On New Year’s Day 2002, the day when the EU’s common currency, the euro, was launched, it seems yesterday that ATMs in the city were flooded with French people. Now that 15 years have passed since then, more and more people are asking themselves the value of joining the EU. Isn’t Britain’s Brexit phenomenon a typical event? This time, I will focus on the advantages and disadvantages of participating in the EU.
Advantages
The merit of participating in the EU that I personally experienced was, above all, the simplification of airport inspections when entering France from Europe. For example, when I traveled within the European Union, even I, a foreigner, when I was able to pass through the customs of the airport without inspecting my belongings, I instinctively shouted “EU hurray!”. Previously, every time you traveled within Europe with a foreign passport, you had to go through an airport inspection exclusively for foreign passport holders, and there were long lines during the season when there were many tourists such as Chinese and Americans. It was very inconvenient, but now it is very convenient because it can move smoothly without anything.
Euro is convenient
The next advantage is that thanks to the common currency of the euro, you can easily shop in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, or anywhere in the EU without having to exchange money. Besides, I think one of the merits is that you can compare the prices of the same products depending on the country. By the way, if you want to buy cigarettes, I definitely recommend buying them in Spain rather than France.
Originally the purpose of the European Community was the economy. In other words, the purpose was to create a strong currency in favor of Europe against the US dollar. Nowadays, the euro has become too strong and its utility has been reversed, which is a bit of a problem, but I think that the goal of maintaining a stable world economy that is not affected by the US dollar economy has been achieved.
Unification is not easy
However, the EU is not only made up of the economy, but also has many other elements such as society, welfare, justice, education, environment, distribution, and labor, and there is still a lack of unity among countries. Now that many years have passed, various problems have surfaced. This is the reason why the relationship between Greece and Germany was jerky a few years ago. Of course, it is economically impossible for Greece to be on par with Germany, so the situation of being a piggyback ride in Germany will continue forever.
Next, let’s touch on the disadvantages of the EU.
Disadvantages
As seen in the relationship between Germany and Greece, the biggest disadvantage is that there are economic disparities among member countries, an inconsistent and uneven economy is created, and a heavy burden is placed on a rich country like Germany. is.
Cheap labor
Also, the biggest problem at present is social dumping in member countries. For example, Polish plumbers can work in France under the Polish social security system, so French employers try to prioritize Polish because of the advantage of being able to hire them at a lower cost than hiring French. This is a complete disadvantage for France, which is suffering from unemployment problems. Please try to imagine. For example, if Filipinos can work in Japan with their own social system and wage system in Japan, there is no doubt that employers are more likely to choose Filipinos who can hire cheaper than Japanese who have high wages. ..
Deterioration of public security
The last big problem is that the freedom of movement of goods and people within the member states has eased the crackdown on criminals and drugs, and increased crime. Along with this, it cannot be ignored that the far-right anti-EUism, which claims that various terrorist attacks in Europe are evidence of this, is increasing.
Aim to one union
How was it? It’s easy, but the advantages and disadvantages of joining the EU.
It’s certainly not that sweet, as 28 countries with different histories, cultures and languages must harmonize under one flag of the EU. In the future, it will be inevitable that EU countries will go on a twisted and twisted path. However, that is why many believe the EU is wonderful. Those who believe that the EU is the process of overcoming many differences and aiming for the same summit. I totally agree (although I am a foreigner).
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