With so manycountries making up the European Union, there are many needs to cater for inorder to keep everyone satisfied. However, there are some issues that willaffect all of the member countries – or the majority – which is where the focusshould lie in terms of the priority over the next five years.
Looking atthe European Union as it is today is the best way to determine where it shouldhead over the next five years. In my opinion, the key word in this respect is‘finance’. Most if not all of the countries that make up the European Unionhave some type of financial issues, to varying degrees of severity.
Even thosecountries that do not have severe problems cannot become complacent, as thisdoes not mean that problems cannot arise at a later stage. In addition to this,as part of the European Community, poor finances of some countries will havethe effect of dragging down the finances and reputations of countries that hadno issue.
Improving thefinances of the member countries is essential, as is increasing employment andtaking people out of poverty. The large divide between rich and poor that isevident in many of the European Union countries should also be reduced as thiscauses much resentment in members of the public, which can lead to unrest.However, this goes hand in hand with improving the country’s finances.
Getting outof the austerity period that has plagued most of the member countries of theEuropean Union should be a high priority. Even if matters do not becomeperfect, taking some action that will result in an improvement that will beworthwhile in the long run.
Unifying thecountries of the European Union should also be a priority so that there is notso much in-fighting between the member states.
While citizens of the membercountries cannot carbon copies of each other, there must be a way to make theway the countries are run more similar to each other. For example, issues suchas retirement age, the criminal justice system and immigration are vastlydifferent depending on what European country being referred to. I am sure that– with some cooperation – these types of issues could be more alignedthroughout Europe.
