Marketing Models of European Union - Essay Example

European Union Regional Policy "The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 member s which was developed a single market through a standardized system of laws which apply in all member states, guaranteeing the freedom of movement of people, goods, services and capital" (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.). "It maintains common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries, and regional development" (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.). The regional policy of the European Union aims to reduce the disparities between EU regions, to foster balanced development throughout the EU and promote real equal opportunities for all (SCADPlus). EU has pursued the enlargement policy with an ever-deeper integration while taking in new members. The "growing member ship" is part of the development of European integration (European Commission). The European Council have agreed to extend the EU scope to countries in the South and East Europe including Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Turkey (European Commission). These candidates are then given financial assistance "so they can introduce the necessary political, economic and institutional reforms in line with the EU standard" (European Commission). It provides for economic reform leading to economic growth and better employment prospects (European Commission). One of the necessary tracks for the regional enlargement is the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). This is particularly done by having one currency which is the Euro. The adoption of the Euro is the culmination of the three stages of economic policy (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.). But prior to adopting the Euro, "a member state has to have its currency in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) for two years" (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.). So far, sixteen of the members have adopted the Euro. Only the United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden have not accepted the third stage and they still use their own currency. To pursue a sustainable growth in agriculture, the EU adopted a fundamental reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). "The new CAP will be geared towards consumers and taxpayers, while giving EU farmers the freedom to produce what the market wants" (European Commission). This will create a 'single farm payments' "which will be linked to the respect of environmental, food safety and animal welfare standards" (European Commission). To give much authority to the Member state to oversee production, they "may choose to maintain a limited link between subsidy and production under well defined conditions and within clear limits" (European Commission). The Europan union has high dreams of economic prosperity among its members, being the largest regional economy in the world. The question however is what would happen to the diaparity betweena nd among the Member States. There are two opposing theories to look at: the convergence theory which predicts that countries will even out in the future and the cumulative causation which will exacerbate divergence and economic differences. With the way the EU supports its members, we see that convergence is more likely to happen, especially that the poorer countries are given the chance to strengthen their economy before finally doing direct trade and contact with other Member States. This necessary preparation for all EU members is what differentiates the European Union from other regional economic group. Envioronmental Policy The European Union believes that "the environment is essential for the quality of life of current and future generations" (SCADPlus). "The EU's priorities are combating climate change, protecting biodiversity, reducing the impact of pollution on health and better use of natural resources" (SCADPlus). Since climate change poses great danger to the entire region, the EU has formulated policies in combating them. Starting from the European Climate Change Program, "the European Union has come up with realistic climate change strategies advocating practical action to prevent temperatures from increasing to more than 2C above pre-industrial levels" (SCADPlus). "The EU and its Member States have confirmed their target to limit the global average temperature increase to 2 Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels, the point beyond which the impact of climatic change is believed to increase dramatically. Research shows that stabilising the level of greenhouse gases at 450 ppmv (parts per million volume of CO2 equivalent) would lead to a 1 in 2 chance of reaching the target of a 2C rise (compared with a 1 in 6 chance if levels reach 550 ppmv, and a 1 in 16 chance if levels hit 650 ppmv)" (SCADPlus). EU has also formulated a Thematic Strategy on the sustainable use of Natural Resources. "The aim of the strategy is to reduce the negative environmental impact of the use of natural resources (depletion of resources and pollution) while meeting the economic growth and employment objectives of the Lisbon European Council. To enhance knowledge relating to the use and environmental impact of resources, the strategy proposes the creation of a natural resources data centre, to be run by the Commission. This data centre will collect information coming from the various analysis and research bodies (both within the Commission and elsewhere)" (SCADPlus). To maximize the use of energy, The Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF) was proposed by the European Commission. "It will help mobilize private investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects" (SCADPlus). "The GEEREF will establish a public-private partnership by offering ways of risk sharing and co-financing for projects investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency" (SCADPlus). To assess EU's environment, they hold the annual Green Week Conference which is the biggest European environmental policy (European Commission). "Green Week is a unique opportunity for exchanges of experience and good practice" (European Commission). Europe has been one of the most active regions in combating anthropogenic climate change. This was evidenced by their support to the Kyoto protocol. Their policies are also directly relevant to the real issues. Preventing the increase of temperature to more than 2 Celsius will necessitate the reduction of greenhouse gases which is the real problem. To achieve this, "The Commission is proposing to set a CO2 emission limit on vehicle manufacturers for new cars registered in the European Union in order to achieve the average objective of 130 g CO2/km. If this is exceeded, the manufacturer concerned will be liable for financial penalties". The EU shows aggressive efforts and a more direct government intervention in combating anthropogenic climate change compared to other countries. EU Labour Market and Social Policy The Centre for Social and Economic Research has studies on the Labour Market and Social Policy of the European Union. There are actually a lot of programs undertaken and being undertaken to improve the regional labour market. To support the poorer member countries, experts have been sent to them so as to conduct studies in ascertaining the labour market policy. There are also various reforms undertaken to improve the social and labour market processes. "Making hiring and firingrules more flexible while at the same time providing a good level of social protection, is one of the main challenges of the EU's strategy for economic, social and environmental reform (the "Lisbon Agenda")" (EurActive.com). "The 1997 Luxembourg Jobs Summit launched the idea of aEuropean Employment Strategy. The strategy has three objectives: achieving full employment, increasing productivity and quality at work and promoting cohesion" (EurActive.com). In response to the twin challenges of globalization and demographic changes (ageing population), the European Council (in Lisbon and later in Thessaloniki)has set ambitious employment targets: an overall employment rate of 70% in 2010 (67% in 2005); a female employment rate of 60% in 2010 (57% in 2005); An older workers (55+)employment rate of 50% in 2010. Realizing the effect of the economic crisis on the employees, the EU has decreed that "workers who lose jobs because of economic crisis to get help from EU fund" (European Commission). "With the financial crisis taking a growing toll on the economy, the EU wants to relax rules on assistance for laid-off workers" (European Commission). Specifically, a budget amounting to 500m can be given to support the unemployed workers. Due to the paralyzing effect of unemployment, EU's top priority during this economic crisis is saving jobs. "With jobless rates headed for a post-war high, EU convenes special summit on employment" (European Commission). More than 600 000 people lost their jobs across the EU in March, and some countries have seen social protests in recent months forcing the EU to use all available means to cushion the impact of the recession to workers (European Commission). Particularly, the European Social Fund and the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund can be used to provide for the laid-off. EU's employee modernization has given way to the consideration of women in the labour force. Particularly, the EU wishes to narrow the gap between the male and female earnings as currently, the figure rests at 17.4% with the men having the upper hand. EU has launched the equal pay campaign which "aims to raise awareness of the pay gap and how it can be tackled" (European Commission). The creation of the European Union has obviously given way to modernization of the labour market and the entire society. Recently, we have heard of changes in the society such as stronger support to the old-aged specifically through pension, a greater consideration for women in the labour force, an opportunity given to the disabled to find a job and a cushion for the unemployed workers given the global economic recession. EU's integration and modernization will boost both the social and economic welfare of its member countries including the poor ones. Works Cited EurActive.com. http://www.euractiv.com. 13 October 2008. 12 May 2009 . European Commission. http://ec.europa.eu. 12 May 2009 . SCADPlus. http://europa.eu. 12 May 2009 . Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. http://en.wikipedia.org. 10 may 2009. 11 May 2009 . -. http://en.wikipedia.org. 3 April 2009. 12 May 2009 . -. http://en.wikipedia.org. 24 April 2009. 12 May 2009 . Read More

 

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