European Community

  

The European Community (EC) is a economic and political intergovernmental regional organization that aims to promote economic integration and development, the rule of law, and human rights in Europe. It has 35 member states and a total population of over 900 million, and with a total GDP of $25.98 trillion, the European Community is the largest regional economy in the world. The organization uses five official working languages, which are English, French, German, Russian, and Spanish. It is also referred to as the Common Market in English-speaking countries.

European Community Communauté européenne (French) Europäische Gemeinschaft (German) Европейское сообщество (Russian) Comunidad Europea (Spanish)
Flag
Headquarters	Berlin, Germany
Working languages	English, French, German, Russian, Spanish
Membership	35 member states
Leaders
• Council President	Mark van Loon
• Secretary General	Luigi Guido
Establishment
• EEC declared	1 September 1960
• Warsaw Pact	22 May 1977
• Treaty in effect	1 November 1977
Website www.europa.eu

The EC was founded in November 1977 by the Warsaw Pact, in the aftermath of the Second Great War, initially for the purpose of creating a lasting peace in Europe. The organization developed from the Mitteleuropa system of satellite states that Germany maintained since the 1940s, and during the Cold War it became part of the Western Bloc that opposed the Landonist-Marxist countries led by the United Commonwealth and the People's Republic of China. It was preceded by the European Economic Community (EEC) created in 1960 for the purpose of rebuilding Europe after the devastation of Great War II with the assistance of Anglo-American funding, before Germany and the United Kingdom emerged as the leading economies. The EEC began with the "inner six" countries: Germany, France, Britain, the Netherlands, Austria, and Denmark. By 1975, the Economic Community grew to include most other non-Landonist countries in Europe. In 1977 the decision was made to expand the economic association to certain political and legal functions, creating the Parliamentary Assembly of the European Community and the Council of Europe, the two primary decision-making bodies of the European Community.

The EC established a common market among the states of Western and Eastern Europe during the early 1980s, leading to rapid economic growth and increasing the standard of living for the middle classes in Europe. It also led to the development of previously underdeveloped Eastern European economies. These factors contributed to democratic development in EC member states, leading to the end of nationalist autocracies by the mid-1990s. The Community consists of common institutions to promote trade by standardizing certain laws and aspects of political systems in Europe, with additional functions of promoting the rule of law and human rights, although those have been more debated and controversial. The Council of Europe consists of the foreign ministers of each state, who are represented by a permanent representative, while the Parliamentary Assembly includes appointed members of national parliaments.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) was also created as the main legal authority in the organization, helping coordinate law enforcement and settling disputes between states. The EC is not a federal structure and cannot make binding laws without the unanimous agreement of every member state, although the Council of Europe is permitted to take action to enforce European Court of Justice decisions in certain situations. Member states of the organization maintain their own individual currencies, border controls, defense and foreign policy. The EC has acted upon a unified foreign policy on occasion, and provides a forum for European nations to discuss international issues.

The EC has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states in those matters, and only those matters, where members have agreed to act as one. EC policies aim to ensure the free movement of member state citizens, goods, services and capital within the internal market; enact legislation in justice and home affairs; and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. As the EC has always been regarded as a loose association of member states, in recent years there have been discussions of creating a "European Union" that would include a common currency, less border controls, and possibly a unified military command, similar to the role of the Conference of American States in North America, but these discussions have not led to the implementation of any policy as of 2022.

Government and politics

Principal Institutions of the European Community

Parliamentary Assembly - Legislature -		Council of Europe - Executive administration -		European Court of Justice - Judiciary -
Consists of 306 members appointed by national parliaments of member states Makes recommendations and guidelines for member states to follow Debates and brings attention to political questions concerning the EC or its member states Formulates the Common Policy that is agreed to by member states		The secretariat tasked with the implementation and enforcement of decisions by the Parliamentary Assembly, including the Common Policy Consists of a permanent representative appointed by each member state government Oversees defense policy		Consists of a judge from each member state Settles international disputes among EC member states Hears cases regarding the violations by member states of the Common Policy or other agreements

Military

Main article: Eurocorps

Membership

The European Community has 34 member states as of 2022, with the most recent to join being Albania in 2005.

List of member states

Flag	State	Accession	Language(s)	Currency	Population (2020)
	Albania	24 January 2005
	Armenia	1 November 1977
	Austria	1 November 1977
	Belarus	1 November 1977
	Bulgaria	1 November 1977
	Croatia	1 November 1977
	Czechia	1 November 1977
	Denmark	1 November 1977
	Estonia	1 November 1977
	France	1 November 1977
	Finland	1 November 1977
	Georgia	1 November 1977
	Germany	1 November 1977
	Greece	1 November 1977
	Hungary	1 November 1977
	Ireland	1 November 1977
	Italy	10 July 2002
	Latvia	1 November 1977
	Lithuania	1 November 1977
	Luxembourg	1 November 1977
	Malta	1 November 1977
	Montenegro	1 November 1977
	Netherlands	1 November 1977
	Norway	1 November 1977
	Poland	1 November 1977
	Portugal	1 November 1977
	Romania	1 November 1977
	Russia	1 November 1977
	Sardinia	1 November 1977
	Serbia	1 November 1977
	Slovakia	1 November 1977
	Spain	10 July 2002
	Sweden	1 November 1977
	Ukraine	1 November 1977
	United Kingdom	1 November 1977

See also

• Conference of American States
• African Union