Maintains peace.

By promoting economic,
monetary and political union, the EU has
created a level of interdependence amongst
states that makes war or major conflict in
Europe unthinkable. In particular, it has
ensured peace between France and Germany
and prevented German expansion by
incorporating it into the wider Europe. Since
2004, it has helped reunite eastern and western
Europe.

Unbalanced influence. The EU has always

benefited a limited number of larger states,
often at the expense of other states and
groups. For instance, the wasteful and
inefficient CAP was largely constructed to
protect French farmers and to consolidate an
alliance between the two dominant powers,
France and Germany. EU integration primarily
benefits economically powerful states and may
eventually lead to a German-dominated Europe.

Weaker national identity. As power is

transferred from national governments to EU
bodies, historically embedded national
identities are weakened. This may make the
peoples of Europe feel rootless and insecure. It
may also give rise to a nationalist backlash in
which anti-Europeanism is linked to opposition
to immigration and hostility to minority groups.

Wider opportunities. The establishment of EU

citizenship offers individuals a wider and,
sometimes, stronger set of rights, freedoms and
opportunities. European citizens can live and
work anywhere in the EU. Moreover, the
growth of a European identity helps people to
escape from narrow and insular nationalism,
recognizing what unites them rather than what
divides them.

Greater influence. European states, which

would be minor powers if they acted
independently, gain greater influence on the
world stage when they pool sovereignty
through the EU. The global influence of the
EU, and therefore of member states, is greater
the more powerful EU bodies become.
Europeanization is therefore a response to
globalization.

Economic benefits. The establishment of a

continent-wide market underpins prosperity
and economic growth. This has been achieved,
since 1993, by the establishment of a single
mark which promotes competition and
efficiency and, since 1999, by a single currency
that further removes obstacles to trade. The
EU also gives Europe security within the global
economy.

Threatens democracy. EU integration has been

drives largely by political elites and business
interests, which have attempted to manipulate
European populations into supporting the New
Europe. Further, the democratic deficit can
never be overcome because of the distance
between EU institutions and European
populations. EU bodies will therefore never be
properly democratically accountable.

Doomed to failure. Many view the European

Project as inherently unstable. This is because
national, language and cultural differences
make it impossible for EU bodies to establish
genuine political allegiances. These tensions
have become greater as a result of the
competing pressures generated by EU expansion
and EU integration. Integration seeks to impose
union on increasingly dissimilar peoples.