The EU has 27 member countries at the moment, and the member countries agree to work together to obey EU laws and contribute money to the EU budget. The EU countries share laws about things like human rights and follow rules about things like fishing and farming. The EU government is complicated;. EU countries trade between themselves without Tariffs. Tariffs are charges country imposes on goods imported from abroad. This single market means that Businesses have a huge number of people to sell their goods to. Which can really boost the economy and create jobs for the unemployed, however some small businesses have found it hard to compete. an example of this would be that speeding up the opening up of EU airspace so it operates as a single entity –which would be something the commission says could save air travellers 5bn euros ($6.5bn, £4bn) a year .
The CAP is one of the main strategies set up by the EU. It is basically a system that gives some farmers in some EU countries subsidies to help them survive. Special agricultural programmes are also set up. This helps to meet the needs of farmers to some extent. The Common Agricultural Policy aims are to produce sufficient quantities of safe, high-quality food for European consumers, and also to help economic development in rural areas. This has to meet very high standards of environmental care and animal welfare. the policy provides financial support for farmers, so long as they meet EU standards on farm hygiene/food safety, animal health and welfare, biodiversity and landscape.
The advanages of this is that Farmers and their employees often work very long hours for little money. Many farmers’ organisations claim that farms would be unprofitable if they did not receive financial support from the EU. CAP supporters claim that it guarantees the survival of rural communities - where more than half of EU citizens live - and preserves the traditional appearance of the countryside. And Europe is now self-sufficient in essential food, and in addition Productivity and efficiency have increased. The disadvantage would be that EU critics complain that the CAP costs too much and benefits relatively few people. For example, only 5% of EU citizens work in agriculture. While productivity has increased, employment in farming has fallen. As well as Non-EU farmers, particularly in Africa have found it hard to sell their produce within the EU. Farmers’ incomes have risen, there have been claims of waste and fraud.
The euro is the currency of 330 million people in 17 countries within the EU. The euro is the second most important international currency after the US dollar. Many of the newest EU members plus Sweden) have yet to meet the