The changing and developing international balance policy throughout history has affected many states and their structures, sometimes caused the establishment of new states and sometimes resulted in the disappearance of states. The European geography, which has been trying to maintain its political stability regionally since the Middle Ages, has also been affected by these changes. World wars and some regional conflicts have led to the formation of new states or the change and transformation of existing states in the European geography. The aim of establishing a balance of power among the new states that emerged with the changing balances brought together the regional states that have common points in many different areas such as geography, religion and culture. After the end of the Cold War, the regional states, which ended their dependence on the bipolar balance of power, reorganized the regional balance with the political powers they gained. States that recovered and regained their independence adopted the idea of forming a community under the leadership of the founding states, aiming to turn their common geographical values into a political unity. Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, which came together in this direction, formed the basis of the union. Thus, the European Union (EU) gained a political identity with the signing of the Maastricht Treaty, which established it in 1993. The signing of the Treaty by the founding states created the legal and international identity of the Union and determined its purpose, objectives and vision. The Maastricht Treaty in that sense, has a great importance for the member states and the Union as it is considered the founding treaty and basic source of the Union. The effort to create a common political and economic union with the cooperation of member states has been adopted as one of the basic foundation instincts of the Union and the Union has been shaped accordingly. After its establishment, the Union, which expanded with the increase in the number of member states over the years, ensured the political and geographical unity in the European geography and aimed to have a common vision with its member states. The adoption of a common vision has strengthened cooperation between states and created a joint decision-making mechanism on issues such as near future plans.
EU Co-Decision-Making Principle
Since its establishment, the European Union has achieved success in many different areas, not only regionally but also globally. In addition to supporting various infrastructure services such as education, arts, sports and health in member states, the organization has expanded its scope of activity in line with its joint work with the United Nations (UN). Joint work with the UN has enabled the EU, which has a regional organization, to carry out activities such as preventing conflicts in the international arena, ensuring peace and observing human rights. These various areas prove that the Union is not limited regionally but also has a multifaceted structure. In particular, the efforts and initiatives made in the fields of ensuring peace and maintaining regional stability and balance of power in the recent Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts have brought both the member states and the organization itself to the fore in this regard. The organization’s attitude towards both wars basically include the joint decisions of its member states.
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