Research Paper on EU Member States: Free Movement and More Benefits

Introduction

The EU member states have several differences from the other nation-states in Europe and globally (Dhingra, Huang, Ottaviano, Paulo, Sampson, & Van, 2017). To begin with, citizens from the member states have freedom of movement within the twenty-seven nations using Schengen Visa. This means that a citizen from Italy may move and reside in Belgium comfortably without any restrictions. One may also work or start a business in a state of his/her choice. The act is different from that of a nation-state where documentation is essential as you move from one country to another. Furthermore, the union established a single market, a common currency for all the free members (Dhingra et al., 2017). For the nation-states, this does not apply as they have to pay to access the market. Besides this, the other states lack a common currency hence use different currencies to that of the EU.

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It should be noted that the EU nations most use treaties as the source of rules which govern the states. As a result, the states comply with the regulations due to the consequences of going against the agreement (Dhingra et al., 2017). the EU uses more than 800 treaties, including the Maastricht treaty, in which the union was established. Being a powerhouse in the economy, there is a shortage of workforce. Hence the EU countries allow immigrants to settle in their territories to cover the required human resources in the markets. Contrary to this, other nations are so strict on the issue of immigrants as most of them do not need a significant number of laborers. There is political stability in the member states as the union protects them. After coming together, the states stabilized politics of each other, and these reduced crisis and political violence.

European Union is a great advocate for human rights, and this does not apply to other countries. It values and protects the rights of each human globally. Thus, the members have to follow the act by promoting the idea in their respective states and beyond. Some ordinary nations have less or no concern over human rights (Dhingra et al., 2017). For example, the EU, at some point, wanted to impose sanctions on Russia for violation of rights when a journalist died in their custody. Qualified workers can work in any of the member states of the EU with fewer formalities. Study shows that approximately 84% of the young citizen within the European Union study in the member states without any restrictions. On the contrary, in the nation-states, this does not apply (Dhingra et al., 2017). This is due to the difference in the education system or even some limitations by the affected countries.

Moreover, the EU has been spreading information on the importance of conserving the environment. Hence the member states enjoy a clean and improved environment more than the ordinary nations. The EU improved the quality of water, making 92% of the tourist's attractions center to meet the required standards (Dhingra et al., 2017). The act of mistreating or overworking employees is not evident in the EU territories. Workers are protected to the maximum by ensuring they have fair pay and also work for the optimum period. Some nation countries still do not value the right of workers, while others treat them like slaves. Hence the European Union has improved its members to another level different from the other nations outside the union.

Which EU Institutions Are Most Powerful?

The EU has three central institutions, namely the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the European Council. The three serve different roles in the union to ensure it meets its objectives. Among the institutions, the Council of the European Union can be considered the most powerful. It has control of almost every decision in the association (Greenwood, 2017). The body consists of ministers from member states and does not have a specific number of participants. Ministers attend sitting according to the topic of discussion; for example, if the meeting is about budgeting, then ministers of finance from the respective nations attend the sitting (Nugent, 2017). The Council can be considered the primary institution due to the role it plays in the union. President of the body comes from the member state and this post-rotate amongst the countries after every six months.

The Council of the European Union controls almost everything in the EU. It makes the policies to be followed by the members. Together with the Parliament, they amend and implement rules to govern the twenty-seven nations (Greenwood, 2017). For example, they came up with the foreign affairs policy, which holds that each member must collaborate with the rules of the union and also continue to develop their inter-EU international guidelines. Mostly the Council uses majority voting to pass laws whereby 55% must agree for the rule to go through. Although the Council does not necessarily make laws, it plays a significant role in passing laws submitted by the Commission (Nugent, 2017). It also gives recommendations on issues affecting the union. The Council provides general political momentum that keeps the association moving in the right direction.

Budgeting makes any organization to work properly with less or no difficulties. Without proper budgeting, there will be several challenges in conducting daily activities. The body holds the EU's budgetary authority, and this ensures the union functioning is no affected. Furthermore, the Council is involved in the economic policies of every member state to ensure no mistakes in the procedure (Nugent, 2017). This vital institution must oversee any international agreement involving a member state and other nations. Due to this, the chances of making unlawful agreements are minimal as the Council ensures that the process is good. The body also develops the European Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). These policies guarantee both internal and international security to the members. Besides, they ensure that there is peace, respect for human rights, and also developing democracy. Without the European Council, many things would be disorderly (Nugent, 2017). Almost every process of the EU must go through the Council hence it is the main institution.

Why Does the EU Have So Much Difficulty Coordinating Its Different External Policies?

European Union is a political and economic association with twenty-seven European nations. The union allows the member countries to carry out free trade without any restrictions, such as extra charges (Greenwood, 2017). Additionally, the citizens of the nations involved may live, work, or travel in any of the states freely. EU came into existence in 1993 after the Maastricht Treaty, though its establishment can be traced back in 1951. Since then, the members have enjoyed many benefits brought by the nations coming together. Despite the advantages, the union faces several challenges that limit its ability to coordinate external policies as expected.

United Kingdom (UK) left the unions through a process termed Brexit, and this was a significant challenge worth interrupting the operations of the association. The UK was among the nations with the largest economy in the EU; in fact, it was the second largest after Germany. Additionally, their military power was significant; thus, the exit means that the EU may end up losing its role as an international actor (Greenwood, 2017). British persons were technical experts who played a crucial role in sanctions and also dealing with nations such as Iran and Russia. Brexit also opened a door for other members of the unions, which means that the EU may collapse. Countries like Turkey were on the process of joining the EU, but after the Brexit, they may reconsider their decision, hindering the expansion of the movement.

Experts have noted that there is democratic backsliding in some of the members such as Hungary and Poland. Officials have criticized the nations for making laws and policies that tend to go against the democratic norms and EU values. As a result, conflicts emerged between the EU and the two states because of violating the core values of the union (Greenwood, 2017). Analysts have said that the misunderstanding could lead to loss of trust among the members, which may result in malfunctioning of the association-the issue of migrants as also been a significant challenge to the EU. Due to insecurity and poverty, people from some countries such as Syria, Iraq, and Africa have been running to Europe. Although the EU came up with strategies to stop this, it left some misunderstandings among the members. Countries such as Italy, which were primarily affected by migrants, blame other members for not helping them in solving the situation. By stopping the migrants, the EU has been blamed for going against international relations, free movement, and also integrating the minority.

Moreover, concerns over European security emerged as another issue affecting the activities of the EU. The union has failed to ensure the safety of its members and Europe at large. Europe is experiencing terrorist attacks from Islamic organizations and also conflicts involving members. For example, the EU failed to solve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, making some states to be worried (Greenwood, 2017). EU views Russia as a potential threat and plans on imposing sanctions for violation of human rights, and this is not supported by the members hence bringing conflicts. Terror attacks to countries such as France, Germany, Spain, and Sweden carried out by Islamic State made the member states of being very insecure.

On the other hand, it has resulted in deaths and also declines in economic growth as people fear to carry out business activities in these nations due to insecurity (Greenwood, 2017). Nevertheless, coming up with universal policies to stop terrorism has been a great challenge. This is because it will involve judicially and police, which will affect the state's sovereignty.

What Are the Implications of Brexit for the Future of the UK and the Future of the EU?

Brexit is the term that refers to the process of the UK exit from the European Union. Citizens of the UK voted in a referendum to pass the idea of withdrawal from the EU (Clarke, Goodwin, Goodwin, & Whiteley, 2017). This had to cause some implications to both the UK and EU. Firstly, the UK will establish economic relations with developing countries and standard wealth states. As a result, this may cause end up causing a fall in economic growth, reduced exports and unemployment. Also, the UK government may end up suspending its gross domestic product (GDP) it employs on international aid. They spend 0.7% of the GDO in funding international aid purposes, and to superior economic stability withdrawing the funds may be a suitable action. Continuing with the 0.7% will cause a fall in aid budget due to the expected low GDP.

The main reason as to why the UK voted yes to the referendum can be traced back to the issue of immigrants. EU provided a platform where people were moving freely from one state to another (Clarke et al., 2017). Promising UK citizens that the Brexit will ensure that immigrants do not come to the country again was a significant reason for voting yes. This means that soon there will be no free movement between the UK and the EU. Besides this, the United Kingdom has been against the subsidies for the fishing and agriculture sectors. Brexit can lead to the abolishment of these subsidies, and this is beneficial to third world countries (Colantone & Stanig, 2018). Ensuring food supply in the world, the UK can impose scientific restrictions on items such as GMOs, wh...