Role of the European Union
A look into the role of the European Union from a New Zealand perspective with a strong focus on their educational and environmental movements. Backed up strongly by insightful opinion and general fact about this union of countries written for the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome.
“ United we stand, divided we fall”- Aesop
The European Union ( EU) is an alliance of democratic European countries committed to striving together for peace and prosperity. The European Union is unique in it’s composition as it is not a state intended to replace existing countries, nor is it merely an organisation for international co-operation. Common institutions have been set in place to which each union country delegates some of their sovereignty so that decisions on specific matters of joint interest such as international trade agreements, humanitrian aid and agriculture, can be made democratically at European level.
It’s early historical roots sprout from the trauma of World War II and was born from the determination of Europeans who were resolute on preventing such mortality and destruction ever occurring again. Decades later, in the year of 2007, the European Union is now 27 countries and 490 million people strong and handles an array of issues of paramount significance to Europeans and their lives.
Europe is a cultural haven and is rich in diversity, tradition and cultural sophistication. In the emergence of the 21st century, the European Union is a prominent and eminent part of the European lifestyle and political stance and helps to bring the strengths of 27 great and diverse countries to create international “synergy” to build a powerful, positive union.
But what does this mean for me from the other side of the globe, with my feet safety planted on New Zealand ground? So much more than one might initially consider! Can one really know one’s own place in the world if one does not know the place of others? With the rise of technology and commercialism, humankind is creating an increasingly interdependent world. With the privileges one appreciates from this development comes the responsibility of engaging in and learning about the events of countries and communities whose actions affect them, either directly or indirectly, and from this being able to acknowledge where one, either as an individual, a group or a country, benefits from international affairs.
Firstly, the European Union is an establishment where I can feel confident about their environmental actions and motives. As someone with strong opinions and concerns for the sustainability and protection of nature and the world’s ecosystem, I believe the European Union has sound environmental core values and therefore the European Union means a lot to me as a place where I can argee with and support their environmental stances. Unlike many nations who are more concerned with the economy and the greed of companies wanting to exhaust natural resources for personal benefit and unsustainable economic growth, the European Union has morals which I believe to be positive. They act as admirable international “ role models” in the field of enviornmental protection and for that I commend them.
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