Accounting business law

1. The European Union
History, Institutions and Policy Making Process
Prepared by Muhamad SHABAREK
A.D. inEuropean Studies
SKIM Raqqa, 28/11/2011

2. What is the European Union
The European Union is a uniquE' E'conDmic and political
partnership between 27 European countries.
It has delivered half a century of peace, stability, and
prosperity, helped raise living standards, aunchE'd a single
European currency, and is progressively building a single
Europe-wide market in which people, goods, services, and
capital MoVE' among MRmber StatRs as freely as within onR
country.

3. 500 Million People in 27 Countries

4. EU Symbols
• The European flag: The 12 stars in a circle symbolise the ideals
of unity, solidarity and harmony amongthe peoples of Europe.
The European anthem: The melody used to symbolise the EU
comes from the Ninth Symphony composed in 1823 by Ludwig
Van Beethoven.
Europe Day: The ideas behind the European Union were first
put forward on 9 May 1950 by French foreign minister Robert
Schuman. This is why 9 May is celebrated as a key date for the
EU.
• The EU motto: "United in diversity"

5. Why the European Union
• ThR EU‘s mission in the 21st CRntury is to:
maintain and build on thR peace established bRtween its
member states;
• bring European countries together in practical cooperation;
ensure that European citizens can live in security;
promote economic and social solidarity;
preserve European identity and diversity in a globalised world;
promulgate the values that Europeans share.

6. The Origins of the EU
•Making war unthinkable among Europeans
•Together managing main materials used in war:
coal and steel

7. 9 May 1950: Schuman calls for a European Coal and
Steel Community
° 6 founding States decide to share and cO-manage
coal and steel.

8. Founders
or lasting p e a c e a n d prosperity...
Winston Churchill
/4gCide De G a s p o ri

9. Ten Historic Steps
1951: The Eurapean Coal and Steel Community is set up by the six
founding members.
1957: The same six countries sign the Treaties of Rome, setting up the
European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic
Energy Community (Euratom).
1973: The Communities expand to nine member states and introduce
more common policies.
1979: The first direct elections to the European Parliament.
1981: The first Mediterranean enlargement.
1992: The European single market becomes a reality.
1993: The Treaty of Maastricht establishes the European Unian (EU).
2002: The euro comes into circulation.
2007: The EU has 27 member states.
2OD9: The Lisbon Treaty comes into force, changing the way the EU
works.

10. ThePeaties —
basis fordemocratic
coopemüon builtonlaw
1952 1958

12. 3Pillars Şevels of competences)

13. Enlargement:
Ńomsix to27countries
Croatia, fœland. Former ' gœlav Republlc ef l'łaœdonle,
Nonłenegru. AWey

14. Membership Conditions
(a) Legal requirements
(b) The ’Copenhagen criteria’
In 1993, following requests from the fDrmRr communist
countries to join thE' Union, thE' EuropRan Council laid down
three criteria they should fulfill so as to become members. By
the time they join, new members must have:
stable institutions guaranteeing dE'mocracy, the rule of
law, human rights and rRspect for and protRCtion of
minoritiE'S;
’ a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with
competitive pressure and market forces within thR Union;
the ability to take on the obligations of
membership, including support for the aims of the Union.
They must have a public administration capable of applying
and managing EU laws in practice.

15. Neighbourhood policy
Enlargements in2004 and2007pushed theEuropean Union's borders furthereast andsouth, raislng
thequestlon of howtheEUshould handle relationsw4thfrsnew nelghbours.Stabllity andsecurity
areani$$ueInthereglons beyondItsborders, and theEuropeanUnion wished toavold the
emergence of newdlvidlng Ilnes between itself andtheseneighbourlfig reglons. Forexample, a¢tlon
wasneeded totackle emerglng threas toSecuritysucfi asIllegalimmfgratlon, thedlsruellono£
energy suppies, enuironmemal dégradation, ozganised crqss•0order crimeand terrorise. So the EU
deveToped a net European nefghbourhood poTfcy(EMP},.governing relations with il neighbours tô
theeast {Armenia, Azerbai|an, BeTarus,Georgia, MoTdova and Ukraine), andto the south (Algeûa,
Egyqc, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, the occupied PaTestirilan teriitory, Syria and Tunisia).
Almost all thèseœuntdes havebilatéral ’partnershipandœoperation’ agreementsorassociation
agreementswiththeEU,underwhich theyarecommltted toœmmon values(such asdemocracy,
humanrightsand theruleofiaw)andæ making progresstocards a marketeconomy,sustalnable
developmentandreduclng poverty.TheEU,forItspan, allen I1nancIaI,technlcal and
macrœconomlc assistance, easleraccessto vlsasand arange of measures to help thèseœuntrles
Slnce 1995,rhesouzhern Mediterranean œunzries have been Tinlæd to the European Mnion through
poTit@I, eoonomic and diplomatie ties knownas the ‘Barcelone process, dater re•named the Euro•
Mediterranean Partnership. At a summlt meeting in Pdrisin July 2008, this partnershlp was
reTaunched as theUnionlor theMediterranean,bringing together the27 memberstates of the
European Union anü16partnerœuntries acrossthe southem Mediterranean and the Mlddle Easr.
TheEJ'sfi nanclal assistance to bothgroupsof countries Ismanaged by theEuropean
Neighbourhood and Partnenblp Instrument (ENPI). Itsoverall budget Iér2007-13Isapproximately C
y2 bIITion.

16. How does the EU spend its
money?
2011 EU bHdget: C141.3 hillion
= 1.13%o of gross nationaI inconłe

17. Solidarity in practice: the EU
cohesion policy
. Regional fund
. Social fund
. Cohestoi
ñk+I• per ‹a pi

18. The euro —
a single currency
for Europeans

19. The single market:
freedom of choice
The single market has led to:
significant reductions in the price of many
products and services, including internet
a c c a s s a n d aTrfares.
dO9’é arap In price of phone calls from
Four fraedome of movement:

20. Schengen Area
¥ Nopoliceor customschecks at borders
between most EUcountries
Controls strengthened at EUexternal
borders
More cooperation between police from
t EU
¥ You can boy and bring back any goods for
personal use when you travel between EU
countries

22. Global Trade Player
eel a ad
In services {2007)

23. The EUis the biggest provider of
development aid in the world
The EU provides 60°/ of all development aid
Official development assistance per citizen. 2007

24. Three key players
The European Parliament
- voice of the people
3erzy Buze k, CresIdent of
of the European Pacllemerit
The council of ministers
- voice of the Plumber States
nen”nan van nooipuy, eresdent of che european ceuri-elf
The European Commission
- promoting the common interest
3océ NanUe¥ BarrOSO, Pyeslderrt
of the European Commission

25. The EU insčtutions
European Council
(summitÏ

26. How decisions are made?

27. The European Parliament -
voice of the people
> Decides EU laws and budget together with Council of f'4inisters
> Democratic supervision of all the EU's work
Numberof members elected In each country (January 2010)
Ee

28. The European political parties
numbet of seats in the European Parliament
per poItica group
{January 2010)

29. Council of Ministers - voice of
the member states
yO
n
e minister from each EU country
y Presidency: rotates every six months
› Decides EU laws and budget together
r manages the common foreign and
security policy

30. Council of Ministers - number
of votes per country
Span and PoTend
Wcltefznd*
ZSS
"guaTTfied ma}orty" needad for many deelsTons:
:zs ,
2J
in

31. Summit at the European
Council
commit øf Gendo of øtøtø øød edølł ett eøoøtetøø

32. Next presidencies
Poland July-December 2011
Denmark January-June 2012
• Cyprus July-December 2012
Ireland January-June Z013
• Lithuania July-December 2013
Greece January-June 2014
• Italy July-December 2014
- Latvia January-June 2015
Luxembourg July-December 2015

33. Catherine Ashton
Double hat: chairs t h e Foreign Affairs
Co u n cix m e e t i n g s + Vice-p res id ent of
the Eu ro p ean Commission
Manages the common foreign and
security policy
klead of European External Action
ervice

34. The European Commission —
promoöng thecommon interest

35. The CouG of Justice —
upholding le law

37. TheEuropean Central Bank:
managing the euro
FEnsures price stability
› Controls money supply and decides interest
rates
Flario Dragh
President of the Central Bank

38. 344 membere
r Rep re sen ts t r ad e u n Ian s,
employe rs,
farmers, consumers etc
› Advises on new EU laws and
policies
› Promotes. the involvement of
civiI society--in FU m a t te r s
The European Economic and Social Committee:
voice of civil society

39. The Committee of the Regions:
voice of local government
i

40. Drafting EU law
Before the Commission proposes new initiatives it assesses the
potential economic, social and environmental consequences that
they may have. It does this by preparing 'Impact assessments' which
set out the advantages and disadvantages of possible policy options.
The Commission also consults interested parties such as non-
governmental organisations, local authorities and representatives of
industry and civil SDciety. Groups of experts give advice on technical
issues. In this way, the Commission ensures that legislative proposals
correspond to the needs of those most concerned and avoids
unnecessary red tape.
Citizens, businesses and organisations can participate in the
consultation procedure via the website Public consultations.

42. Cf«i1 servants working for the EU
Commission employs about 23 000 permanent
civil servants and 1y OOO temporary or contract
Other EU institutions: about 10 OOO employed
› Permanent clvil servants
› Selected by open competitions
› Come from all EU countries
› Ealarles decided by law
› EU administration costs C1S per MUcitizen per year

43. EU-Syria Cooperation
Syria is a signatory of the 1995 Barcelona Declaration and a member
of the Union for the Mediterranean launched in 20D8. Syria is also a
member of the Evropepn Neighbourhood Policy , but does not yet
benefit from all its instruments and incentives, pending entry into
force of the r-U-Syria Association Agreement .
The EU is Syria’s main trade partner. Total trade represented more
than €7 billion in 2008. The EU-Svrian trade balance remains positive
for Svria. However, the non-oil products trade balance is in favour of
the EU. |n 2008, Syrian exports to the EU were dominated by crude
oil and petroleum products (86%) followed by minerals (S%).
Imports from the EU consisted main1y of machinery and transport
equipment (35%) followed by petroleum products (20%), chemicals
(13%) and manufactured goods (12%).
Until anEU-Syria Association Agreement iSsiened the relations between the parties
remaingoverned by•
aCnoarration Agrec'ment signed in t077

44. EU-Syria Cooperation is guided by the aim to consolidate Syria's reform efforts.
Supporting a mix of political, social and economic reforms, the EU works on the basis
of Syria's own reform agenda “the Five Year Plan“. The EU's cooperation strategy with
Syria is based on two programming documents that define shared objectives and
identify joint cooperation projects.
TheeCra n St e P for Syria sets out the strategic framework for
EU-Syria cooperation for the period 2007-2013. It identifies three priority areas
1
for action:
Support for political and administrativereform , including modernisation of
administration, decentralisation,rule of law and respect for fundamental human
rights:
2 Support for economic reform , including implementation of the Five Year Plan,
preparation for the currently initialled Association Agreement and preparation
for accession to the World TradeOrganisation;
" Support for social reform , including human resources development and
measures to accompany the economic transition process.
The EU has allocated a totalof € 129 million for theperiod2011-2013.
The National Indicative Programme fNIP] 7011-2013 outlines priority actions in
these fields, as well as their budget and sequencing. The NIP is the product of
an intensive consultation process with Syrian authorities, Member States, other
donors and non-state actors, as well as of lessons learned from past
cooperation.