ABSTRACT
Following the Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, in 1993 the EEC has become known as the European Community (EC) and the EU was created. The change of nomenclature is not merely cosmetic. The influence of the EU is now so widespread that it deals with more than simply economic matters and the EU is a more appropriate title. The aims of the EU now include economic and monetary union, the promotion of high levels of employment and the protection of economic and social rights. This expansion of the EU’s role and influence has brought it into conflict with some of the member states who are concerned that their national identity will be subsumed into a federal European state somewhat akin to the USA. A good example of such a conflict are the continuing debates in the UK over proposed monetary union, the relaxation of cross-border immigration controls from which the UK has opted out and the ‘Social Chapter ’ from which the UK originally opted out, but eventually opted in 1997.
