The Euro and Its Potential for essays

The Euro and Its Potential for essays The Euro and Its Potential for Harmfully Affecting Britain Great Britain, a leading country in the world since the industrial revolution is likely to eliminate a major barrier between itself and the formation of a European state in the next several years. The introduction of a new currency, the Euro, and the loss of their own, the pound, could happen as early as the end of this year. To understand why Britain faces the possibility of changing currencies at the beginning of the twenty- first century and why this would be a mistake, you must first understand the history of the European Union. The European Union is an Organization of European countries concerning trade, defense and politics that was created in 1993. However, its roots date back to the Western European Union, or the WEU, a Union that was formed in 1948 because of the Soviets. The WEU more specifically was an agreement to pool military resources. Great Britain was not among the six nations that signed this treaty. In 1957, a very important development occurred, the WEU created the EEC or the European Economic Community. Britain did not take part in the WEU however, or the EEC, and came up with an alternative forum for trade, the European Free Trade Agreement in 1960. Britain soon realized it had taken up with only the smaller countries in the EFTA and applied for the EEC in 1961. They did not gain admittance into the EEC until 1973, when new French President George Pompidou did not bar their admittance, as his predecessor De Gaulle had done. Between 1961 and 1973 the EEC merged with the WEU to form the Eur opean Community. When Britain joined in 1973 they had to not only accepted the terms of the EEC but the WEU as well. Britains reluctant involvement with the EC and its further development the EU has continued to reflect their desire for free trade, not a European state. The Maastricht Treaty was signed in 1993. It formally created the European Union by doin...