5A RIM Assignment on 24th November 2020

 1) Watch the video below and bone up on the history of the European Union.


2) Watch the video again. In your notebook, take notes under the following headings as the content is covered:
  • Treaties of Rome
  • Economic Growth
  • Enlargement
  • Eurozone Debt Crisis
  • European Migrant Crisis
  • Current Situation
3) Read a summary of the objectives contained in the Treaty of Rome, setting up the European Economic Community (EEC).

"... the foundation of an increasingly closer union among the peoples of Europe, the improvement of their working and living conditions, the economic and social progress of their countries and the progressive abolition of all barriers and restrictions on trade."

Have all, many, some or none of these objectives been achieved, so far? Leave your personal comment, giving reasons for your answer in the comment box. Remember to choose "anonymous" as an identity, but write your name and the initial of your surname before starting to write. 

22 comments:

  1. ELISA B.
    I think that, in general, these objectives have been achieved; however, some countries benefit more than others. To start, all barriers and restrictions on trade between countries of the European Union seem to be removed. In contrast, the Switzerland that does not belong to the Union, continues to bear customs duties. Trade more open has contributed to the economic and social progress and consequently, it led to the improvement of working and living conditions. Despite this, these improvements have not affected everybody and some people, some families are currently without work, living in critical situations. Therefore, this objective has not been completed. Finally, there is an union among the peoples of Europe, there is a peaceful coexistance even if sometimes there are still episodes of discrimination or other similar social issues.

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  2. ERIKA C.
    I think that some of these objectives have been achieved. This because not all the barriers between countries have been removed and some countries benifit more than others. Furthermore the working and living conditions should be better through freer and more open trade, yet many people are still in a very bad condition. However some groups still put forward programmes and agendas that form part of a common fight against a freer and more open world when it comes to trade. Despite this the peoples of Europe Union are united even if sometimes there have been episodes of discrimination, but there isn't war betwwen the members countries.

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  3. SVEVA B.
    In my opinion, all the objectives contained in the Treaty of Rome have been largely achieved. European union is now an open space, where people can move freely. There are a lot of study and work opportunities all around the Europe, and people can decide to live outboard without problem or restriction. Member state of Union help other countries when they are in difficult situation. An example is that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many states have helped the Italian health system that was collapsing, sending doctors and machinery. Also the European Bank is an important resource, because it can help countries to sort out economic problem my giving loans. Certainly, there are many things still to be improved, such as the integration od foreigners or the decrease of differences between states, but in general al the aims of EEC have been reached.

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  4. BARBARA S.

    In my opinion almost all the objectives contained in the Treaty of Rome have been achieved. Today the European Union is a really productive organization of states: people can have a lot of work and school opportunities, they can access all mains services without any difficulty and they can afford to maintain a more than dignified standard of living. The European economy is very developed especially in the northern states and trade barriers are almost removed, infact, nowadays, many european States have made trade agreements with stranger countries. For instance, Germany has worked with the american scientists to create the covid19 vaccination. There are certainly still some weaknesses in European social development, but i think that the States will be able to work on it.

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  5. I believe that mostly all the objectives contained in the Treaty of Rome have been achieved.
    People can move freely in the Schengen area, and is it now possible to study and work in a different EU country member without many problems.
    The open trade has led to an economic progress, and it improved working and living conditions.
    There are still some objectives that need to be improved, like the reducing the discrimination and improve the integration of migrants.

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  6. Gabriele M.
    I think that, in general, these objectives have been partially achieved, because we can move freely and we can work or study in every country of the union, however, there are still many disparities between countries, for example, countries such as Germany or France have a more developed economy than other economies, such as, unfortunately, Italy, Greece, Eastern Europe and other countries.
    In addition, there are still countries such as Switzerland that are not part of the EU, or the UK that with brexit came out of the European community, that limit free trade and do not allow a united Europe with a single community.
    In conclusion, I think that the objectives have almost been achieved, but there are still some aspects to improve in order to have a perfect European union.

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  7. MARIANNA D.M.
    I think that quite all the objectives contained in the Treaty of Rome have been achieved. The free trade between countries has improved especially economies around the Schengen area, there is a quicker exchange of good, services without any problems. Clearly, there are still some objectives that need to be improved, because one of the main aim of EU is to fight discrimination but there are still problems for women's rights and the integration of migrants, for example. In addition, I have to say that Europe, in this 2020's global crisis is helping Italy in the health and economic system. I think that Europe, independently of its history, has got a lot of weakness which needs to be solved.

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  8. Fabrizio C
    In my opinion most of the objectives have been achieved, but there is still something to improve in some aspects, for example the removal of the barriers of the states has surely favored the development of the commerce and the improvement of the conditions of life but there are still a lot of people who are living in conditions of poverty but in general the objectives like the abolitions of barriers on trade and the improvement working condition have been largely achieved.
    In addition today In addition, today European countries collaborate with each other and live together in peace.

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  9. Elisa G.


    In my opinion many of these objectives have been achieved. Nowadays technology is very developed and with this incredible resource we can control the improvement of people's working and living conditions, the economic and social progress of their countries; also to countries that are most backward, we could create a foundation of a closer union among the peoples of Europe, we could find a balance among European countries for the future. I think that the progressive abolition of all barriers and restrictions on trade takes longer to be achieved, because when behind there is economic and money growth, things aren’t easy to change.

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  10. Elisa M.
    In my opinion most of the objectives of the Treaty of Rome have been achieved. We can say that nowadays the European Union is a major productive organisation for the Member States, just think that much of the barriers between EU countries have been removed. In addition, the European economy is highly developed in almost all countries, especially in the North.
    While with regard to work and schools you can say that there are many opportunities for both work and school also all over the world, and people can also decide to go and live outside their own country, without restrictions.
    There are certainly many things to improve and also problems in the least developed countries, but I think that with the help of all states can be improved.

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  11. Sara L.
    I think that most of the objectives of the Treaty of Rome have been achieved.
    Firstly, people can move freely within the European Union, it offers great opportunites to Europen citezens in the fields of study and work because there is the possibility of study and work in any country of EU, also thanks to the Shengen treaty which eliminated border controls between most European countries.
    Secondly thanks to the EU single market, not only people can move freely, but also goods, services and capital, this gives the opportunity to consumers have a wider choice of products at lower prices.
    In addition, the European Union allows the states that are part of it to help each other when there are difficult situations such as in this time of pandemic.
    In conclusion we can say that most of the objectives have been achieved although some aspects can be improved and be fairer in all countries that are part of the EU.

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  12. Stefania G.

    In my opinion the objectives have been achieved that were to create a common market and eliminate barriers between member states.
    First of all, thanks to the barriers that have been removed between the member states, there is the possibility of traveling freely, but also to work. In addition, thanks to open trade and an EU single market, there is the possibility of having goods from all member countries of the union.
    Secondly, common policies on transport, trade and agriculture helped the latter to increase productivity.
    Finally the European Union helped a lot of member states in the economy but nowadays, it allows states to help each other in this pandemic situation such as sending doctors to countries most at risk.
    In conclusion I think most objectives have been achieved but problems such as immigration could be improved.

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  13. Rita B.
    The treaty of Rome proposed to create a single market for goods, labour, services, and capital across member states. It also proposed the creation of a Common Agriculture Policy, a Common Transport Policy and a European Social Fund and established the European Commission.

    I think that most of these objectives have been achieved. For example today european citizens can live, work, study or do business freely in the European Union.

    Thanks to the Common Agricultural Policy the level of support for EU farmers from the overall EU budget allows access to high quality food, which includes functions such as income support to farmers, climate change action, and maintaining vibrant rural communities. Even if we still have to work on the poverty rate, because the ISTAT index reveals that the European poverty rate has remained unchanged since 2018 and some countries of the European Union are still divided among themselves and this causes weaknesses.

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  14. NOUHAILA Z.

    I believe that all of the most important objectives, contained in the treaty of Rome, have been achieved.
    In fact we can state that the European Union is now a place where freedom to live, study and work are guaranteed everywhere. Not to mention the creation of one of the biggest single markets in the world, thanks to the reduction of trade barriers and the free movement of goods, services and capital. But the most important attainment of the European Union was the achievement of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012, after six decades of unprecedented peace and prosperity for a continent with a long history of bloodshed.

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  15. Eleonora N.
    I think that a big part of the objectives contained in the Treaty of Rome have been achieved.
    Thanks to the barriers that have been removed all the people can move in the European Union freely and, in this way, people can study and work in a different place where they were born.
    Another important thing, nowadays, during this pandemic situation, is that European Union helps the other member States by sending health workers and financial support for countries that need it.
    Despite this there are some problems that need to be improved such as woman’s power, discriminations and environmental conditions.

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  16. Angelica B.

    In my opinion, the objectives of the Treaty of Rome have also been successfully achieved.
    Firstly, these objectives have brought union between the Member States by creating broad trade opportunities, in addition people can travel, find work or continue their studies free throughout Europe.
    Secondly, this Treaty created a union between these Member especially in case of need and help, in fact a current example is the emergency situation about Covid pandemic , where many Member States have given assistance to other states in difficulty due to the emergency, by sending specialized doctors and machinery.
    Finally, I believe that we could promote integration between people from the European community and others.

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  17. I believe that most of these objectives have been achieved as we can see nowadays: however we could do even more !
    Let’s be real , not all of the member countries of the European Union are at the same level , richer countries like :Italy, Germany , France , Holland etc. are in my opinion more involved in taking decisions and more “excited “ of all this beautiful common thing that combines a lot of different cultures.
    Countries such as Serbia , Cyprus, Greece and the uk seem to be ( or were) there just for take advantage of the situation.
    Despite this inconuruence most of the treaties points have been achieved and now Europe works very well and the rest of the world envy us for what we are and what we represent! A big countries whit a lot of different people who live in peace and security !.

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    Replies
    1. Sorry i forgot to put my name , it' Gabriele Dragone

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  18. Alessia G.
    In my opinion, the majority of the objectives included in the Treaty of Rome have been achieved.
    First of all, I think that moving in the European Union for work reasons or study reasons like being an exchange student or doing an Erasmus is quite easier than moving outside of the EU.
    Secondly, almost all of the barriers in terms of trade are removed, which improve a system where goods, services and capitals can move faster, easier, cheaper and freely.
    In conclusion, it’s true that the EU has many problems, like every organisation of countries , because being perfect from every point of view is impossible and I think it’s right that some countries like northern countries are richer than others like eastern countries until the difference is not so big like extremely rich and extremely poor.

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  19. Martina T.

    In my opinion all the objectives contained in the Treaty of Rome have been archived.
    First of all, thanks to this nowadays we can move freely and we can work or study in every country of the European Union.
    Secondly, all barriers and restrictions on trade between countries of the Union seem to be removed.
    At last, really significant, the members state of Union help other countries when they are in a difficult situation.
    Nevertheless, I think that there is always room for improvement.

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  20. Alex K.
    I think these goals have been achieved because today in 2020 we can freely go to work, study in any country of the European Union. In the European Union there are many countries that are more developed, such as the countries of northern Europe, but also countries such as Germany have a more developed economy than other countries of the European Union such as especially the countries of Eastern Europe. furthermore in europe there are still several countries which are not part of the european union. Finally, I believe Europe is united, but not yet completely

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  21. Susan R.

    In my opinion all of this goals are very important, and I think that all of them have been achieved. For examples, we can cross borders easily, in fact a great amount of people have chosen to live in a country, and go to work in another one. But I think that they still need improvements because, especially in some countries, the level of poverty is very high, and for example, in Italy there's a great number of people, especially young people, that can't find a job.
    But despite this, the EU many times has helped countries on the economic level, for example, because of the EU, the trade is facilitated between countries that are a part of it.

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