The European Common Market

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that the European Union was created initially in 1993 as a means of uniting countries of Europe into a single market. Since then the EU has grown substantially, now encompassing 25 different European countries. The writer points out that despite the massive growth of the common market, there remain some countries which, to this date, have elected not to participate. The reason for this is that they feel that it would not be beneficial for them to do so at the present time. The writer evaluates the benefits which the common market does in fact hold for different types of countries, both rich and poor. The writer argues that there are greater benefits to joining the common market for poor countries than for rich companies, due to the way in which the common market acts to reduce the poverty gap between countries.

Outline:
Introduction
Defining the Benefits
Working in Different Countries
Consumer Goods
Companies
Conclusions

From the Paper:

"When considering the different backgrounds from which the different countries of Europe have emerged it is clear that there are differences in the initial levels of these elements. For example the richer countries of Europe, such as the UK and France have enjoyed high levels of every one of these elements in recent centuries. While the joining of the common market may help to ensure that this will continue into the future, it is unlikely to bring immediate differences in the levels of any of these elements. In comparison, many of the poorer countries which have recently joined or are looking to join, the common market, have low levels of several of these elements. The poorer countries joining the European Union come from Central and Eastern Europe, and many of these countries were previously members of the Soviet bloc. It is the lack of each of these elements which characterizes many of these Eastern countries. The joining of the EU for these countries signifies not only greater long term stability, but relatively immediate effects in terms of increasing prosperity and wealth. For this reason, it can be argued that these poor countries have far more to gain from joining the common market than richer countries such as those in Scandinavia."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Europe on the Move." European Commission. November 2005. 19 November 2007. <ec.europa.eu/publications/booklets/move/56/en.doc>.
• Kenen, Peter B. The International Economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
• Prodi, Romano. "A Wider Europe: A proximity policy as the key to stability." Sixth ECSA World Conference. 5 December 2002. European Commission. 19 November 2007. <http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/news/prodi/sp02_619.htm>.
• Schimmelfenig, Frank, Stefan Engert and Heiko Knobel. The Europeanization of Central and Eastern Europe. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2005.
• Smith, David. "Migrants Ease Inflation Pressure." 28 October 2007. David Smith's EconomicsUK.com. 18 November 2007. <http://www.economicsuk.com/blog/000585.html>.

More papers on The European Common Market:

• Comparison Essay # 27845 : "The American and European Common Markets"
• Essay # 132220 : "The European Central Bank"
• Research Paper # 64926 : "The European Monetary Union"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: