The Maastricht Treaty created a trulysupranational organization in which
member states have relinquished a significant amount of control over their bor-
ders, and for those in the monetary union, over their economic policy as well.
The so-called “Schengen area” allows for a borderless region across most of
Europe, including several countries that are not members of the European Union.
A handful of EU member states are not party to the Schengen agreement but are
expected to implement its provisions at some point in the future. In effect, virtually
the entire European region now functions as a single entity in terms of border
security, representing a population in excess of 400 million people, or only slightly
less than the population of the United States and Mexico combined. In addition to
a common currency, the euro, the EU hasdeveloped other characteristics of a
nation-state, such as an anthem, a flag, and a number of governinginstitutions,
including a bicameral legislature composed of the European Parliament (EP) and
the European Council. The members of the EP are directly elected by European
voters. Thus, in a number of areas the EU appears to have acquired the powers
of afederation, but there have been signs in recent years that the public in a num-
ber of member states is unwilling to grantsupreme sovereignty to the organiza-
tion. In 2005 both the French and the Dutch rejected ratification of the European
Constitution, resulting in a setback for those who wished to invest and centralize
more political power in the EU political institutions. Nevertheless, the EU repre-
sents a special accomplishment in terms of political and economic integration, a
feat acknowledged in the organization’s self-description on its official Web site:
The European Union (EU) is a family of democratic European countries,
committed to working together for peace and prosperity. It is not a State
intended to replace existing states, but it is more than any other international
organization. The EU is, in fact, unique. Its Member States have set up
common institutions to which they delegate some of their sovereignty so that
decisions on specific matters of joint interest can be made democratically at
European level (capitalization as in the original).The European Union’s experiment with supranationalism is a work in progress,
and few observers, both within Europe and outside the region, would attempt a
prediction as to how broad the geographical sweep of the organization will ulti-
mately be, or how successfully future challenges to even greater integration will
be met. One of the more vexing problems the EU faces is the question of Turkey’s
ascension to full member status. The Turkish government first applied for full
membership in the late 1980s, and after 20 years it appears Turkey remains at least
a decade away from joining the organization as a full member, although the coun-
try has had associate membership for decades. Turkey’s turbulent relationship withSupranationalism 331