... second orld ar many people in the United State of America believed, that a strong, united Europe as necessary to prevent a further ar the economical help the USA gave in the background hat the idea, that the United States of Europe could develop, if from the beginning the reconstruction of the destroyed Europe as not limited to some countries.i3s Especially after the first conflict in the Alliance of the inners became clear, and the partnership beteen the estern Allies and the Soviet Union started to vanish, it became clear that Germany as one of a very great strategic importance to stop the Communism in Europe if Germany ould become a communist state, most certainly the rest of Europe ould follo. Out of this reason plans like the Morgenthau - Plan ere replaced by direct economical help. In 1947 the American President Harry Truman said in his famous speech in Fulton, that the USA ould help all states hich ere in danger of the Soviet Union, and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs George Marshall spoke at the Harvard University of a Program to rebuild Europe.i4s The first direct step toards the European Union as taken in 1948, as on initiative of inston Churchill European politics like Adenauer, de Gasperi and Schuman gathered on a European Congress in Den - Haag and developed ideas for the political and economical partnership of the European states. On the 5th of May 1949 the European Council as founded by Great Britain, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Ireland, Denmark, Noray and Seden even if the competences of this council are very limited, the first step in the right direction as taken . That Germany as included into this development as not ithout problems, you have to consider that in 1948 France and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Brussels later on also the Benelux- states here included, to get help in the case of a further German aggression.i5s In 1951 the European Coal and Steel Community as set up by France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux - states, especially the French foreign Minister Robert Schuman can be called the father of this plan already in 1945 Konrad Adenauer had said, that only a unity of estern Europe and the overcoming of the Nationalism could guarantee the security of the States and help the destroyed economy to recover.i6s Central to the federalist approach is the idea, that local, regional, national and European authorities should co - operate and complement each other, but also the other approach, the functionalist one, hich favours a gradual transfer of sovereignty from national to community level, is very important and developed in this time.i7s During the time of the ar in Korea the necessity of a common defence plan completed these steps on the economical level the European Defence Union should set up an army out of soldiers from the six countries, many people hoped, that this common defence project ould led to a emerging of these countries. But in 1954 this plan as stopped, as the French parliament did not agree to the plan.i8s As an result of this agreements on the modified Treaty of Brussels here made to found the estern European Union, this time including Germany, even if the Treaty of Brussels started in 1947 as an anti - German pacti9s. Due to the foundation of the NATO in 1949, this institution did not develop into a very important institution.i10s In these years the Community as seen as a ay of securing peace but in 1957 the Six decided to create an economic community, built around the free movements of orkers, goods and services. In the years till 1968 the custom duties in intra community trade in manufactured goods here abolished.i11s The success of the Six founder states led to expansions over the folloing years, and in 1973 nine members belonged to the European Community. This enlargement as matched by further deepening, the community being given responsibility for social, regional and environmental matters.i12s But the development of as political Union as a very difficult process, as all the member Countries accepted the economical success, but did not ant to loose any of there political influence on national level to a supranational community. Maybe the best ay to articulate as the French president de Gaulle, as he spoke of a Europe of the fatherlands.i13s But the economical interest shoed the need to change the common market into a economical and monitory union. Due to the acceptance of ne members the negotiations on a single position became more and more difficult, but as the USA suspended the convertibility of the dollar the need for an economic convergence became apparent, especially after the to oil crisis 19731979 and the orld-ide monetary instability, the launch of the European Monitory System helped to stabilise exchanges rates and encouraged member states to pursue strict economic policies, enabling them to give each other mutual support and benefit from the discipline imposed by an open economic area.i14s More and more Europe developed into a third poer in the orld arena, and in international conferences the European states spoke ith one voice, as the co-ordinated their plans and ideasi15s, but the international role of the union also becomes clear in the four successive LomeaConventions, hich linked states in Africa, the Caribbean and the pacific more closely to the Union. ith the foundation of the European Parliament in 1978 some deficits in legitimisation and democracy, hich ere mentioned again and again by critics, started to vanish, but of course there is still a far ay to go to transfer the existing European institutions into a Supranational, democratic legitimated institution.i16s Since 1995 the European union consist out of 15 members, already the orld as major trading poer, the Union is no orking on developing structures hich ould give a higher profile on the international stage, the aim being to introduce a common foreign and security policy.i17s The Collapse of the Berlin all in1989 and the folloing development in eastern Europe transformed the political structure in 1991 the Treaty of Maastricht marked the ne development, this treaty makes the progress toards a single currency irreversible the treaty on European Union sets an ambitious programme, the monitory union, ne common policies, European citizenship, a common foreign and security policy and internal security. The Union has no choice but to progress still further along the road toards an organisation both efficient and democratic, capable of making decisions and taking action hile preserving the identity of its consistent states.i18s In the folloing conference of Maasstricht hich ill take place in 1996 the structure of the Union to enable it to face the ne tasks, to prepare the Union for a further enlargement in order to bring stability to the hole continent, ill take place, and this conference ill be one of the moist importance in the history of the Union, because from this Conference the success of the Idea o...
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