The European Union (EU) is a new type of federation of countries comprised of 27 European countries pursuant to the founding treaty, and its origins go back to the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) founded in 1952. Through five subsequent enlargements, the number of member states increased from the original six to 27 to expand into a region with a population of 491 million. The European Union has achieved unification and integration in areas such as taxation and customs, economic policies, markets, and currency (Euro).
History of EU Expansion
- 1958 (EC)
- Founding Members: the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg
- 1973 (EC)
- First Enlargement: United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark
- 1981 (EC)
- Second Enlargement: Greece
- 1986 (EC)
- Third Enlargement: Spain and Portugal
- 1995 (EU)
- Fourth Enlargement: Austria, Sweden, and Finland
- 2004 (EU)
- Fifth Enlargement: Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Cyprus, Slovakia, and Slovenia
- 2007 (EU)
- Fifth Enlargement: Bulgaria and Romania
Profile
| Surface Area | 4.23 million km² (12 times that of Japan) |
|---|---|
| Population | 525 million(2008) |
| Population density | 117/km²(2012; EUROSTAT) |
| Percentage of urban population | 74% of the population lives in cities of more than 5,000 inhabitants (2009; EUROSTAT) |
| GDP | USD 16,002.2 billion(2008) |
| GDP per capita | USD 32,535(2010) |
| GDP growth rate (real) | 1.9%(2012, provisional figure) |
Organizational Structure of EU
The EU has unique legislative, judicial, and administrative organs (see table on the right) for the purpose of achieving its objectives.
Table:Overview of EU's Organizational Structure
| European Council (EU Summit) | The supreme political authority of the EU that steers the EU politically and set the direction of its policies. Permanent chairperson (President of the European Council) was created under the Lisbon Treaty. |
|---|---|
| Council of the European Union (Consilium) | Comprised of representatives from member states, it engages in legislative matters together with the European Council. It also serves as the only decision-making authority within the EU regarding common diplomatic and security policies and within the police and judicial association. |
| European Council | Comprised of 785 members appointed by direct election, the Council participates in the legislation procedures, together with the Consilium, as a representative of the European public, while exercising democratic control over the EU's activities. |
| European Commission | As the administrative authority of the EU, it implements the EU's policies. As the only EU authority with the right to submit legislative bills, the Commission engages in the legislation of the EU's laws. |
| European Court of Justice | It serves the role of ensuring correct interpretation and implementation of the fundamental treaties of the EU. |
Major Policies of European Union and Structure of European Commission
The EU engages in policy areas where acting in concert as the EU is in the benefit of member states, such as economy, social matters, regulations, and finance. The EU's policy departments are located within the European Commission, which is the executive branch of the EU, with the Directorate General for Regional Policy handling regional policies.
Major Authorities Relating to Spatial Policy
| Administrative Area | Authority | Web Site |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | European Commission | http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm |
| Delegation of the European Union to Japan | http://www.deljpn.ec.europa.eu/ | |
| Statistics | EUROSTAT | http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/ portal/eurostat/home |
| Regional policies | Directorate General for Regional Policy | http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/index_en.htm |
| Cooperation, studies, etc. on spatial policies |
ESPON, European Spatial Planning Observation Network | http://www.espon.eu/ |
With 41% of the populations and 48% of the GDP of the EU are concentrated in a centrally located region surrounded by North Yorkshire, Franche-Comté, Hamburg, and Milan, the Preamble of the Treaty of Rome of 1957 already calls for balanced development through the correction of of regional disparities. By 2004, the per capita GDP of higher ranking regions accounting for approximately 10% of the GDP amounted to as much as five times that of the lower ranking regions accounting for 10% of the population.
The framework of the EU’s current Cohesion Policy dates back to the Single European Act of 1986. The concept having been inherited by the Maastricht Treaty (1993), regional policies were enhanced as the number of member states increased and have come to account for approximately one third of the EU’s total budget. The expansion of the Union in 2004 to include the former Eastern Europe having resulted in an increase in regional disparities, the EU is developing various measures as it transfers its emphasis on the relevant resions.
Although spatial planning does not fall within the scope of the EU’s authority, there have been such moves as the formulation of the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) through unofficial governmental cooperation. Since spatial development was placed in the charge of the EU as a result of the inclusion of Territorial Cohesion in the Treaty of Lisbon, which went into effect in 2009, the EU is endeavoring to promote its authority to coordinate various spatial policies, as well as to facilitate cooperation among the parties responsible for land use and development planning. In recent years, strategies for multilateral areas have been considered that covers Baltic Sea coastal area, Danube River area, etc.
Current Status of EU’s Regional Policies
The objectives of EU’s regional policies are aimed at achieving balanced development, socio-economic integration, and solidarity with the regions that are the furthest behind in terms of development, while aggressively implementing measures relating to growth, employment, innovation, research and development, and environment which are the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy.
- Characteristics and Concept
- The intent of the current regional policies is not the mere transfer of income from the affluent countries to the poor countries, but also the provision of support for the programs aimed at resolving regional issues. In addition to placing importance on partnerships among member states, regions, the EU and various other entities in the execution and implementation of these policies, such efforts as policy evaluation and monitoring are being made to enhance the effect of the policies.
- Support Mechanism
- Financial aid is provided over a number of years through funds such as the Structural Fund to regions subject to support, which are selected from among the base group of 268 regions (counted in terms of provinces and similar regional units) with an average population of 1.8 million (800,000-3 million), to supplement and thereby promote national, regional, and private investment from a medium-term perspective (the budget for the 2007-2013 perios is 308 billion euros).
Structural Fund European Regional Development Fund, ERDF Provides funds for the reinforcement of economic, social, and resional cohesion through the reduction of regional disparities and the development and adjustment of regional economic structures European Social Fund, ESF Provides funds for occupational training and job creation measures Cohesion Fund Financial aid granted to member countries with a per capita GDP of less than 90% of the average GDP within EU for the impovement of transportation infrastructure and environmental conservation
- Objectives for the 2007-2013 Period
Objective Regions covered Budget Intent Convergence 100 regions, with about 35% of the population, having a per capita GDP of less than 75% of the average in Europe 81.5% Provide support to the countries and regions that are the farthest behind in development to enable them to achieve the EU average as soon as possible. Regional competitiveness and employment 168 regions, with 65% of the population, which are not included in the above About 16% The purposes include strengthening competetiveness, employment levels and regional pull; predicting socio-economic changes; enhancing technical innovation, entreprenenurial spirit, environmental protection, access, and adaptability; and promotion of employment market development. Territorial cooperation The border regions account for 37.5% of the population, or 181.7 million people. About 2.4% Promote multinational and inter- regional cross-border cooperation. Specific areas covered include the development of urban, rural and coastal areas, the strengthening of economic relationships, and the establishment of networks among small and medium enterprises.
Figure:Areas Subject to EU’s Regional Policies (Red indicates regions subject to convergence)
Source: European Union
- Adoption of New Planning Tools
- For the period from 2007 - 2013, in addition to simplifying and decentralizing the execution procedures, new tools such as the Community Strategic Guidelines (CSG) that set forth the strategic goals of the European Commission, the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) in which each member state defines its priorities and the like in accordance with the CSG, and Action Programs devised by each member state and region were adopted to ensure that EU's policy goals are accurately reflected. The utilization status of NSRF and other planning tools varies by country.
- Consideration of Regional Policies for Ensuing Periods
- The European Commission has already commenced discussions on regional policies for 2014 onwards. They are also linked to discussions on Europe 2020 Strategy, which is the new economic strategy of the EU, and the views expressed thus far include the establishment of a forum for high-level political discussions on the validity of policies, the adoption of a single strategic framework, the adoption of flexible policies that take territorial characteristics into account, the implementation of catalytic policies that draw out the potential of all territories, and the reflection of territorial cohesion. Issues pointed out in the 5th Cohesion Report published in November 2010 were; reinforcing strategic programming; increasing concentration on Europe 2020 objectives; improving efficiency based on performance; strengthening governance that adjust to regional cohesion; introducing simpler system; and others.
Territorial Cohesion — EU and Spatial Development
In the Treaty of Lisbon that went into effect in December 2009, territorial cohesion was incorporated into the provisions together with economic and social cohesion.
The Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion (2008) states that territorial cohesion signifies enabling the population to take full advantage of the territorial characteristics by guaranteeing the harmonious development of the EU’s diverse territories and is a means of converting this diversity into an asset that contributes to the sustainable development of the EU overall. However, the definition of the term "territorial cohesion," the role to be played by the EU, the forms of territorial cooperation, manners of coordinating territorial policies with sectoral and national policies, manners of participation in the design and implementation of policies, and the development of indices are specified subjects for future discussions and are still being debated.
