Benefits of EU Membership
Joining the EU is said to provide member states with a list of advantages. These will include membership at the different European financial institutions. Generally, there are several European Financial Institutions. The European Central Bank (ECB) maintains the Euro's purchasing power and price stability. The European Investment Bank (EIB) raises funds for capital projects to the EU's objectives. The European Investment Fund (EIF) handles venture capital and serves as the guarantee agency of the EU. Reading this reference will help you understand some of the benefits of joining the EU. How would member states be affected if they decided to leave the union?
Non-monetary benefits of EU membership
Peace
It is a historical reality that longstanding enemies like Germany and France, with a past of bilateral wars, have learned to become close partners with extensive ties and to undertake common policies within the institutional set-up of the European Communities
and the Union. Hence, there is no doubt that the EU, alongside other supranational organisations promoting peace and security (i.e. NATO, UN, Council of Europe) is one significant explanation of the outstanding peace performance of the post-1945 European
continent. In addition to peace, the EU has allowed its citizens to familiarise with different cultures and overcome prejudices on a more personal level.
The value of peace in Europe cannot be
quantified in monetary terms but is still clearly
of paramount importance. For these and other reasons, the EU won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.
Box 4. The Good Friday Agreement (1998)
The EU has been a facilitator of cooperation and
development across the two sides of the Northern
Irish border. EU membership created the conditions
for the creation and implementation of the open
border in Ireland. Firstly, the Single Market
effectively ended border checks. Secondly, UK and
Irish leaders met as peers within the EU
intergovernmental framework, thus favouring trust.
Thirdly, the EU invested heavily in cross-border
infrastructure and cooperation".
The union and its forerunners have for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe. […] Today war between Germany and France is unthinkable. [...] The division between East and West has to a large extent been brought to an end; democracy has been strengthened; many ethnically-based national conflicts have been settled. […] The stabilizing part played by the EU has helped to transform most of Europe from a continent of war to a continent of peace".