The European Union: Prelude to a a Globalized World?

Abstract

The European Union (EU) is the most advanced example of a peaceful process of economic and political integration. It considers not only a vast territory, but also the most profound international collaboration to date, being a close resemblance to a future globalized world. The 25 countries of the EU are a geopolitical reality that restructures Europe from its roots, and will increase its leadership in the contemporary international scene. With the debut of the Euro, the EU has concluded its phase of economic integration. The political stage that the EU is currently faced with, acknowledges two great challenges. The most important one is the political cohesion of its 25 members and to obtain its institutionalization in the “European Letter”. For the different countries, this implies the acceptance of transferring some degree of national sovereignty to an external community level. In the second place the EU needs to absorb the consequences of its territorial growth. This expansion introduces an additional quota of a profound diversity that threatens the cohesion of the European Ideal, and is the current major obstacle to the functioning of this political-economic institution.