The Impact of Heterogeneity Costs on the European Integration Crisis

Academic Paper from the year 2017 in the subject Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 8.0, Maastricht University (School of Business and Economics), course: Bachelor Kurs Jahr 3, language: English, abstract: After the first half of the 20th century, Europe had already witnessed two world wars, which were the result of frequent conflicts among European neighbours. At that point in time, political leaders such as Konrad Adenauer, Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman envision a united and peaceful European Union (hereafter called EU). European integration begins timid in 1950 with the European Coal and Steel Agreement to permanently consolidate European countries economically and politically. In 1957, the Treaty of Rome creates the foundation for the European Economic Community to establish the European Customs Union. In 1993, at the time of its third enlargement, the European States Community is grown to 12 member states and signs the Maastricht Treaty, which leads to the creation of a common currency for most of the European member states. Finally, the single market with "four freedoms of: movement of goods, services, people and money" is completed.