European Union

After reading John Pinder’s book, “The European Union, A Very Short Introduction,” it provides a brief and concise summary of the history of the European Union. It covers events dealing with politics, the environment, agriculture, policies and the Euro, dating from its beginnings in 1940’s until 2000, when the book was published. Although Pinder appears to be pro EU, he does an exceptional job of overviewing the institutions and policies of the European Union that helps his audience of average citizens comprehend the changes over the past few decades. This book was a very simplified and basic, but also exceptionally dense. The only downside is he that the book doesn’t cover the last decade of the European Union. It is written mostly in chronological order, covering the most significant events that have occurred in Europe under the guidance of the European Union since 1946. Though it contains many acronyms which make the reading a little difficult to comprehend, it contains information on the abbreviations page to assist. The author does a great job at exploring the ups and downs of the European Union and also explaining the obstacles they face in the future. Pinder answers the question, “The European Union has come a long way in the half-century since the process of its construction was launched by the Schuman declaration. War has indeed become unthinkable among the member states, which now cover almost the whole of Western Europe and before long will include most of Central and Eastern Europe too.” (pp. 159) Since this book was written, there have been more memberships which cover almost all of Western Europe and extend into Central and Eastern Europe. Pinder arranges in detail, the growth of the European Union over time, and recounts its future as the European economy thrives up until the 21st century. His examination of the changes, welfare, debates, programs and also the circulation of the Euro that have expanded the EU are highlighted in his reading.