“Whatever is well conceived is clearly said“, the saying goes. Well this video explaining the European Union illustrates it perfectly.
Created by France Télévisions, a French public TV channel, ‘Les Essentiels de Jamy’ aims to explain complex conceptsto all audiences in a brief, simple and understandable way. This episode takes a look at the history of the EU, its usefulness and the high places of European power.
In 1957, six countries joined forces to create the European Economic Community (EEC) with a simple objective: revive the European economy, still reeling from the aftermath of the two world wars. It was not until 1992 that the EEC took on the official name of European Union – with 28 member countries in 2018 (before Brexit).
While the EU encompasses multiple territories, its institutional and decision-making aspects are concentrated in 4 places: Brussels (capital of the European Union, seat of the Commission and the Council), Strasbourg (seat of the Parliament), Luxembourg (Court of Justice) and Frankfurt (Central Bank).
The benefits of this Union include: the common policy (which has an impact on wide topics such as ecology, agriculture, economy, etc.) and the common market (which insures free movement of goods and people all over the territory). Today, all this contributes to making the European Union the world’s 1st economic power.
