programme, as well as an enhanced conditions credit line under the ESM once the programme definitively expires. The Eurogroup welcomed the recent positive developments in the Greek economy and the progress made by the Greek authorities in addressing the outstanding issues in order to conclude the fifth review
- 38. Portugal In June Portugal successfully exited its 3-year economic adjustment programme as planned and without a pre-arranged precautionary credit facility. The programme included the implementation of an ambitious reform agenda and contributed to regaining economic growth and restoring investor confidence in the sovereign. The Portuguese government decided to exit the programme without disbursement of the full amount of assistance, foregoing the final instalment of the EU/IMF loan. A staff mission by the Commission, the ECB and the IMF under the (non-concluded) 12th and final review of the economic adjustment programme ended in May. The overall conclusion of the final mission was that, in the face of challenging circumstances, programme implementation over the past 3 years was broadly successful in significantly improving public finances, stabilising the financial sector and bringing the economy back onto the path towards recovery. During the previous 3 years, Portugal’s external current account moved from a large deficit into surplus, the budget deficit was more than halved and access to sovereign debt markets improved markedly. Moreover, Portugal experienced a moderate economic recovery, based on improved competitiveness, financial stability and sounder public finances, with unemployment declining. Portugal is now under post-programme surveillance (PPS) until at least 75 % of the financial assistance received has been repaid. The objective of PPS is ultimately to measure Portugal’s capacity to repay its outstanding loans to the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM) and EFSF. Under PPS, the Commission, in liaison with the ECB, will launch regular review missions to the Member State in question to analyse economic, fiscal and financial developments, and report semi-annual assessments that may recommend further measures, when necessary.
- 39. Cyprus Following a request by Cyprus in June 2012, the Commission, the ECB and the IMF agreed an economic adjustment programme with the Cypriot authorities in April 2013. The programme is for the period 2013–16. The financial package will cover up to €10 billion, of which the ESM will provide up to €9 billion and the IMF is expected to contribute around €1 billion. Following a fourth progress review, Cyprus’s programme remained on track despite significant challenges that are still to be addressed. The fiscal outcome of the first quarter of 2014 exceeded estimates by a considerable margin, reflecting betterthan- projected revenue performance and prudent budget execution. Progress was made with the recapitalisation and consolidation of the cooperative credit sector, and banks were advancing with their restructuring plans. This has allowed for the significant freeing-up of domestic payment restrictions, in line with the government’s roadmap. The authorities have also taken steps toward implementing their ambitious structural reform agenda. 46 Spain Spain’s financial sector programme formally drew to a successful conclusion at the end of January after 18 months in operation. The programme achieved its twin objectives of repairing and reforming the Spanish financial sector and, in so doing, helped to create a sound basis for economic recovery. The Spanish financial markets have stabilised, banks have increased liquidity and their solvency position remains comfortable, deposits are rising, access to funding markets is improving and the restructuring of banks is well under way. Moreover, the governance, regulatory and supervisory framework of the banking sector has been significantly strengthened so as to ensure that the irresponsible practices that led to the crisis in the first place should not be repeated. Nonetheless, the challenges facing Spain remain considerable. Structural reforms, fiscal consolidation and efforts to reduce the still very high unemployment rate must continue. The recent economic and financial developments confirm the positive trends of stabilisation that have been unfolding over the last 2 years. However, it will be important to remain vigilant, as the overall economic situation remains fragile and the large
- 40. imbalances from the pre-crisis period and the related policy challenges in the labour market and beyond are still substantial. Full, timely and effective implementation of the reform agenda, and its further strengthening where needed, is paramount and often requires joint delivery by various tiers of government, as well as the close monitoring of outcomes from the reforms. Following the exit from the programme, the monitoring of the Spanish economy and its financial sector continues in the context of PPS. In response to its request in June 2012, Spain received financial assistance amounting to €41.3 billion from euro-area Member States via the EFSF. The assistance was subsequently taken over by the ESM. Ireland From 2011 until the end of 2013 the EU and the IMF provided financial assistance to Ireland. In December 2013 Ireland successfully completed the financial assistance programme, with the vast majority of policy conditions under the programme substantially met and investor confidence restored for the sovereign and the banks. Ireland is now subject to PPS until at least 75 % of the financial assistance received has been repaid. Overall, the outlook for Ireland has continued to improve since the conclusion of the EU/IMF-supported programme, but important challenges remain. Against the backdrop of a general decline of sovereign yields, demand for Irish assets from private investors is high as the authorities are resuming normal market borrowing. The economic recovery and the decline in headline budget deficits continue, while structural and financial sector reforms advance. Nonetheless, high public and private sector indebtedness weighs on the speed of the recovery, especially with regard to private consumption. 48