DBQ Question

Assess the validity of this statement: 
The European Community has succeeded in achieving its goal of economic and political integration.

Document #1

     Turnout in the elections to European Parliament (%)

Document #2

     Germany fought hard to have Frankfurt, its banking center, be home for the new European Central Bank.  Municipal officials have been bending over backward to promote Frankfurt as a real competitor to London.  Yet one could walk through the main shopping district Monday without ever glimpsing a blue-and-yellow euro sign.

     Car companies showed a bit more enthusiasm.   Volkswagen, Mercedes and the Opel subsidiary of General Motors all began posting prices in euros, offering euro-dominated loans and accepting euros in payment immediately.

     Car companies have been in the public spotlight over the euro because they are notorious for charging higher prices in wealthy Germany than in poorer countries like Spain.  Many euro promoters have argued that a single currency would make it impossible to maintain such unequal pricing.

      But car executives say few customers will want to pay in euros, because only a miniscule number of people have opened euro-denominated bank accounts.

       "At least for the time being, the only people who will want to pay in euros will be the journalists who want to write about it, " one executive said.

       People in France, Italy and Spain have been somewhat more enthusiastic about the euro.  In Paris, Paribas Bank had an all-day euro festival that included a small parade, dancers, acrobats, jugglers and a steel band dancing through the streets near the Bourse.

Source:  Edmund L. Andrews "Enthusiasm for the New Currency Varies"
NY Times , January 5, 1999

Document #3

   Is the launching of a single currency mainly economic, or is it both economic and political?

      Both.   Economic because it is a European response to globalization.  It will boost productivity in Europe.  It will improve the competitiveness of our companies in the world.  It's also an important evolution in political terms.  In two or three years, the citizens of the European Union will have concrete proof of the existence of Europe because they will have the same coins and notes in their pockets and purses.

     Will the euro have any effect on unemployment?

     The euro will stimulate growth in Europe and that will have a positive effect on job creation.  But the euro is not a miracle solution to Europe's unemployment problems.  We also need to modernize labor market regulations.  The euro will provide a new incentive to accelerate structural reforms, to give more flexibility to the labor market, to create an enterprise culture for companies, and to push ahead the necessary reforms of training and the education system.

Source:  Interview:   Yves-Thibault de Silguy European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Europe Magazine, June 1998  Issue no.377 p.8

Document #4

       Not that many people in Britain want the Euro, at least amongst those who understand it means handing our economic policy to the EU.   And of those who say they support it, this is usually for the wrong reasons.   Like the propaganda-born fear that we should be sidelined while the successful EU roars ahead with its successful euro, or simply because they are blinded by the bright lights of the grand EU vision.

       There is no doubt that the EMU will cause strains.   Individual countries can no longer choose their own interest rates, and their government spending decisions are restricted by the 3% deficit limit of the stability pact.  So when some country faces an economic downturn there is little its own government can do to ease the pain and help recovery.

      The EU exists to regulate, harmonise, and control everything down to the minutest detail, exactly the opposite of what is needed to make business flourish.  Asking countries to allow their markets to function properly, removing red tape and regulations, is simply not what the EU is about.  The whole philosophy of the EU is towards more government interference in private business decisions, more direct government involvement in the economy, and in short, more movement towards soviet-style planned economics.

      Economic and Monetary Union will not solve these inherent economic weaknesses.  But it will make them more acute by removing all the safety valves.  The endurance test of EMU will therefore come when the next downturn strikes.

Source:  Independence   The Official Website of the United Kingdom Independence Party, October 1998       

Document #5

World Trade 1997 (Excluding intra-EU trade) - Billions USD

                   Source:  Eurostat

Document #6

     The Community shall have as its task, by establishing a common market and an economic and monetary union and by implementing the common policies or activities referred to in Articles 3 and 3a, to promote throughout the Community a harmonious and balanced development of economic activities, sustainable and non-inflationary growth respecting the environment, a high degree of convergence of economic performance, a high level of employment and of social protection, the raising of the standard of living and quality of life, and economic and social cohesion and solidarity among Member States.

        Member States shall conduct their economic policies with a   view to contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the Community, as defined in Article 2, and in the context of the broad guidelines referred to in Article 103(2).  The Member States and the Community shall act in accordance with the principle of an open market economy with free competition, favouring an efficient allocation of resources, and in compliance with the principles set out in Article 3a.        

         By establishing a customs union between themselves Member States aim to contribute, in the common interest, to the harmonious development of world trade, the progressive abolition of restrictions on international trade and the lowering of customs barriers.

     The common commercial policy shall take into account the favourable effect which the abolition of customs duties between Member States may have on the increase in the competitive strength of undertakings in those States.

                                                                                          -The Treaty of Rome, 1957

Document #7

Basic Statistics 1997

                   Source:  Eurostat, OECD, US Census

Document #8

     EU member states agree to share sovereignty with the Union in matters of external trade.  On trade, the European Commission negotiates on behalf of the Union under a mandate agreed by the member states.  When agreement is reached, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament must give their approval.  The European Commission and the Council of Ministers adjust the Common Customs Tariff, guide export policy and decide on trade protection measures where necessary.  The EU has   played a leading role within the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and its successor, the World Trade Organization (WTO).

                 -The European Union:  A Guide for Americans (Common Commercial Policy), September 1998

Document #9

     1. asylum policy....

     3. immigration policy and policy regarding nationals of third countries;

                 a. conditions of entry and movement by nationals of third countries:

                 b. conditions of residence by nationals of third countries on the territory of Member States, including family reunion and access to employment;

                 c. combating unauthorized immigration, residence and work by nationals of third countries on the territory of Member States;

     6. judicial cooperation in civil matters;

     7. judicial cooperation in criminal matters;

     8. customs cooperation;

                       Source: Treaty of Maastricht, November 1993

Document #10

                                                                                                           - The new Euro Dollar

Document #11

                                                            - Europe during the Cold War