BIRTH STORY OF THE EUROPEN UNION

Looking at the meaning of the concept of integration before looking at the history of the integration between the European Union countries: ‘’We define integration as “the process of becoming an accepted part of society”. This elementary definition is intentionally open in two regards. First, it emphasizes the process character of integration rather than defining an end situation.’’(Mascareñas B, 2015). It is stated as such, as explained in the European integration processes and policies book.

When it comes to the history of the European Union, the idea of creating a united Europe is first encountered in the Middle Ages. However, the 19th century is expected to put these thoughts into practice. After the Second World War, it can be seen that the foundations of today’s European Union
organization and integration have been laid. One of the debates on preventing such destructive wars in Europe has been European, European Integration, organization, etc. These debates about the form of international relations in Europe go far ahead of the present day; for example, in the 18th century, Saint Pierre, JJ. Rousseau proposed the establishment of a federation in Europe, and in the 19th century, Saint Simon, Victor Hugo, Mazzını called this federal structure the United States of America.’’ (Dedeoğlu,
1990, p. 81).

The most striking among these thinkers is Victor Hugo. French writer Victor Hugo says in the opening speech of the Paris Peace Congress in 1851 (Valansi, 2017):

‘’Day after day, all nations of this continent will unite for a much higher union and form the European brotherhood without losing their determining qualities and individuality. Just as the The United States has crowned the new world, the next future United States of Europe will crown the old world. The only battlefield to come will be the trade market that collides for new ideas. The next day will replace the bullets and bombs. ”

‘’Since the concept of ‘Unification’ is being examined, the 19th-century European period should be considered first since political thoughts and actions cannot be independent of the religious, economic, political and social situations of the period. For Europe, the 19th century is known as a period in which revolution and differences are accepted. In particular, it is important that three concepts. (Sander, 2009, p.150)’’ rising with the American Revolution, such as independence, freedom and equality, and the birth of
a powerful new actor to the world.

The United States, which gained its independence, established a relationship with Europe within the framework of the Monroe Doctrine in the 19th century. ‘’The basis of the Monroe Doctrine is based on the separation of Europe, called the Old World, and the New World, America, with thick lines .’’(Sumer, 2008, p. 123). According to the Monroe Doctrine, the United States, which has shaped its foreign policy, has neither been involved in European affairs nor allowed it to be involved in its own affairs with this peaceful policy. With this policy based on peace, the USA has become a country of admiration for the Europe, which has not been trusted in Europe and which has gained its independence to establish relations with it, which is a threat to the country. ‘’It is hoped that in the speeches of Victor Hugo, separate statists in the USA, in other words, the peaceful coexistence of the federated states even if there was a civil war, this may also be for Europe. Almost all of the proposed proposals have covered the theme of creating an environment of peace through organization. In addition, the “European Harmony System”, which started to be implemented with the Vienna Congress of 1815 in the current period, has shown that European states can act together when interests require.’’(Ercan B, 2015, p. 409).

A Short History Tour

Understanding that they will become increasingly dependent on the US with the US capital flowing to Europe under the help of Marshal, the Europeans realized that they could not succeed on their own and decided to establish a union in Europe. That’s the goal. ‘’According to the Americans, the great destruction of the Second World War caused turmoil in Europe, so the communists, and therefore the Soviet Union, we're on the rise. In the face of the Soviet expansion, Europe had to be strengthened materially and
spiritually. If Europe could stand on its own feet economically, it could maintain its independence politically. At this point, the United States wanted to increasingly politically and economically cooperate Britain, Germany and France, and then all of Europe, thereby stopping Soviet progress by creating an integrated Europe. Europe, which had no purchasing power, also affected the US production and economy’’. (Çelik Ü. ,2013)With the acceleration of the European integration of the USA, the first concrete and big step in this path was established in 1951, the European Coal and Steel institution, a
“supranational” institution. On 9 May 1950, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman invited to take decisions on European Coal and Steel to an independent and transnational institution. The reason for this is to ensure that Coal and Steel meet in one hand. Then the institution was established on April 18, 1951. The countries signing the agreement are Italy, West Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg, known as ‘Sixes’. By 1957, the European Economic Community, which provides customs union transactions, and the European Atomic Energy communities established to manage nuclear energy studies, were established with the aim of establishing a common market in Europe, except for 6 member states Coal and Steel, and the European Atomic Energy communities established to manage nuclear
energy efforts were aimed.

The success of the 6 members affected other countries and they wanted to join. Following these agreements, it was signed in 1967 with the Brussels Agreement and these three communities were gathered under one roof. In 1973, the European Community experienced its first enlargement and Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom were added. Greece was added in 1981, Spain and Portugal in 1986 and the number of members increased to 12. In 1985, an agreement liberalizing entry and exit between these countries was signed with the Schengen agreement without a passport. In 1986, the European flag was used for the first time. In 1990, the Berlin Wall collapsed and East and West Germany united and entered the community under the name of Germany. The Treaty of Maastricht, which established the European Union, was signed in February 1992. In the first half of The 1990s, it expanded further with the acquisition of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. Currently, 28 countries are linked to the European Union. The United Kingdom left the European Union on January 31, 2020.

BREXIT (UK’s departure from the European Union Referendum )

The UK’s departure from the European Union, in short, Brexit has been a political goal pursued by various individuals, interest groups and political parties since the UK’s accession to the European Economic Community of the European Union in 1973.

The EU, which Britain joined in 1973, was still a small community at the time. The union, which now has 28 members, aimed to eliminate the risk of going to war again by developing an economic partnership with the idea of free trade after the Second World War. Together, it also provides the free movement of citizens of member states as if they are ‘one country’, and the 19 countries use the common currency, Euro.
Although everything went well for the community for a while, after the emergence that some members of the EU had debts, the payments Britain had to make to the union’s budget, and the reluctance of Brussels’ demands, the immigration crisis broke out, the country is now leaving the union and strings He began to think that it would be better to take it in his own hands.
At the beginning of 2016, it entered into an agreement to change the conditions of Britain’s EU membership. Cameron also said that if the UK voted to stay together, the deal, which would give the country a ‘special status’, would come into effect immediately. The main article of the agreement is the immigrant issue. This article includes the ‘braking’ system for immigrants coming from the EU member states to the UK to benefit from the state aid and the requirement to meet the criteria of having lived in the country for at least 4 years. Apart from that, it also includes criteria such as Britain having more control over its own laws, stopping the payments to the EU every year, and never switching to the Euro currency.