Commercial Activity: Powers of European Community - Essay Example

I. Introduction – description, and discussion of the origins of the principle.
The primary form of the European Community was established in 1952 with the participation of the following states: France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Luxemburg. The basis for the development of the European Union was set in practice in 1951 through the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) by the above states; ECSC was established for a specific period of time (for 50 years), i.e. it expired in 2002. Five years after the establishment of the European Community, i.e. in 1957, the above-mentioned states proceeded to the development of the European Economic Community (EEC) which came into force the next year, in 1958. Another form of cooperation, the European Atomic Energy Community was also established in 1957 and came into force in 1958. The above three treaties established cooperation among six European countries - the ones that began the efforts for the establishment of common interests and policies in the European region. In accordance with Van Gerven (2005, p.710) among the three treaties that existed at the period the most important was ‘the European Economic Community, which created, progressively, a common market of goods, persons, services, and capital subject to free competition and with a common commercial policy, and which was applicable to all economic sectors (including agriculture and transport) not addressed by the other two treaties’. Through the years, the European Community was enlarged through the participation of more countries of Europe. On the other hand, the targets set by the European Union were also differentiated. One of the most important differentiation was that introduced with the Single European Act (1986, February) which targeted the improvement of the conditions of the European market and the interpretation of the rules included in article 14(2) EC that describe the frontiers of the common market area. At the next level, the monetary, judicial, and political integration of the European Union was targeted by the member states. The above targets were supported by the Maastricht Treaty (1992) and the Amsterdam Treaty (1997). The treaties of Maastricht and Amsterdam developed the role of the European Union promoting its power to intervene in the political and monetary decisions on member states. Specific issues related to the acceptance of the European Union by the member states were also supported through the above two treaties. Towards this direction, it is noticed by Youngs (2001, p.30) that ‘the Maastricht treaty for the first time listed the promotion of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law as falling formally within the aims of EU development policy; to this end, a number of new budget lines were established specifically to fund new work on democracy and human rights. Through these treaties, the frontiers of the European Community were expanded and its role was promoted by becoming an authority that has the power to intervene in many issues/ disputes that appeared within its member-states even if they are primarily related with the national law. Generally, it could be stated that all the above Treaties have been considered to be crucial for the existence and the development of the European Union. The reference to the above Treaties – and the historical ‘roots’ of the European Union – is necessary in order to understand the reasons that led to the establishment and the development of the single market within the European Community. These reasons through the years may have been differentiated (under the influence of the changes on market conditions and the priorities of states within the European region); however, the development of all the states that participate in the European Union has been traditionally the priority of the latter; the achievement of this target has been pursued through the design and the implementation of a series of legislative texts and Treaties; because not all member states accepted immediately the above orders the realization of the Union’s targets has faced severe delays; the delay in the development of the single market within the European Union is an indicative example of the above problem.

The first attempt for the establishment of the common market has been the Treaty of 1957 through which the existed barriers related to the trade of goods and services within the Union were eliminated (at a very primary form – in fact, it was just an initial effort towards this direction). Through the years that followed many efforts were made for the establishment of a single market within the European Unions.