European Union Law - Term Paper Example

International business law falls under the ambit of public international law. Basically, “public international aw governs the relations between states. It comprises a body of rules and principles which seek to regulate relations between states,” (Dugard, 1994, p.2). As such, the European Union (EU) falls under public international law since it involves different states. This is clearly outlined by the European Union (2013) when it states that “the European Union is based on the rule of law. This means that every action taken by the EU is founded on treaties that have been approved voluntarily and democratically by all EU member countries.” As such, this part of the paper seeks to outline the development of the EU and how its operations have contributed to development of international among the member states. This paper will also outline various aspects that shape business among EU member states such as the law as well as other constraints that may exist. Having realised the destructive effects and killings caused by WW2, Europe is split into East and West. “West European nations create the Council of Europe in 1949. It is a first step towards cooperation between them, but six countries want to go further” European Union, 2013). Essentially, the main reason of cooperation among the European countries was to promote peace and economic activity among member states. The member states agreed that they will run their heavy industries involving coal and iron under common management and that the member states of the organization would not turn against each other. Initially, the Council of Europe was comprised of six founding countries namely: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. After realising the success of the Coal Treaty, the member states expanded cooperation to include other sectors of the economy. Ideally, the aim was to create a situation where people, goods as well as services could freely move across borders. As time moved, more countries joined the EU and more laws and policies were formulated to strengthen the ties among the member states. The single market was established in the early 2000s and it sought to establish four freedoms: the free movement of goods, services, people and money (EU, 2013). In 2004 the 25 EU countries sign a Treaty establishing a European Constitution. According to the EU website, this decision was meant to democratise the decision-making and management in an EU. A single currency, the Euro is then introduced and meant for commercial and financial transactions only among the member states. This liberalised trade among all member states such that they no longer face any trade barriers when they want to engage in trade with other member states. The main advantaged of free trade is that the member states can immensely benefit since they would not be subject to harsh operational conditions such as high tariffs when trade is taking place between non-member states. The EU has also been designed in such a way that it attracts investment in different member countries. There are high chances of economic growth and development when investment tales place in different countries. Jobs are created and more revenue will be generated from such programs. The EU also plays a pivotal role in assisting developing countries so that they can also develop their economies. This bloc also promotes trade with the developing countries where it also benefits from the raw materials that are not found in this area. The EU has created equality among all member states where it can be observed that they can engage in fair trade. Fair trade practices among the member states are intended to stimulate economic growth as well as to improve the welfare of the citizens in the member states. In as far as the rules that guide the operations of the EU are concerned, it can be seen that an agreement is reached before they are adopted as laws. The EU also set trade practices and standards among all members and these ought to be followed by all nations involved. 2. The EU operates as a single market comprising of 28 countries and it is regarded as a major world trading power. In terms of trade, it can be seen that the EU is comprised of 7% of the world’s population but its trade with the rest of the world accounts for around 20% of global exports and imports (European Union, 2013). It has also been shown that the EU's economy is now bigger than the US’s with regards to the goods and services it produces. According to its official website, the EU GDP in 2012 stood at €12 945 402 million. All this positive developments in the bloc can be attributed to the rules and regulations that are designed to protect the interests of member states. As such, this section of the paper seeks to critically analyse some of the laws that are enforced in the EU so as to foster economic development. There are various laws that guide the operations of the EU and these laws have equal force with national law (EU, 2013). The European Parliament has the power to block or pass certain agreements after establishing if they would not negatively impact on the operations of the bloc. The legislature has a role to ensure that all the laws that operate in the EU are streamlined with the national laws so that there would be limited chances of misunderstanding among member states where some of them may violate the agreements made. The European Union’s Court of Justice is responsible for interpreting the law for member states and it can be seen that there are different cases that are also referred to by this body. Therefore, all the 28 member states of the bloc are bound by the legal framework that exists and they should make an effort to ensure that no part of the EU law or treaty is violated. It can be observed that enforcement of the law in the EU has significantly improved cooperation among the member states and this is the reason why trade has increased in this area. The European Union Parliament is comprised of 754 members drawn from different member states on the basis of proportional representation in terms of size of the population. The legislation that guides the operations of all member states in terms of their operations is enacted in this parliament and ratified under the Lisbon treaty (CFP, 2010). The parliamentarians in the EU have a task of enacting the laws that would be applied in all EU member states. The laws promulgated by the EU are applied universally across all member countries so as to avoid a situation where other countries benefit at the expense of the other members. The EU laws are equivalent to national laws in al the 28 member states and these guide the operations of all the member states in terms of the way they conduct business with the other countries. The European Union also has laws that are meant to protect the environment. According to EU (2013), anti dumping laws are meant to protect the marine and coastal areas around all the member states. Dumping of waste in the seas has been on the rise in different parts of the globe and this is detrimental to the environment. For instance, if raw sewage is disposed into oceans, this can affect the aquatic life which may result in the death of fish and other creatures found in the waters. Human beings can also be affected if waste material is dumped in the oceans. This may lead to the governments in the respective countries loosing lots of money in attempting to improve the healthcare of the people when there has been an outbreak of diseases caused by dumping waste in the seas. The EU also has laws that are meant to promote a green environment where the companies are encouraged to minimise their carbon footprint on the environment. The issue of global warming is topical across the whole globe and it can be seen that the EU has promulgated laws that are meant to ensure that companies minimise the emission of greenhouse gases. The other important law that is operational in the EU is related to protection of intellectual property when trade is taking place among different countries. According to the EU (2013), there are laws that are meant to protect sensitive industries such as pharmaceutical companies. All inventions that are made in the EU countries are trademarked so that they cannot be easily stolen by other unscrupulous people who may be bent on benefiting from other people’s work. This strategy is meant to strengthen economic development where the country can benefit from the products that are locally manufactured. The EU also has policies that bar illicit trade involving dangerous drugs as well as other items since these can negatively impact on the welfare of the people. The other important element to note about the EU laws is that they are designed in such a way that encourages cooperation among member states as well as promote development through education. According to EU (2013), all member states are set to benefit from a fund that is meant to promote research and development. This will help the members to develop knowledge among the citizens so that they can meaningfully contribute towards the development of their own countries. It can be seen that it is not all about business but creating conditions that will enhance this particular business. This is very important since it helps the nations in the bloc to be geared towards developing strong and vibrant economies. 3. The EU has significantly improved the welfare of many people in its member states. For instance, EU (2013) posits to the effect that “the single market is one of the EU’s greatest achievements. Restrictions on trade and free competition between member countries have been eliminated. All border controls within the EU on goods have been abolished, along with customs controls on people.” Member states can freely trade and this has given them the opportunity to develop strong and vibrant economies. Free trade is very effective in as far as economic growth is concerned. Member states can trade various goods and commodities at zero cost and they will earn profits from this kind of trade. The money generated from trade can then be channeled for other developmental projects in the country involved and this will help to improve the welfare of people. The EU has also improved the Irish economy in several ways. Research has shown that the single market has created greater opportunities for Irish business (EU, 2013). It has helped it to look beyond its traditional markets in the UK since it can now export to different countries in the EU which is comprised of a market of nearly 500 million people. It can also be seen that “an estimated 700000 jobs have been created in Ireland since 1973, and trade has increased 90 fold,” (EU, 2013). Talented people can move across borders to seek employment in other member states. This helps the host countries to immensely benefit from the efforts of skilled employees who will positively contribute in the development of the economy. Research and development has also been harnessed by the EU policy where funds are set aside to help member states to carry out research that can help them to improve their economies. This also helps to create jobs for thousands of people living in this bloc. It can be seen that through EU trade policy, the member states can export easily and cheaply goods into global markets such as Africa, South Korea and Central America (EU, 2013). International trade is very important for the survival and viability of different economies. For instance, EU countries can trade with other countries across the globe and the trade policies are favorable to all member states. The main advantage of international trade is that the countries involved will generate foreign currency from the export of different goods. This forex contributes to the increase of the gross domestic product (GDP) which entails that the economies of the countries involved will significantly grow. On the other hand, it can be noted that EU members can also import the goods and commodities that are not readily available in their countries at relatively low prices. This helps the economy to develop since the raw material imported from other countries can be processed into goods that can also generate lots of revenue when they are sold in different market places. The other positive development that has been caused by the EU is related to the adoption of a single currency. According to EU (2013), “17 member states now have the euro as their currency, giving traders within the eurozone exchange rate certainty and providing great convenience for tourists.” It is always problematic for member states to engage in different types of trade if they use different currencies. There is a tendency of fluctuation of currencies on the international markets which can also impact on the quality of trade. The single currency helps the member states to engage in balanced trade where they are all set to benefit instead of one country benefiting because of the fact that it has a strong currency. The travelers also find it easy to move across borders in the EU since they can use the single currency. The issue of environment is topical and it impacts on different types of businesses. Research has shown that the European environmental legislation has greatly contributed to improvement in the Irish environment. For instance, “raw sewage is no longer dumped into the Irish Sea. Regulations on waste management and funding from the Cohesion Fund have led to investment in drainage schemes and safer disposal of rubbish,” (EU, 2013). Apart from improving the environment, this legislation on the environment has also contributed to the creation of jobs. This helps to improve the welfare of the people and to ease the problems related to unemployment. Healthcare of the people is also improved if they are living in a clean and safe environment. Apart from liberalising trade among EU member states only, the EU has extended an olive branch to Canada where a free trade deal has been recently struck between the two. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will immensely contribute towards economic development between Canada and the EU. Canada is the first member of the G8 countries outside the eurozone to enter into an agreement that is meant to promote free trade between the two. According to the European Commission (3013), “boosting trade relations with Canada will generate new opportunities for growth and the creation of jobs in the EU.” The EU-Canada agreement will see a removal of about 99% of the tariffs between the economies and it will also see the creation of a sizeable new market. In most cases, high tariffs often impact negatively on trade between countries that do not have a free trade deal. It is stated that the “overall benefits of the agreement are expected to raise the level of the EU’s annual GDP by approximately €12 billion a year,” (European Commission, 2013). This agreement will also enhance investment in the countries involved. This will also help to strengthen the economies of the respective countries involved. Over and above, it can be seen that public international law governs the relations between states. Different countries often engage in various businesses but the success of this type of business mainly depends with the bilateral agreements that exist between the countries involved. As discussed above, it can be seen that he main objective of the EU is to facilitate free trade among all the 28 members. This means that all members belonging to this bloc can trade freely without any barrier such as high tariffs. This has played a significant role in improving the economies of the countries belonging to this bloc. Research has shown that the EU generates more revenue from trade than any other country in the world. However, the success of the EU can be attributed to the type of laws that exist. All members are by law expected to operate within the expected standards. The laws that govern trade with other countries are enacted by the European Union Parliament and they are universally enforced in all member states. There have also been recent developments in the EU that have also been as a result of the improvements in the laws that guide the operations of the economies in different countries. For instance, thousands of jobs have been created as a result of improved trade relations with other countries in the EU as well as free movement of people. This means that talented people can move across borders in search of better opportunities and this will help the host countries to gain from the skills and knowledge of such people. The single currency has also helped to promote fair trade especially among the 17 countries that have adopted it. As stipulated by the European Union Commission, a single currency helps the tourists to move freely since they would not be inconvenienced by the aspect of currency fluctuations in the event that there are different currencies being used. It can also be seen that the member states can equally benefit from free trade since they would be using a similar currency that does not fluctuate in terms of its value compared to other currencies. References Dugard, J. (1994). International law. CT:JUTA. European Commission (18 October, 2013). “EU and Canada strike free trade deal.” Viewed from > European Union (2013). Viewed from: . EU (2013). “Ireland: harnessing the potential of EU membership.” Viewed from: . Read More