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Unification of the European

Union today: Challenges and trends

Nguyen An Ha1

first

Institute of European Studies , Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences .

Email: anhad4@yahoo.com

Received March 28, 2019. Accepted for publication May 8, 2019 .

Summary: After more than 60 years of formation and development , the European Union (EU) has achieved
many great achievements , serving as a model for regional integration for the goals of peace, prosperity and
development . However, the Brexit event (Britain leaving the EU ) along with a series of immigration crisis issues , is key
populism , is putting the EU before huge challenges . _ To promote unification , the EU needs to reform more
strongly , from institutional reform to implementing policies in various fields , to help the EU overcome the
crisis .

Keywords: Reform , European Union , unification .

Industry classification: International studies

Abstract: After over 60 years of development since its establishment, the European Union (EU) has
made many great achievements, becoming a model of regional integration for the purpose of peace,
prosperity and development. However, the Brexit (Britain leaving the EU) and a series of issues of the
immigration crisis, populism…, are placing the bloc in front of major challenges. To accelerate its
unification, the EU needs to further its reshuffle, which ranges from the institution
reform to the implementation of policies in various fields, to help the bloc overcome the crisis.

Keywords: Reshuffle, European Union, unification.

Subject classification: International studies

1. Ask a problem internal affairs and political security , associated with

the construction , negotiation and signing of treaties .
The process of formation and development of the These are the legal foundations
EU is based on increasingly deep connections The constitutional document sets out the goals of
association
starting from the economic pillar , spreading to the investment pillar . as well as the obligations and rights

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Participating countries commit to implement it . _
EU treaties regulate the purpose , design and
operation of the body 's structure _ _ _
institutions , interactions between common institutions , the _ roadmap for building the European common currency
Sharing powers between supranational institutions
and member countries , to strengthen links in both
breadth and depth . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Important treaties marking the stages of
development in both breadth and depth of the EU
include : - The 1951 Treaty of
Paris (effective in 1952 ) established the European
Coal and Steel Community (ECSC ) , including 6
countries: France, Germany, Italy, Belgium,
Netherlands, Luxembourg. The treaty aims to create
a common and free coal and steel market , with
floating market value and no import - export taxes or
subsidies .
- The 1957 Treaty of Rome (effective in 1958 )
established the Atomic Energy Community
( Euratom) and the Economic Community
Europe (EEC) includes the above 6 countries . The
treaty calls for balanced economic growth through
the establishment of a customs union with common
domestic tariffs , agricultural , transport and trade
policies ; _ _ _ open
expand the community to other European countries .
- The 1965 Brussels Treaty (effective in 1967 )
( also known as the Unification Treaty ) united three
communities : ECSC, Euratom and EEC into the
European Community (EC ) .
This treaty is seen as the real beginning of today's EU
model .
- The 1992 Maastricht Treaty ( which took effect in
1993 ) for the first time outlined the three pillars of
EU: (1) European Community ; (2) Return pillar
common foreign and security policy to create a
coordination mechanism for planning _ _
Plan and implement common foreign and security
policies among member countries
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on the basis of ensuring national sovereignty ; and
( 3 ) Pillar of internal affairs and justice cooperation
policy . At the same time , the Treaty also provides a
( Euro) and the European Central Bank (ECB).
- The 1997 Amsterdam Treaty ( effective in
1999 ) ( also known as the revised Maastricht Treaty )
The Amsterdam Treaty is a new step forward for
Europe 's unification process with the most outstanding
achievement being the birth of common currency
and the improvement of individual human rights ,
moving towards greater democracy . _ _ _ The EU is
now more unified in both institutions and laws .
- The 2001 Nice Treaty (effective in 2003 ) focuses
on institutional reform and strengthening the role of
the European Parliament in the process of expanding
and admitting a series of new Central Eastern
European members .
- The 2007 Lisbon Treaty ( effective 2009 )
( originally called the Reform Treaty ) officially
abolished the three fundamental pillars
version of the Maastricht Treaty to create a common
legal framework for the EU to accelerate economic
structural reform , emphasizing the aspect of social
development , aiming to unify foreign security policy
as well as justice . internal affairs.
Treaties are the legal foundation for building
supranational institutions as well _ _ _
The powers of these institutions in the legislative
process , then applied to member states , forcing
member states to comply , are the supranational
characteristics of the EU . On the other hand , the
treaties themselves are adopted by Intergovernmental
Conferences
(IGC) of the member countries themselves
demonstrate the transnational nature of the EU . Speak
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Vietnamese Social Sciences , No. 6 - 2019
In another way , the specificity of regional institutions 2. Unification process challenges
in the EU 's association is the combination of
supranational characteristics and institutions with
intergovernmental characteristics and institutions . _ _
Right from the first stage of the association
process , the EU wanted to build an effective
operating model , capable of implementing decisions
at the common level . This model is built on
institutions
Important are : European Council, Council of
Ministers , European Commission, European
Parliament . European Court, European Bank.
These institutions are like _ _
an institution of the state , divided into executive,
legislative and private powers
France. Along with that, the concepts of European
citizenship, the European common currency, the
European Constitution, and the European Army
appeared , showing that the EU is always striving
towards a supranational model , increasing
unification . .
The process of association inevitably leads to a
certain sharing of rights , obligations , and even
national sovereignty of member countries , and
along with strengthening the connection in breadth
and depth , always takes place during the process .
The process of transforming many areas under the master
national or intergovernmental power to
supranational power or increased unification trend
chemistry. Among them , the resolution of the relationship
Harmonizing and "balancing " between the
common interests of the region and the individual
interests of each member state is always a difficult
task that the EU must strive to overcome and perfect
itself . The EU 's development practice shows that
the EU is always like a "pendulum " between masters attacks and the bloodiest incidents occurred in
intergovernmental and supranational meaning [ 2].
This article2 analyzes the challenges and trends of
EU integration . _ _ _
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modernization of the European Union
From 2014 until now, in the international and
regional context , there have been many changes such as :
The Ukrainian crisis, the immigration crisis , along
with the consequences of the public debt crisis ,
Brexit in June 2016 as a historical moment , make
this "pendulum " both want to increase its
centripetal force and strengthen it the most .
institutionalized , subject to many centrifugal
influences, towards the interests of each country ,
increasing the
intergovernmental trend . This is a turbulent
period for the EU , along with difficulties in the
process of economic recovery and development
such as low economic growth , high public debt ,
high unemployment , and deep social division . face
new challenges that threaten its development and
survival . _ _ _ _ _ _ While the Ukrainian crisis has
not yet been resolved , EU - Russia relations
continue to deteriorate , instability from North Africa ,
the Middle East along with the rise of radical Islamic
terrorism , and the war situation of Syria makes the
situation in Europe and the EU even more tense .
2.1. Terrorism and immigration crisis
2015 was also the year that the self - proclaimed
Islamic State ( IS ) increased terrorist activities
around the world .
In 2015 , the whole world endured 121 terrorist
Europe . _ _ _ _ Right from the beginning of the
year, France was shocked by the attack on the
Charlie Hebdo newspaper office , and
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By the end of the year , he was immersed in the mourning of the incident
massacre at the Bataclan theater in Paris .
Next , the flow of migrants from Middle Eastern
and North African countries to the EU increased
dramatically in 2015 and became the most serious
migration crisis since _ _ _ _
Second World War . _ According to the International
Organization for Migration ( IOM), as of December 18,
2015, the number of refugees and migrants entering
Europe by sea and land was nearly 991,000 people
[ 5 ] . The immigration crisis really pushes the EU into
deep contradictions and disagreements . _ _ _ While
Germany showed its efforts with Prime Minister 's
statement
General Merkel received 800,000 refugees _ _
Middle Eastern refugees entering this country ,
Hungary and Bulgaria are having to make efforts to
hinder the flow of refugees trying to cross the borders
of these countries into the EU [6 ] .
Many countries such as Hungary, Croatia, and the
UK oppose the immigration policy that the EU imposes
on them by requiring mandatory reception of
immigrants . Terrorist incidents _ _
carried out by IS Islamists _ _ _
France, Belgium, England ... make the immigration
issue even more complicated , due to the risk of elements
In recent times, especially in 2018 , there have been
Terrorists mixed in with the flow of immigrants
increasing and uncontrollable . _
Countries have set up temporary " border control "
to prevent migrants from North Africa and the Middle
East from entering their countries , limiting
freedom of movement within the EU . _ _ The
Schengen Agreement , the EU 's pride in freedom of
movement between countries in the union , is at
risk of falling apart if there are no timely control and
adjustment measures . During the past few years ,
asylum and immigration have been one of the thorny
issues, the Prime Minister of Austria , the country
holding the rotating President of the EU, put forward
the idea of "the
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proxy solidarity ” , meaning that EU member states
can choose to accept refugees
and migration , or by providing experts and
equipment for strengthening control of the bloc 's
peripheral borders , or by other forms of contribution .
However, topic
This proposal has been opposed . German Prime
Minister A. Merkel said that this solution is
"unrealistic " [ 7] and if it were to do so , many
member states would find every way to deny it.
responsibility for accepting refugees . _ To date , the
immigration issue continues to be complicated as the
number of deaths increases due to migrants choosing
to travel by dangerous routes . _ _ _ While EU
leaders have not yet been able to agree on a complete
solution , the anti- immigrant movement is increasing
due to the presence of right - wing , populist , and
extremist forces .
2.2. Brexit - an unsolved problem
The Brexit process started with the 2016 British
referendum , but the negotiation process did not go
smoothly . _
major disagreements regarding the content of the
agreement between the UK , the EU as well as within
the UK .
A series of major issues , from the " divorce
agreement fee " that the UK must pay to the EU
after leaving the bloc to protecting the rights of
citizens of both sides, the transition period for the
UK to leave the "common European roof" . ”,
Northern Ireland border ... has hindered the Brexit
process at the bilateral negotiation table as well as
right in the British Parliament .
In the first months of 2018, the leaders of both
sides made progress when they approved the
direction of a new phase .
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Vietnamese Social Sciences , No. 6 - 2019
The transition period lasts 21 months after the
UK leaves the EU in March 2019, as well as for
the next phase of negotiations . With efforts from
both sides , by mid - 2018 , some problems and
disagreements had been resolved . _ The last six
months of the year are a journey in which both the
British Government and EU leaders are straining
to negotiate to break the situation
deadlock in the Brexit process . Even though he
has repeatedly expressed his tough stance , he still ...extend Brexit , to avoid a possible crisis in the
London and Brussels both eventually made
concessions . _ In mid- November 2018 ,
negotiators from the two sides reached a draft
agreement on Brexit , agreeing on
The most thorny issue is the border between
Britain and the Republic of Ireland after Brexit.
The text includes a “ backstop ” that would be
established as an interim customs arrangement
across the UK . _ _ _ _ _
The agreement contains special provisions for
Northern Ireland , covering tariff issues and
regulatory compliance . _ _ _ _ _
of the single market , rather than the rest of the
United Kingdom . _ _ _
Next , British Prime Minister T. May persuaded
the leaders of the 27 EU member states to agree
to ensure that the union will make efforts to sign a
new Free Trade Agreement ( FTA ) with the UK
before 2021 . Regarding the " soft barrier " clause
in the Brexit agreement that helps maintain the
open border between Northern Ireland and the
Republic of Ireland until the two sides reach a
trade agreement , the EU affirms that this solution
is to prevent exports . implementing a hard border
on the island of Ireland and ensuring the integrity
of the single market . The President of the
European Commission emphasized that the EU
is determined to act quickly for a bilateral
agreement to follow from
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now until December 31, 2020 so that both sides can
avoid the possibility of activating the above
mentioned clause . Although the British Prime
Minister has received support from the EU for the
Brexit agreement , domestic challenges to this
process are not small . On April 10, 2019, EU
leaders agreed to continue delaying the deadline
for the UK to leave the EU until October 31 , 2019.
This is the second time the EU has agreed to
event of a hard Brexit . However, this proposal still
has to wait
approved by the UK . If the UK accepts the
extension , the UK will still stay in the EU until
after the European Parliament elections on May
22, 2019 and the UK will still have to participate
in this entire process [8]. The next day, the British
Prime Minister announced that the country could
still leave the EU in an orderly manner before May
22 , even though the two sides agreed to
postpone Brexit for six months. The Prime
Minister stated: " This extension allows us to
complete the progress we have made . If we can
do it before May 22, we will
do not have to participate in the European Parliament
elections ” [9]. These developments show that the
"divorce" between the UK and the EU is very
complicated and will leave many unpredictable consequences .
2.3. The strong rise of far-right and anti-European
Union parties
During the Brexit period from 2016 until now, EU
people have witnessed the unprecedented growth
of far - right , Eurosceptic parties in elections in :
Italy , Sweden , Hungary , Germany . In Italy,
March 4, 2018 entered European history with the
general election results marking the absolute
victory of populist , anti -EU and anti - EU parties .
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anti- mainstream . These parties won a total of
more than 50% of the vote , while the Democratic
Party (PD) of former prime minister Matteo Renzi
suffered a major defeat , ranking third behind the
center- right coalition led by the far- right party
League and the Five Star Movement party.
dominate [ 10]. Meanwhile , in France, the ratio
Support for President Emmanuel Macron has
dropped sharply in the last months of 2018.
According to a public opinion poll at the end of
October 2018, support for Mr. Macron is currently
only about 26 % , a low from before until now [11].
The support rate for Mr. Macron 's Republic on the
Move ( LREM) party also witnessed a similar
decline and was lower than that of Ms. Marine Le
Pen 's populist National Rally ( RN) party .
In Hungary , Mr. Viktor Orbán, an EU skeptic
who advocates no further integration into the EU
and has refused to participate in the EU 's migrant
resettlement program , was re - elected for a third
consecutive term . continued with an overwhelming Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the
victory . This victory reflects the trust of Hungarian
voters in his tough stance on the issue of
immigration . _ _ November 10 , 2018, according
to the results of the poll
Commented by Median in Hungary , the support
rate for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán 's
Fidesz party and its ally, the Christian Democratic
People's Party , far exceeded that of other
opponents and reached 63% . Meanwhile , the
party ranked second , Jobbik, only has a support
rate of 11 % [12].
In Germany , far - right or populist parties also
emerged and advanced based on popular
dissatisfaction . The case of the party
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Choice for Germany ( AFD ) advanced strongly in
2018 when it continuously won state elections for
the first time in its history and was present in all _
_____
16 state parliaments . According to the survey
results of the Infratest Dimap Institute conducted
for ARD television channel on September 21,
2018, the AFD party won a support rate of 18 %,
surpassing the Social Democratic Party (SPD)
with a support rate of 18 % . 17% [13]. For the
first time , a far - right and xenophobic party has
surpassed the Social Democratic Party ( SPD ) to
rise to second place .
level of support in Germany .
Besides , another big threat to the stability of
the EU is that far - right parties in the EU currently
have a policy of forming a populist alliance .
Recently , right- wing, conservative and populist
leaders in Hungary , France and Italy have made
moves to ally with each other. In August 2018,
Deputy Prime Minister
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Salvini met with
two sides pledged to form a populist front to fight
globalist figures belonging to the camp of French
President Emmanuel Macron . In September
2018, Mr. Salvini also had a meeting with Ms.
Marine Le Pen and the two leaders announced
the prospect of establishing a so - called "
Freedom Front " to unite the populist faction in
the European Parliament . . Some analysts
believe that, in the near future , an anti- immigration
populist alliance between three figures , Viktor
Orbán, Matteo Salvini and Le Pen, is likely to
emerge .
was established before the election _ _ _
European Parliament .
In particular , the latest public opinion polls in
Europe show that the popular parties
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Vietnamese Social Sciences , No. 6 - 2019
anti- immigration activists in France , Italy and Hungary
are increasingly receiving support , far surpassing
their opponents in the context of the European
Parliament elections in May 2019 .
2.4. The "Yellow Vest" movement exploded from
France and spread to other countries
The largest protest in half a century in France broke
out on November 17, 2018 when tens of thousands
of people wearing yellow shirts took to the streets
calling on the government to cut taxes .
gasoline , adjusting economic policy and expressing
opposition to French President Emmanuel Macron .
After a few weeks , the “ Yellow Vests ” movement in
France has turned from a single - issue protest into a
protest with a long list of grievances with President
Emmanuel Macron and liberalism . new from Europe.
On December 15, 2018, thousands of people
marched in the Italian capital Rome with yellow shirts
and the slogan " Stand up! Fight for your rights !”.
The cause of this protest is that the Italian Parliament
passed a new Immigration Law on November 28,
2018 [14]. In Austria on December 16, 2018, about
17 thousand people in the capital Vienna , despite
the cold weather , took to the streets to participate in
an anti -government protest , protesting the authorities
' migration policy , and at the same time demanding
a reduction in working days and the abolition of
austerity measures .
3. The trend of unifying the European Union
3.1. Institutional reform under the Lisbon Treaty
First , the Lisbon Treaty promotes the process of
regional integration through reforms
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on institutions and policy - making mechanisms .
The treaty has transferred some contents of the judicial
and internal affairs pillars to the " majority " mechanism
competent " and was simplified into the " double
majority " procedure, which officially took effect in
2014. According to this principle , EU legal documents
are adopted when two criteria are met : majority
Member countries with 55% of countries and a majority
of people representing 65% of the entire region's
population support it . This voting mechanism
contributes to making the EU 's policy - making
process more transparent and effective , requiring
member countries to make more efforts , avoiding
deadlock when the interests of the majority conflict .
_ with minorities . The Lisbon Treaty replaced the
rotating presidency between member countries for a
term of 6 months with a permanent presidency for a
term of 2 and a half years . With a longer - term
permanent presidency , the EU 's policy directions
are more unified and more effective . _ _ _ _ The
structure of the European Commission in 2014 also
changed from 27 members ( one representative per
country ) to 17 members , creating a non -
representative committee for all member countries .
intergovernmental membership , which is truly an
institution _ _ _
super nation that operates for the common good of
the entire EU.
Second, the Lisbon Treaty strengthens democracy
and transparency in the EU 's policy-making
process , making supranational policy decisions more
effective .
Strengthening the role of the European Parliament
in the policy-making process, such as : moving from
co- decision procedures to
ordinary legislative procedures covering more than
70 areas , strengthening the legislative powers of
the EU Parliament , expanding the EU budget approval
procedure for mandatory and non - mandatory
budgets , expanding _ _ _ _
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authority to ratify international agreements that the
EU signs with external partners .
The Lisbon Treaty also focuses more on people 's
basic rights such as dignity , freedom , democracy ,
equality and aspects related to human rights ,
towards the concept of European citizenship .
Third, the Lisbon Treaty aims to unify a common
foreign and security policy , improving the EU 's
image in the international arena . Along with electing
a Permanent President , the Lisbon Treaty also
elects a head of foreign affairs and security - an
EU Foreign Minister and Vice President of the
European Commission . _ _ With this change , the
Lisbon Treaty marked an important change for the
EU in international relations . _ _ A Master _
Permanent President , a European Foreign Minister
and the approval of the European Parliament help
the EU have a unified voice with partners and
international organizations . _ _ This contributes
to improving the EU 's position in dealing with
global challenges such as climate change ,
sustainable development , traditional and non
-traditional security [ 1 , pp.170-173 ] .
Thus , the Lisbon Treaty promotes further
unification and expansion of policies under the EU
's jurisdiction , reaching out to areas that are
considered the prerogatives of the sovereign state ,
such as : police _ , border , foreign policy , refugee
policy ; manage and control border crossings with
outside the Community ; _ _ _ immigration policy
and residence rights of third country citizens ; _
fight against drugs and international fraud ; _ _
judicial cooperation in civil fields ; _ _ judicial
cooperation in the field of crime ; Customs and
police cooperation against terrorism , drug
trafficking and others
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other types of dangerous criminals through the group
Europol police office .
3.2. Deploy regional policies in the economic field
In economic linkages , response to the public debt
crisis and economic growth _ _
low, moving towards innovating the EU's smart and
comprehensive growth model quite clearly such
as the Banking and Financial System Reform
Program , Smart Growth Program , towards the
4.0 Industrial Revolution , changing the new
generation FTA negotiation mechanism .
In the foreign security pillar , strengthening the
unification of the European military and implementing
a new foreign policy to strengthen Asian
connectivity ...
In the economic field : after establishing the
European stabilization mechanism ( EMS ) to
strengthen the connection , unification of
supervision and joint operations among banks to
prevent future banking system crises . In the future,
the Eurozone countries have decided to establish
a Banking Union based on two main pillars : the
Unified Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) effective
from November 2014 and the Single Banking
Mechanism ( SSM ) . Unified solution (SRM) takes
effect from January 1 , 2016 [15 ] .
Along with supervising and handling weak
banks , the ECB has also made efforts to help
member countries have resources to
Improve the credit situation with the quantitative
easing program . _ In early 2015 , the ECB Executive
Council decided to buy hundreds of billions of
Euros of government bonds , massively inject
money and maintain 0% interest rates to stimulate
consumer demand and prevent declines .
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Vietnamese Social Sciences , No. 6 - 2019
develop and improve jobs . Until the end of 2018 ,
when the ECB announced the end of this program,
in total , the ECB pumped about 2,600 billion Euro
into the Eurozone economy through bond
purchases issued by 19 member governments
as well as
corporate bonds for nearly 4 years . _ Speaking
at the press conference at headquarters _
ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany on
December 13, 2018, Mario Draghi, President of
the ECB , said that the quantitative easing (QE)
program had been truly successful with the goal of
organized a Strategic Policy forum on digital
pushing market interest rates down and helping the system
The Eurozone 's banking system is safer by
increasing the value of bonds that banks hold .
He said that the QE program is the only driving
force promoting the recovery process of the
economy
at a time when this region was in crisis [22] .
These efforts have helped the EU solve the
problem of creating jobs and reducing
unemployment in recent years . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ In
February 2019, the unemployment rate in both
regions continued to record the lowest level in
many years , specifically
Specifically: the EU 19 unemployment rate is 7.8
% , the lowest level since October 2008 . For the
EU 28, the unemployment rate is 6.5%, the lowest
Single
level since January 2000 . Member countries have rates _
The lowest unemployment rates are: Czech Republic (1.9%),
Germany (3.1%) and the Netherlands (3.4%). Countries have rates _single
The highest unemployment rates are: Greece
( 18%), Spain (13.9%) and Italy (10.7%) [16].
Despite stopping the credit easing program , on
April 10 , 2019, the ECB continued to keep interest
rates unchanged at record low levels .
green. The bank's key refinancing interest rate
remains at 0 % , lending interest rate is 0.25%,
while deposit interest rate is -
0.4% [17].
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3.3. Promoting the Industrial Revolution 4.0
In 2014, in the report “For a European industrial
renaissance”, the European Commission stated
that digital technologies
( including cloud computing , big data, new
industrial internet applications , smart factories ,
robotics and 3D printing ) has an essential role
to play in raising Europe 's productivity by
identifying renovate business models and create
new products and services . In addition , the EU
technology startups , focusing on discussions
the digital transformation of industry and of
European businesses . _ _ The European
Commission has set out priorities for European
industrial policy and called on European countries
to recognize the importance of industry in growth
and job creation . _ _ The European Commission
also stated that the adoption of digital technology
is essential to
Increase Europe 's productivity through redefining
business models and creating new products and
services . _ _ _ _ _
In May 2015, the European Commission
published a detailed plan to establish a “ Digital
Market ” [ 18 ] with the goal of removing
barriers and turning 28 national markets into one .
_ market , creating an area of guaranteed free
movement of goods , people , services and
capital , helping people and businesses access
goods and access services online seamlessly and
_ _ _ regardless of nationality . “The market is
careful
common digital ” can contribute 415 billion
Euro for the European economy , promoting job
growth , competition , promotion
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investment and innovation . _ During the period 2014-
2020, the EU Hoziron research program provides
nearly 80 billion Euros for research and innovation ,
including support for the development of key
technologies . Some typical projects , such as: "
Future Factory " project is a public- private
partnership program with an expected budget of
about 1.5 billion Euro ; The project “ Sustainable
Processing Industry through Resource Efficiency
(SPIRE)” has a budget of 900 million Euro . In
addition, at least 100 billion Euros from the Fund
European Construction and Investment ( ESIF ) is
dedicated to member states to encourage countries
to invest in innovation , motivate countries to focus
on their advantages and create value changes _ _
of the EU [3].
3.4. Strengthen the power of the EU in negotiating
new generation FTAs
In order to promote the process of negotiating and
signing new generation FTAs , on May 22, 2018, the Ministry of
EU trade chiefs have agreed to a new approach to
signing and ratifying FTAs , whereby an agreement
can be approved without the need for ratification by
member state parliaments . _ _ _ _ _ _ The basis for
trade ministers to make this decision is the EU's
exclusive trade policy under Article 207 of the Treaty
on the Functions of the EU ( TFEU ). This means
that the EU , not its member states, manages trade
relations with third countries ( outside the EU ) and
negotiates international trade agreements . However,
EU member states have the ability to promote trade
links through trade promotion policies .
Nguyen An Ha
nation . With this strengthening of powers , the
European Union will determine the appropriate
negotiation process and roadmap so that the
negotiation results are ratified smoothly and
quickly .
3.5. Unify the field of foreign security
In this field , a series of policy adjustments also took
place to increase the trend
unifying the EU military , deploying a new Asian
strategy ... In December 2017, the EU Summit with
25/27 members (except Denmark and Malta )
agreed to launch a regular structural cooperation
agreement . on defense standing (PESCO) [19] , an
idea that was raised in the 2009 Lisbon Treaty and
strongly promoted by
in early 2017 in the context of the UK leaving the EU
and the transatlantic relationship ( US - EU)
becoming uncertain after President Trump came
to power . PESCO 's goal is to coordinate and
promote military and defense industry cooperation
and coordination in campaigns outside the
territory .
EU. With PESCO, Europe is not only more
independent in technology and production capacity
but also supports each other in arms procurement .
gas, military equipment , and logistics at cheaper
prices . The key feature of PESCO is a permanent
mechanism and a mandatory commitment for
participating members . _ EU leaders believe that
PESCO does not contradict NATO but will
complement NATO 's activities . To implement
PESCO, since the beginning of 2018 , the EU has
allocated a fund of 500 million Euro contributed
by 25 participating countries to 17 projects approved
by the European Council . These projects are all
assigned to a host member state and countries
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Vietnamese Social Sciences , No. 6 - 2019
Others can participate or not depending on their
capacity and needs [ 4]. Adjust foreign policy to
strengthen Asia - Europe connection . _
At the 12th Asia-Europe Summit (ASEM), taking
place on November 18-19 , 2018 in Brussels, the
EU officially launched a new vision called the Asia
- Europe Connectivity Strategy to strengthen
interconnection . Bringing collaborative content
together to form a network makes it possible _ _ _
reaching out further, taking advantage of all the
potential and possibilities there . Accordingly ,
the EU focuses on connectivity in the fields of
transportation , new energy , and digital technology applications
transform and connect people with each other .
The goal of the strategy is to form a road , sea
and air transport network to take advantage of
opportunities on both continents .
The Connectivity Strategy is determined with the
basic criteria of : ( 1) Sustainability ; (2)
Comprehensive ; ( 3 ) Based on international
principles . Therefore , this strategy aims to both
compete and cooperate and connect with other
intercontinental strategies . _ _ Accordingly ,
the EU's Asia-Europe Connectivity Strategy is
deployed to gather forces around the world ,
especially enlisting and attracting Asian countries
to join Europe in upholding the banner of "
multilateral " and " multilateralism " . free trade " ,
to promote inter - continental cooperation and
connectivity to deal with protectionist trends and policies _In_March 2017, the EU celebrated 60 years of
commercial [ 4].
4. Conclusion
The EU 's efforts towards supranational unification
and the obstacles from Brexit as well as populism
and _ _ _ _
The divergence between countries is very difficult to predict Union: ( 1 ) The EU continues to focus on
predict this trend in the future . According to
34
According to the results of public opinion polls
ahead of the European Parliament elections on
May 23 , 2019 , a coalition of conservative , social
and liberal parties pro - EU may prevail .
According to the above results , the coalition of
pro - European parties can now win a majority in
the European Parliament elections , but with
Britain expected to participate in the election
Due to the postponement of the Brexit process , the
proportion of seats occupied by Eurosceptic parties will also be
skyrocketed from the current 10% to 14.3 %. Even
so , the correlation between parties could still be
reversed if the UK and EU are surprised
reach an exit agreement before the European
Parliament elections . _ _ _ _ _ _ In addition ,
populist leaders in some countries such as
Hungary, Italy , and Poland called on Eurosceptics
and anti - immigrant far - right forces to form an
alliance to gain control of the legislature . of
Europe is being seen as a significant challenge
for the pro-European faction in the new election
cycle . If the populist parties win , it will mean
holding
power to dominate EU policy and have a profound
impact on the world situation , which could spark
a wave of xenophobia containing many dangers ,
exacerbating humanitarian crises of migration
and immigration ... [ 20].
development ( 1957- 2017) . Marking this important
event , the EU announced
“ White Paper on the Future of Europe -
Retrospective and Scenarios for EU27 to 2025”.
Challenges , opportunities and development
prospects of the EU in major fields are mentioned .
_ _ _ By 2025 , there are five proposed
development scenarios for the future of the
implementing the established reform roadmap ;
Machine Translated by Google

Nguyen An Ha

(2) The EU gradually shifts its focus to the overcome enormous challenges in the post -
common market ; ( 3) The EU allows member Brexit period . _ _
states to proactively cooperate with each However , practical experience shows that
other in each specific field ; ( 4 ) The EU Britain joined the European Community in
focuses on improving the efficiency and 1973 , and during the 43 years until the
responsiveness of collective actions in certain referendum decided to leave the EU in May
areas , reducing involvement in other areas ; _ _ 2016
(5) , Britain tried to maintain a position as
The EU decided to cooperate in all fields [21 ] . "isolated " as possible , taking advantage of
intergovernmentalism , multiple speeds ,
With these scenarios , Europe faces many participating only in the single market , not
options for the future . _ Choosing the form of joining the Economic and Monetary Union
development will entail : _
as well as the Schengen Agreement . Thus ,
changes in EU functions . _ _ EU leaders also
England is always the weakest link and when
do not exclude the ability to combine forms
activated by common problems of the entire system
of development , towards the best way to
systems such as the public debt crisis , the
achieve the benefits of the people . _ All
immigration crisis , the rise of populism ,
scenarios have different advantages and
protectionism along with external influences ,
disadvantages . _ However, according to
this link has broken open the earliest .
observers , scenario 1 is hardly feasible ,
scenario 2 is too behind , scenario 5 is too
Whether Brexit is a driving force for the
ambitious , and the intermediate scenarios all cause disruption .
EU to continue promoting the unification
There is a certain degree of internal division within the EU .

The EU is always flexible in policy making process or a trigger to trigger a separatist

to achieve consensus in difficult chain reaction depends greatly on the election .
circumstances , so the possible solution will The EU Parliament is here.

still be an " EU with many speeds " and "

menualism " , a step backward , but it is a
Note
necessary and acceptable step backward in
the current context . _ Accordingly , each
2
This research is funded by the National Foundation for
country can participate in deeper integration
into the economic community from a common Science and Technology Development ( Nafosted ) .
Account code : DXTN- 2016.01.
currency , economic and monetary union or just
stop at the unified market , decide whether to
participate in the Schengen Agreement , or the
PESCO Agreement or not. Participation takes References
place over different lengths and short
schedules to ensure that countries have time [1] Nguyen An Ha (2013), Adjusting development policies of

to prepare to meet the requirements posed by some key European countries during the financial crisis

deeper integration . _ _ _ _ Thus , the EU from and global economic recession, Social Sciences

Where there was " unification ", we have now retreated to Publishing House ,

a "loose " connection that creates consensus to be able to overcome Hanoi .

35
Machine Translated by Google

Vietnamese Social Sciences , No. 6 - 2019

[2] Nguyen An Ha (2015), Comparing regional [12] https://www.kormany.hu/...prime-

connectivity models, lessons for ASEAN and suggestions minister/...prime-minister.../interview-with-
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europe-migration-crisis-context-why-now-
and-what-next
[6] http://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/in_
depth/vn-in-europe-look-bk-2015-
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co-nhieu-dot-pha-827837.vov, October
[19] https://pesco.europa.eu/about/
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[20] http://www.sggp.org.vn/tham-do-truoc-vong-
9/apr/10/brexit-eu-to-decide-on-uk-extension-
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[9] https://edition.cnn.com/uk/live-news/brexit-
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[15]http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/et
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EN.pdf/899edf8c-529b-422a-ac1a-
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[17] https://www.dw.com/en/european-central-
bank-keeps-interest-rates-at-record-low/
a-48276824
[18] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
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[22] https://www.thesaigontimes.vn/282999/ECB-
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luong-2600-ti-euro.html

36