European Union Advantages and Disadvantages Essay

Advantages or Disadvantages

The Freedom of Movement and the Schengen Agreement:

According to Article 21 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (former Article 18 of the Treaty establishing the European Community), all Union citizens are entitled to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States. (Ristea, 2011) The freedom of movement has been accelerated by the Schengen Agreement, the gradual phasing-out of internal borders under the Schengen agreements was followed by the adoption of Directive 2004/38/EC on the right of EU citizens and their family members to move and reside freely within the EU. (Marzocchi, 2019)

The free movement and settlement of EU Member State citizens were one of the basic aims of The European Union and it was legally established by the Treaty of Maastricht 1992. The deregulation of internal borders was introduced under the Schengen Agreement. The freedom of movement for European Union member states has been essential for the development of Europe. The freedom of movement includes the four freedoms; people, goods, service, and capital.

The Schengen Agreement was signed on the 14th of June 1985 in Schengen, Amsterdam, and has been effective since 26th March 1995. It was originally signed by five out of the ten member states of the European Economic Community including; Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany. The Schengen Agreement is an important milestone in the European integration process. The purpose is to facilitate the flow of goods, services, and persons across intra‐European borders. (Felbermayr, G., Gröschl, J. and Steinwachs, T., 2018)

Overall, free movement and settlement of EU member state citizens and the Schengen Agreement have been a great advantage of EU membership. All citizens of member states can now benefit from easier travel around the EU

European Union Funding:

European Union funding has been an essential part of both Ireland's and many other member states' development. The funding has been very beneficial in particular for things like the improvement of infrastructure, the development of industries, and the upkeeping of the agricultural sectors of the country.

EU funding has been essential for the improvement of infrastructure around Ireland. Some types of infrastructure that have been improved include roads and government buildings such as schools, Garda stations, and government buildings. The EU funding has been quite substantial for Ireland since its membership to the EU, during the period 1989-2001, Ireland received €12.4 billion in structural funds from Brussels. (Pech, 2008) This funding has also helped the development of industries in Ireland with various grants being made available through different EU Funding Schemes.

The agricultural sector within Ireland has benefitted immensely from the EU funding provided. There are two main funds provided to the agricultural sector, these include The European Agricultural Guarantee Fund and also the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. The European Agricultural Guarantee Fund finances all direct payments for farmers. The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development is available to help farmers achieve various rural development goals and the maintenance of rural areas. In 2017 Ireland received €1.5 billion in agriculture subsidies out of its total receipts of €1.8 billion. (Smyth, 2018) Both of these funds are regulated under the Common Agricultural Policy through the EU.

Overall the EU Funding provided to Ireland over the last number of years for various purposes including improving infrastructure, industrialization, and for the agricultural sector and rural development has been essential. Ireland has been fortunate to receive such an amount of funding and it is a substantial benefit of Ireland's membership in the EU.

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Problems Associated with the Euro as a Single Currency:

The introduction of the euro on 1 January 1999 represents, without doubt, a revolution in the way in which monetary matters of Europe are managed. (Temperton, 1998) The Euro is the single currency used by nineteen countries all within the European Union. Originally, the euro was an overarching currency used for exchange between countries within the union, while people within each nation continued to use their own currencies. (Beattie, 2019) In the years following its introduction to circulation, it became an everyday country and slowly phased out many domestic currencies for the Member States. Membership in the European Union does not automatically entail the use of the Euro.

Unfortunately, the Euro is causing problems all across the EU, including high unemployment rates, slow economic growth, and unsuitable interest rates in the Eurozone area. (Regoli, 2015) Unemployment in the Eurozone has brought about various secession concerns. In order to maintain stability in the Eurozone, the main priority of policymakers should be finding robust solutions to arresting the rising unemployment in the member countries. Unemployment has become a structural phenomenon as a result of the introduction of advanced technologies and the competitive consequences of globalization. (Johnson and Turner, 2016)

Other disadvantages of the euro include unsuitable interest rates which fluctuate daily and can become unsustainably high during certain periods. Finally, the euro is greatly affected by inflation and this can cause recessions in the economy of a country.

Overall the single currency can be a great convenience for many however the problems associated with it outweighs this. Issues such as unemployment, inflation, and interest rates are a big drawback to a member state's economy and therefore a disadvantage of EU Membership.

Deregulation of Borders and Restrictions can Generate Security Problems within the Member States:

The deregulation of borders and restrictions can be seen as an advantage for many as it is associated with ease of travel for Member State citizens. Unfortunately, the deregulation has enabled an elevated level of terrorism and crime for the Member States. The free movement of Member State citizens and the deregulation of borders can make it harder to stop the movement and settlement of criminals and terrorists within the Member States.

We have witnessed a substantial increase in the number of terror attacks since the beginning of this century. One major event in terrorism history was the highly-coordinated Paris attacks in November 2015 killing 130 people. (Regoli, 2019) The Paris attacks distressed many due to the considerable number of fatalities. With open borders comes more opportunity to cause trouble. (Regoli, 2019) Other significant terror attacks in Europe include; the Madrid train bombings in 2004; the 2005 London bombings; the 2011 Norway attacks; the truck attacks in Nice and the Berlin Christmas market attack in 2015; and the Manchester and Barcelona attacks in 2017. (Ritchie et al., 2019)

Other forms of criminal activity, for example, drug trafficking and human trafficking have also escalated around Europe. This is due to the ease of movement of both criminals and weapons across international borders. Europol has warned that the number of criminal gangs operating in Europe has surged to at least 5,000, with alarming increases in human smuggling activity and digital attacks on businesses known as “ransomware”. (Neslen, 2017) These figures are quite alarming and are continuously growing.

The deregulation of borders and restrictions presents an increased threat of terrorism and criminal activity within the Member States of the European Union. This is definitely a considerable disadvantage of European Union membership.

Bibliography:

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