EU History and Policies PDF

 **Acquis Communautaire**: The body of EU laws and obligations that member and candidate states must adopt and implement. It encompasses policies, rights, and legislative acts binding all EU members to ensure unity and cooperation.  **Anschluss**: The annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938...

 **Acquis Communautaire**: The body of EU laws and obligations that member and candidate states must adopt and implement. It encompasses policies, rights, and legislative acts binding all EU members to ensure unity and cooperation.  **Anschluss**: The annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938, breaching the Treaty of Versailles. This event marked a significant step in the lead-up to World War II and heightened international tensions.  **Balance of Power**: A strategy in international relations to prevent any single nation from dominating. It involves alliances and policies aimed at maintaining equilibrium among states.  **Berlin Blockade**: A Soviet blockade of West Berlin (1948--1949) countered by the Allied Berlin Airlift. This marked one of the first major confrontations of the Cold War, highlighting East-West divisions.  **Berlin Wall**: A Cold War-era barrier dividing East and West Berlin, symbolizing ideological separation. Its fall in 1989 became a pivotal moment in ending communist rule in Eastern Europe.  **Charter of Fundamental Rights**: A document guaranteeing rights like dignity, equality, and justice within the EU. It serves as a cornerstone for protecting human rights across all member states.  **Citizens' Initiative**: An EU tool allowing citizens to propose legislation with one million signatures. It strengthens participatory democracy by giving individuals a direct voice in policymaking.  **Co-decision**: An EU legislative process requiring joint agreement between Parliament and the Council. This ensures balanced decision-making and collaboration among key EU institutions.  **Cohesion Policy**: EU funding aimed at reducing regional disparities and fostering development. It supports economic growth and social integration in less developed areas.  **Cold War**: A geopolitical rivalry between the US and the Soviet Union (1947--1991) with global implications. This prolonged tension shaped international relations and led to numerous proxy conflicts.  **Colonialism**: The control and exploitation of territories by powerful nations, often causing long-term inequalities. It left a legacy of economic dependence and cultural disruption in many colonized regions.  **Comecon**: A Soviet-led economic alliance for integrating communist bloc economies (1949--1991). It was established as a counterbalance to Western economic organizations like the Marshall Plan.  **Common Foreign and Security Policy**: An EU framework for coordinating member states\' foreign and security actions. It aims to present a unified stance in international affairs while respecting national sovereignty.  **Copenhagen Criteria**: Conditions requiring democracy, a market economy, and EU law adoption for membership. These criteria ensure that new members uphold the values and standards of the EU.  **CoRePer**: A group of national ambassadors in the EU that prepares and influences decisions made by the Council. They help negotiate and finalize agreements before the ministers meet to make formal decisions.  **Customs Union**: An agreement removing tariffs within a group and establishing a shared external tariff. It facilitates seamless trade among members while maintaining uniformity in external trade policies.  **Democratic Deficit**: A critique of limited citizen influence and accountability within EU institutions. It highlights concerns over transparency and the gap between decision-makers and the electorate.  **Deterrence Diplomacy**: A strategy used to avoid conflict by demonstrating the ability to strike back if attacked. It works by convincing potential attackers that any aggression would have serious consequences.  **Euroscepticism**: A political view that disagrees with certain EU policies, from resisting closer unity to wanting to leave the EU entirely. It often comes from concerns about losing national control, economic independence, or cultural traditions.  **Eurozone**: The EU countries that use the euro as their common currency. It represents a significant step in European economic integration and monetary policy coordination.  **Federalism**: A governance system dividing power between central and regional authorities, debated in the EU context. It balances local autonomy with centralized decision-making for collective goals.  **German Reunification**: The 1990 unification of East and West Germany after the Cold War. It symbolized the end of European division and sparked challenges in merging two distinct systems.  **Great Depression**: A global economic crisis (1929) that led to mass unemployment and political instability. Its impact reshaped financial systems and spurred significant social and political changes.  **High Representative for Foreign Affairs**: The EU diplomat coordinating foreign and security policies internationally. This role strengthens the EU\'s ability to act cohesively on the global stage.  **Intergovernmentalism**: A belief that national governments should have more control in EU decisions instead of EU-wide institutions. It focuses on protecting each country\'s independence while still allowing them to work together.  **Iron Curtain**: A term for the Cold War divide between Eastern communism and Western democracy. It symbolized the ideological and physical barriers separating two world orders.  **Justice and Home Affairs**: EU policy on justice, policing, asylum, and immigration for collective security. It seeks to harmonize member states\' efforts to address cross-border challenges.  **Lisbon Strategy**: An EU plan (2000) to make Europe a leading knowledge economy by 2010, replaced by Europe 2020. Its goal was fostering innovation, sustainability, and economic growth.  **Monroe Doctrine**: A US policy opposing European interference in the Americas, shaping transatlantic relations. It became a cornerstone of US foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere.  **Motion of Censure**: A European Parliament process to dismiss the European Commission with a two-thirds vote. It is a critical tool for ensuring accountability and institutional oversight.  **National Sovereignty**: The principle of self-governance without external influence, debated in EU integration. It often clashes with efforts to centralize authority at the supranational level.  **Neighbourhood Policy**: An EU initiative fostering stability and development in neighboring regions. It promotes partnerships in areas like trade, security, and governance.  **Neutral State**: A country avoiding military alliances and conflicts, like Switzerland. Such states focus on diplomacy and often host international negotiations.  **New Deal**: US economic reforms during the Great Depression, influencing European welfare policies. It introduced measures to combat unemployment and stabilize the economy.  **Non-Aligned Movement**: Countries remaining neutral during the Cold War, impacting global diplomacy. These nations sought to resist superpower pressures and promote independent policies.  **Ombudsman**: An EU office that looks into complaints about poor administration or unfair practices within EU institutions. It helps citizens resolve issues and ensures accountability in EU operations.  **Opt-out**: A mechanism allowing EU states to exclude themselves from specific policies or agreements. It ensures flexibility for member states with differing priorities or concerns.  **Plebiscite**: A direct vote on major issues like sovereignty or territorial changes. It allows citizens to participate directly in critical decisions shaping their nation.  **Qualified Majority Voting**: An EU voting system where the influence of each country depends on its population size. This makes sure decisions consider both the number of countries and their populations.  **Ratification**: Formal national approval required for treaties like those in the EU. It ensures democratic endorsement and legal validity of international agreements.  **Risorgimento**: Italy\'s 19th-century movement to unify its fragmented states into a single nation. It was driven by nationalism and efforts to create a cohesive identity.  **Self-determination**: The right of peoples to choose their governance and political status. This principle underpins struggles for independence and autonomy worldwide.  **Separation of Powers**: Dividing governance among legislative, executive, and judicial branches to prevent abuse. It ensures checks and balances within a democratic system.  **Social Contract**: The philosophical idea of governance based on mutual agreement for protection and order. It underlines modern concepts of democracy and the rule of law.  **Structural Funds**: EU funds supporting development in less-advantaged regions to reduce disparities. They focus on areas like infrastructure, employment, and innovation.  **Subsidiarity**: An EU principle advocating decision-making at the most local effective level. It aims to bring governance closer to citizens while maintaining efficiency.  **Supranationalism**: Giving some powers to an organization above individual countries, which is important for EU integration. This helps countries work together but can cause worries about losing national independence.  **Truman Doctrine**: A US policy to contain communism, influencing Cold War geopolitics. It marked a shift toward active US involvement in global affairs.  **Warsaw Pact**: A Cold War-era military alliance of communist states opposing NATO (1955--1991). It coordinated defense among Soviet bloc nations during the ideological divide.  **Zollverein**: A 19th-century German customs union that paved the way for economic integration. It eliminated internal tariffs and set a foundation for unifying Germany.