Developing Trans-European Networks
- Introduction
In this paper “Developing Trans-European Networks”, we observe the evolution of the relationship between East and West Europe. This dates back to the days of the cold war when Europe was divided and there was confrontation between these two hostile blocks. During this period communication and development of meaningful trade between these two fronts was closely controlled and often monopolized by the superpowers then. These were United States allied to the West and Soviet Union allied to East. The European Union using the articles 154-156 of the Treaty of Rome (1957) created the Trans-European Networks that has largely affected the relationship between these two blocks.
2.0 Methodology
In this assignment we will see how East and West Europe have risen from their past feuds and different ideologies and achieved national peace and economic development. We focus on the East-West communication, their perceptions and bilateral relations. However, the data for this research is from secondary sources. The sources include data on the European Union which was a great link between East and west Europe because it allowed for the growth of partnership between them. Rapprochement between these two groups was marked by several stages through the European Union. Graphs and maps have also been used to illustrate different the social and economic situations.
3.0 Results
The idea of Trans-European Networks was established in the late 1980s with the thought of a single integrated market. Policy makers suggested that providing services like telecommunication networks, energy and transport would greatly influence the idea of a single market with free movement of services and goods. The treaty of Rome laid a legal basis for creation of TENs for establishing the European Union which aims to promote Trans-European Networks which was a key element in reinforcing social and economic cohesion. However, this treaty did not include financial, obligations to upgrade or completion of existing infrastructure and this was included in the 1992 Maastricht Treaty. This policy was to develop a number of Trans-European Networks which would cover all the main inland ports including gateways to major seaports. In the 1950, the European Coal and Steal Community began to unite European countries politically and economically to enforce peace. This period as said earlier was dominated by the cold war between west and east. European Economic Community (EEC) was created in 1957 by the Rome Treaty. It was founded by six states namely Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, France and West Germany. It was aimed at developing economic integration with a common market. When the Maastricht Treaty was enforced in 1993 the EEC was renamed European Community to reflect how wide it covered. The treaty of Maastricht identified four main goals designed to unify Europe more and not just not economically.These goals are:
1) Develop the community social dimension
2) Establish a financial and economic dimension
3) Provide security for member nations
4) Make sure the nations are more efficient
In addition, this treaty in 1999 put an exclusive currency, the euro, in work to establish fiscal unification. In December 2007, the Treaty of Lisbon was signed by all the member nations except Ireland at first in hopes of making the European Union more efficient and democratic. In 2009 however the Irish passed the treaty with fear of the economic effects if they rejected it. It also gave Europe more capacity to act and decide and more international prominence.
The EU has membership conditions called the Copenhagen criteria. This requires that the candidate country ensures that:
- there is stability of institutions that guarantee a democracy, human rights, a rule of law and minorities to be respected.
- there exists a functioning market economy as well as ways to cope with competitive and market forces in the union. This is consistent with the economic policies of the EC.
- it is accountable as a member and thus adheres to the aims of economic, political and monetary union.
The European Union has also further enlarged. Sweden, Finland and Austria joined in 1995 while the Treaty of Amsterdam came into effect in 1999 bringing, living and working conditions, employment and other social issues into the EU. Europe was however by then facing changes due to the collapse of the soviet domination in the the east and emerging weak economy. In 2001 through the Treaty of Nice several nations entered special agreements where the EU allowed them to join parts of its system such as the free trade zones. In 2004 although their was opposition ten nations joined the EU. These were Hungary, Latvia,Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Malta, Slovakia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia. Also in 2007 Bulgaria and Romania joined in. By then it was agreed that they would apply majority voting in deciding issues. However, national vetoes remained on security, tax and other issues. All the EU projects are funded through banks due to the availability of long-maturity loans which have variable and fixed interest rates well suited to finance large infrastructure investments.
4.0 Discussion
Through the development of the EU the Trans-European Network has greatly improved. This is due to the free movement of services and products from one state to another thus promoting trade. Regional and national peace has also been achieved because of the European Union which acts as a unifying factor between the different states. It also allows investors to venture into new markets thus creating more economic potential. In general, GDP(Gross Domestic Product) is below the European average. All the new Union European countries had the worst GDP in 2006 except for Portugal. The single currency thus tends to be affected due to this new countries. However, there is expected to be a steady rise of the GDP. The population will drop slightly from around 2010, although there will be a regional variations in this drop.
Also the treaties signed laid a strong foundation for the developing Trans-European Network. We focusing on the three main elements, transport, energy and telecommunication network. Transport infrastructure plays a major role in cohesion of the European Network. It integrates air, land and sea transport thus people and goods can move freely between both local and international bodies. The energy market in Europe greatly depends on transporting gas and electricity to member states. Diversification of supplies of energy to third world countries is also promoted outside the European network. The telecommunication network promotes the success of increased internet access. It has also created jobs by strengthening the social and economic elements of the community. This is because there is easy connection to the rest of the world thus more diversity.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has greatly improved, with Central Eastern Europe being the most attractive region behind china and India in 2007. This is shown in a graph at the end of this assignment. However, the low employment rate in this new countries should trigger a boom in demand and attract FDI in European Union. We also see that some countries like Romania and Bulgaria account for more than 10% of European acreage and still fight issues like crime, financial control and corruption.
Like the United States, Europe is in a constant change flux which is due to the aging population, globalization of trade, expenditure for health and social exclusion. There is a big problem in the social protection system because the east countries still look back on the west countries. There is therefore need for reform as they avoid shock of transition and financial difficulties. One of the main goals of the European Union (Rome Treaty) is the harmonization of the social protection system.
The globalization of markets and production; networking to rationalize business the processes; communication technologies and new information all favor the growth of the business community. The growth of the European Union is to acquire legitimacy and influence on the international scene. Investors and industrialist are seizing this opportunity to penetrate new markets with the same communitarian rule. This allows for exchange of economic and market knowledge while also encouraging mobility.
5.0 Conclusion
In conclusion we see that the rapprochement between East and West Europe was progressive. The European Union was the core link between these two blocks and it greatly led to the demise of the different ideologies between this two blocks. Through border deletion, partnerships and economic growth has been experienced. For the East Europe countries the EU integration provided a large platform to boost the economy, infrastructure, international trade and attract Foreign Direct Investment. However, these two regions have developed unequally thus complicating the enforcement of a common reform. Even though the use of the euro currency is a unifying factor and helps in international trade between the member states, the difference of the economies in this states is a major barrier. This is because some states feel that they are more powerful than others. The signing of treaties also greatly influenced what Europe is today because they stated instructions for the members of the European Union and although the transition period is taking longer its goals are being achieved gradually. Therefore we see that the Trans-European Networks have greatly influenced the relations of the Europe, mainly the EU members, and how they deal with their social and economic issues.
Tables and Graphs
Rate of FDI (http://www.finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1019933.shtml)
GDP per capital in 2006 (http://www.extremecentrepoint.com/?p=947)
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