Economy

The European Communities (EC) were established to facilitate economic growth by creating a common market. The development of common policies in several fields, including agriculture, energy, fisheries, and trade, reflected the view that enhanced integration would benefit member countries’ economies and Europe as a whole. The growing size and complexity of the EC budget led to the establishment in 1975 of the European Court of Auditors (ECA), which is now one of the seven EU institutions. The ECA supervises and audits the Union’s budget to improve accountability, transparency, and financial management.

Plans for fully-fledged economic and monetary integration have been discussed since the 1950s, but they were only partially implemented in the following decades. The introduction of the euro as a single currency, circulating since 2002 and currently adopted by 20 countries out of the EU-27, was the final step in the path towards monetary union outlined by the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht. Tested by severe economic crises and counter-narratives underlining the pitfalls of monetary integration, the single currency has nonetheless represented a symbol of European unity, as highlighted by the communication campaigns of European institutions.

Jacopo Cellini