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EUROPEAN UNION : - Coggle Diagram
EUROPEAN UNION :
The European Council meeting are summit meetings held regularly by Eu heads of state . These meetings take place twice a year and are used to set out priorities and a general strategy for the development of the EU.
THE EUOPEAN COMMISION- Commisioners are responsible for the day to day management of the EU. Each member state has a commissioner who is given responsibility for a particular area of EU policy.
The main functions of the European Commission are........
- Proposing new laws. The commission works very closely with the parliament and the council of the EU to achieve this aim
- Enforcing EU laws
- Managing the EU’s budget
- Representing the EU internationally.
COUNCIL OF THE European Union- Council members are government ministers from EU member states. The membership of the council depends on the topic being discussed. The main functions of the EU Council are:
- Goal setting and policy co-ordination
- Passing legislation
- Approving the EU budget
- Signing international agreements
The main functions of the European Parliament are....
- The represent EU citizens
- To help introduce legislation .
- To approve the Eu budget
European Parliament- Members of the European Parliament are directly elected by EU citizens.
Each member states has a set number of MEP's, based on its population. Elections take place every five years.
COURT OF AUDITORS - The role of the court of auditor is to monitor EU spending to ensure that taxpayers' money is not being wasted .
EU COURT OF JUSTICE - each member state of the EU appoints a judge to the Court of Justice, which makes sure that EU laws are applied fairly and consistently in all member states.
ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF EU MEMBERSHIP:
- The creation of a single European market allows for free movement of goods, services, capital and citizens
- The EU provides a larger market for exports, which allow Irish businesses to reach 510 million consumers compared with a domestic population of under 5 million
- Ireland shares a common currency with eighteen other member states in the euro area. This eliminates exchange rate risk when Irish businesses export to these countries.
- The removal of customs barriers has reduced costs for importers and exporters.
ECONOMIC CHALLENGES OF EU MEMBERSHIP:
- As Ireland's wealth grows, we will need to make larger contributions to the EU budget.
- The ECB controls monetary policy for all euro area countries, including Ireland. This removes our control of interest rates and we cannot reduce them independently to encourage economic growth of increase them to prevent inflation.
- The SEM means that Irish businesses face increased competition from lower-cost economies in some other member states.
SOCIAL BENEFITS OF EU MEMBERSHIP:
- EU countries have improved social conditions and rate highly on the Human Development index.
- EU social policy has improved the rights of workers by improving health and safety, setting minimum wage levels, better working conditions and holiday entitlements
- EU citizens can travel and work freely in all member states without the need for visas or travel permits
SOCIAL CHALLENGES OF EU MEMBERSHIP:
- Complying with EU laws on consumer and employee rights has increased costs for Irish businesses
- Europe is facing a refugee crisis on a scale not seen since the Second World War. Balancing human compassion with security and employment concerns is challenging.
- Increasing the number of member states increases the diversity of the population of the EU, which means more language and cultural differences. This can make it difficult to get agreements on, for example, social policy
IMPACT OF BREXIT ON IRELAND:
- The Uk is our closest trading partner and Ireland and Britain trade over 1 billion euro worth of goods and services each week
- The UK is the biggest export market for Irish food and drink products
- Uk citizens are the biggest customers for Ireland's tourism industry, with approximately three million UK visitors each year.
ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF BREXIT FOR IRELAND:
- If the UK is outside the EU's free trade area, this will impact on the free movement of goods, services, capital and people. This is likely to increase business and travel costs and may see the reintroduction of tariffs and border control.
- As a small open economy Ireland is likely to feel the negative effects of any slow down in the level of economic growth in Britain or the EU
-A fall in the value of sterling will make Irish exports more expensive in Britain and will make British imports cheaper in Ireland. This is likely to have a negative impact on Ireland's balance of payments since Irish-produced goods will be less affordable to UK customers and UK imports will provide increased competition for Irish businesses
European Union was established shortly after the Second World War in an attempt to prevent future conflict between former enemies
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The three main aims of the European Union are....
- To establish European citizenship. This means protecting human rights and freedoms
- To ensure freedom, security and justice for EU citizens
- To promote economic and social progress. This involves the single market, the euro, environmental protection and social and regional development
European Central Bank:
- Sets the monetary policy of the EU
- Ensures that the euro is seen as a safe and secure currency
- is responsible for issuing euros
- is responsible for keeping the level of inflation in the euro area under control
While each member country still has the power to make most of its own laws, a number of EU institutions play an important role in enacting and enforcing EU laws. They apply to all member countries and take priority over domestic laws
The euro area is the collective name for the EU member states that share a common currency, the euro