Pursuing Membership In The European Union

Pursuing Membership in the European Union

According to Pevehouse and Goldstein (2017), the European Union is a form of supranational integration, and a country seeking to join it should be willing to cede some powers from the national to the supranational level. Countries in a supranational arrangement like the EU cede significant sovereignty to the organization (Pevehouse & Goldstein, 2017). As a result, the phenomenon of integration deepening emerges, implying that nation-states lose significant control.

From an economic perspective, all member countries must use a common currency. Some of the advantages a potential candidate for the EU may consider include the eradication of currency fluctuation and transaction costs due to economic integration. Since the Euro came into full circulation in 2002, all national currencies of EU member-states have since ceased to exist (Pevehouse & Goldstein, 2017). On the flipside, members lose policy control and cannot implement monetary policies unique to their needs. For instance, a country may wish to stimulate its economy by lowering interest rates, while others may seek to control inflation by raising interest rates. This is not possible under the EU arrangement because a uniform policy is applied across all states. A good example is in 2015, when Spain’s unemployment rate was 24% while Britain’s unemployment was 5% (Pevehouse & Goldstein, 2017). These countries need different policies, but they have to align with a common policy. An economically disadvantaged country should avoid joining the union because it may not be favored by the EU’s joint monetary policy.

References

Pevehouse, J. C., & Goldstein, J. S. (2017). International relations. Pearson.

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