4. How does the European Union work?
• The distinctive feature of the EU is
that, although they are all sovereign and
independent countries, they have shared part
of its "sovereignty" in order to gain strength
and enjoy the advantages of size. The
European Union have institutions.
5. INSTITUTIONS OF THE EUROPEAN
UNION
• European Parliament : Lower house of the
legislature.
• European Council : Provides impetus and
direction.
6. • Council of the European Union : Upper house
of the legislature.
• European Commission : Executive.
7. • Court of Justice of the European Union :
Judiciary.
• European Court of Auditors : Financial
auditor.
9. The Euro
•The euro (€) is the currency used by the institutions
of the European Union as well as the official
currency of the euro zone, formed by 18 of the 28
states.
•The name of euro was officially adopted the 16
December 1995. The euro was introduced in the
world-wide financial markets as a currency the 1st
January of 1999.
10. • Euro zone (18)
• States of the UE that has the obligation to be
united to the euro zone (8)
• States of the UE with an exclusion clause (2)
• States and areas outside the UE that uses euro
without an agreement (2)
11. Characteristics
• The banknotes: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500
Euros – are identical for all countries.
• The coins: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents and 1 and 2
Euros have on one side the same drawing in all
the others countries, but the other side is
different in each country.
12. • The main reasons of banknotes are:
doors and windows, that symbolize the
spirit of opening of the European Union
bridges, represent the elimination of
borders and integration.
In addition, the general subject of the series is
“Ages and styles”, appearing in each banknote
a different architectonic style.
Architectonic style in banknotes
5 Euro 10 Euro 20 Euro 50 Euro 100 Euro 200 Euro 500 Euro
Clasic
Romanic Gothic Renaissance Baroque Modernist Contemporaneous
13. History
• From the Treaty of the European Union, since
1993, the states members, have been adopting a
European common currency, denominated euro, for
the creation of an Economic and Monetary Union.
• The first passage in the introduction of the new
currency officially happened the 1st of January
1999, when the currencies of the eleven countries
of the European Union stopped existing like
independent systems and joined the plan of the
unique currency, denominated euro zone.
14. • Since then, several countries have been
joining the EU who are still in a process of
introduction to the currency or they have
already surpassed it. Some cases like
Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City and
Andorra use the euro by an agreement with the
EU.
15. Effects of an only currency
• Optimal currency area
• In economics, an optimum currency area is a
geographical region in which it would maximize
economic efficiency to have the entire region share a
single currency.
• Transaction costs and risks
• The most obvious benefit of adopting a single
currency is to remove the cost of exchanging currency,
theoretically allowing businesses and individuals to
consummate previously unprofitable trades.
16. • Price parity
• Another effect of the common European currency
is that differences in prices should decrease
because of the law of one price. Therefore, prices
on commonly traded goods are likely to converge,
causing inflation in some regions and deflation in
others during the transition.
• Macroeconomic stability
• Low levels of inflation are the hallmark of stable
and modern economies.
17. ¿Qué significa ser ciudadano europeo?
Es ciudadano de la Unión toda persona que ostente
la nacionalidad de un Estado miembro. La
ciudadanía de la Unión fue creada por el Tratado
de Maastricht en 1992 y es complementaria o
adicional, y no sustitutiva, de la ciudadanía
nacional.
18. Y también tienen unos derechos:
-Derecho a circular y residir libremente en el territorio de los
Estados miembros.
-Derecho de sufragio activo y pasivo en las elecciones al
Parlamento Europeo y municipales del Estado miembro en
el que resida.
-Derecho a la protección de las autoridades diplomáticas y
consulares.
-Derecho de petición ante el Parlamento Europeo.
-Derecho a dirigirse al Defensor del Pueblo.
19. Con la entrada en vigor del Tratado de Lisboa, los ciudadanos
europeos adquieren derecho de iniciativa, por lo que
podrán pedir a la Comisión la presentación de un proyecto
de ley siempre que cuenten con un millón de firmas
procedentes de un número importante de Estados
miembros.
20. The future of the European Union
The European Union can be a resultant
superpower.
• The European Union has been classified as a
resultant superpower by many scholars and
political analysts worldwide . Many scholars ,
academics, and some politicians believe that
the EU is , or soon will be, a superpower.
21. • In historical sight , we should remember the
old European imperial powers , Italy, France ,
Germany , Netherlands, Spain , Portugal , UK,
and in many respects also Greece.
