The+European+Union

The founding fathers of the European Union are Konrad Adenauer, Sir Winston Churchill, Alcide de Gasperi, Walter Hallstein, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, Paul Henri Spaak, and Altiero Spinelli. It was formed during World War II to put a stop to violence and destruction. In 1949, the Council of Europe was formed to maintain the cooperation between European states.
 * History**


 * Member States**

Most Powerful (Founding States): Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands

Denmark, Ireland, United Kingdom - 1973 Greece- 1981 Spain, Portugal- 1986 Austria, Finland, Sweden- 1995 Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia- 2004 Romania, Bulgaria- 2007


 * Goals**


 * Put an end to violence between any of the European members


 * Organization**

Three main institutions:
 * European Parliament
 * Council of European Union
 * European Commission

Other institutions:
 * Court of Justice
 * Court of Auditors
 * European Economic and Social Committee
 * Committee of the Regions

For more information, click this.


 * Advantages of Membership:**


 * Financial and military aid under times of hardship.


 * Disadvantages of Membership:**


 * Problems in a member state become the problem of all the member states.

The organization challenges local diversity because those in membership influence each other. As an example, one state could be attacked by a much larger country. In its defense, the smaller country reaches out to a neighboring large state. The large state sends military aid to the country as defense. This interaction influences the people living in the country to look similar to the neighboring state, challenging local diversity.

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Information Retrieved From: http://europa.eu/about-eu/eu-history/1945-1959/index_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/the-policy/from-6-to-27-members/index_en.htm http://europa.eu/about-eu/institutions-bodies/index_en.htm