Lessons 9 · 1 lessons · Sh. Ergashev, B. Xodjayev, J. Abdullayev. World History (1991–2017): textbook for Grade 11 of secondary schools and for students of secondary specialised and vocational institutions. 1st edition. “Turon-Iqbol”, Tashkent, 2018
9
Faster integration in the West: the European Union and EU–US relations
Textbook: pp. 44–47
GoalExplain the deepening and enlargement of the European Union after 1990, its crises and EU–US relations.
New words
the Maastricht Treaty (1992), which created the European Union · Maastrixt shartnomasithe eurozone, the states that use the euro · yevro zonasiBrexit, the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU · Brexittransatlantic cooperation between Europe and North America · transatlantik hamkorlik
Explanation
The European Union (EU) was created by the Maastricht Treaty, signed on 7 February 1992 and in force from 1 November 1993. The euro was introduced in 1999 for accounting and on 1 January 2002 as cash; today 21 states use it (Bulgaria joined on 1 January 2026). Membership reached 15 in 1995, 25 in 2004 when ten states joined, 27 in 2007 with Bulgaria and Romania, and 28 in 2013 with Croatia. The financial crisis after 2008 exposed debt problems in the eurozone (Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain); from 2010 Greece received loans from the EU, the European Central Bank and the IMF under conditions of spending cuts. The migrant inflow of 2015 also caused disagreement among members. In the referendum of 23 June 2016, 51.9 per cent of voters in the United Kingdom chose to leave the EU, and the country left on 31 January 2020; since then the EU has had 27 members. The United States and the EU remained close partners after the Cold War (the 1990 Transatlantic Declaration, NATO), but there have also been disagreements over trade, climate policy and ways of handling international conflicts.
Worked examples
Counting enlargement: 15 members in 1995; 25 after ten states joined in 2004; 27 after two more in 2007; 28 after one more in 2013; and 27 again after the United Kingdom left in 2020.
The Greek debt crisis: because the state’s debt was very large, it received new loans on conditions. In the referendum of July 2015 a majority rejected the creditors’ terms, but the government later agreed to a new programme.
Class activity
Draw two columns on the board, “The EU: benefits and risks”. Students take turns writing benefits of integration (free trade, one currency, travel without visas) and risks (debt interdependence, national sovereignty).
Practice
1
Which treaty created the European Union and when did it come into force?
The Maastricht Treaty (signed 1992); it came into force on 1 November 1993.
2
The EU had 28 members in 2013. How many remained after the United Kingdom left?
27
3
What does the Schengen Area mean?
An area where people can move without routine passport checks at internal borders (in practice since 1995).
4
Why did the Greek debt crisis also affect other eurozone states?
They share a currency and their banks and creditors are linked; so one state’s debt crisis lowered confidence in the euro and raised others’ borrowing costs.