On the 33rd anniversary of the Maastricht Agreement, which forms the basis of the European Union (EU), problems with the US, the Russian-Ukraine war on the continent and the loss of competitiveness in the economy stand out.
Brussels (AA) – Ata Ufuk Şeker – The Maastricht Agreement, which founded the EU, on February 7, 1992, Germany, France, England, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Greece, Denmark, Ireland and Luxembourg 12 It was signed by the European country.
The agreement, which was signed in Maastricht, the Netherlands, entered into force on 1 November 1993 and named the European Economic Community (EET) European Union.
The Maastricht Agreement created a new structure with three main elements, which included cooperation in “economic and monetary unity”, “common foreign and security policy” and “justice and internal affairs”.
The agreement, which aims to increase the cooperation and coordination of the countries participating in the agreement in general political fields, has achieved targets such as completing the necessary preparations for European citizenship, common economy and monetary unity and the euro currency.
With the agreement, the necessary conditions were determined for the members of the member states to participate in the economic and monetary union. In this context, the first condition was that the difference between the average annual inflation rates of the three countries with the lowest inflation in the community did not exceed 1.5 points.
The agreement is that 60 percent of the ratio of public debts to the GDP of the member states and the ratio of the budget deficit of the member state to GDP does not exceed 3 percent of the long -term interest rate applied in any member states in the 12 -month period. brought various criteria such as not exceeding more than points.
While the concept of a new citizenship emerged with the Maastricht agreement, the citizens of the countries that signed the agreement were accepted as European citizens. Rights such as traveling and residing freely among other member states, European Parliament (EP) and local elections were provided.
With the agreement, it was decided to determine the policies between the parties that would ensure cooperation in foreign policy, security, justice and internal affairs.
With the Maastricht Agreement, the EU member states and the security forces of other countries where the Union has established partnership was decided to establish a European Police Organization (Europol) in order to cooperate and effective working environment on international organized crimes and terrorism.
– EU enters the 33rd anniversary with tests
The EU enters with various problems such as relations with the United States, the Russian-Ukraine War, which is ongoing in Europe and about to enter its 4th anniversary in Europe, and the return in competitiveness.
The EU is concerned about the effects of US President Donald Trump’s various policies, especially the economy and defense expected to implement.
Trump, who placed economic policies at the center of the election campaign, put forward the plan of protectionist economic policies implementing the “America first” approach.
At the beginning of the presidency, Trump started to implement the election period discourses by bringing 25 percent to imports from Canada and Mexico with the decrees he signed and 10 percent of imports from China.
Trump also made a harsh warning to Europe before he took office, and undertakes that Europe would apply additional customs duties to the EU from the trade with the United States.
Trump, sitting in the presidency seat, said, “The EU crossed the line. Because they benefited from us and we have more than $ 300 billion. ” he reiterated the message that the new tariff will be applied to the EU.
Commercial voltage and the lack of diplomatic contact have disrupted the relationship between the EU, which he sees as an ally, the relationship with trust with the United States.
Trump has the opinion that European countries are burdensed to the US in defense.
EU countries spend on average below 2 percent of GDPs on defense. The Trump management demands that it be rapidly increasing it to 5 percent. This issue is among the elements that increase the tension between the EU and the United States.
Trump’s explanations of Greenland, which is affiliated to EU member Denmark, are also damaging relations.
In addition, while the EU and the United States decomposed in areas such as climate and health, the stiffness of Trump’s style undermined the EU and US relations and close ally.
– Economic problems of Europe
The economic growth of the EU is also very slow compared to the US and China in recent years. It is estimated that the EU will grow 1.5 percent in 2025.
The weakness in Europe’s economic growth becomes much more evident in the long run.
The European economy has been far behind the US in the last 15 years. In this period, the US GDP increased by 70 percent, while the EU’s only rose 20 percent. This open is becoming more and more clear every day.
Europe is also experiencing serious losses in productivity and competitiveness. EU countries, which have slowed down productivity and have increased labor costs, have lost its competitiveness in the industry compared to major economies such as the US and China.
– EU countries do not comply with financial rules
In addition, many EU countries’ public debt and budget deficits are very high.
According to the EU rules, under normal circumstances, 60 percent of the GDPs of the member states of the member states should not exceed 3 percent of the GDP of budget deficits.
When these limits are exceeded, the measures to be applied should be notified and effective struggle should be made. However, a significant number of EU countries do not act in accordance with financial rules.
The rate of public debt, 158.2 percent in Greece, 136.3 in Italy, 113.8 in France, 105.6 in Belgium, 104.3 percent in Spain, 97.5 percent in Portugal, Austria 83.2 percent in Finland, 81.5 percent in Finland, 76 percent in Hungary, 69.7 percent in the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus, 66.9 percent in Slovenia, 62.4 percent in Germany and Slovakia ” 60.3 percent. Thus, 13 EU member states have exceeded the unity limit in public debt.
The budget deficit of 10 countries in the EU is above 3 percent limit. The highest budget deficit is located in Italy with 7.2 percent, Hungary with 6.7 percent, and Romania with 6.5 percent. The high debt and budget deficits of EU countries make it expensive and more difficult for these countries to transfer resources to areas that will revive their economies.
