ABSTRACT
In March 2007 the European Union (EU) celebrated 50 years since the
Treaty of Rome which established the European Economic Community
(EEC), with the self-congratulatory Berlin Declaration.1 Despite a
number of failings, it had enough with which to be content. Whether
the EU will be able to boast about its achievements in 2017 or whether
it will find itself pensioned off at the age of 60 is a more open question.
This chapter will provide an overview of some of the main aspects of
the EU, with a view to the future.
