Political history of Europe
The European political scene is subject to various trends and factors. Before the devastation of World War II, the European political sphere was dominated by three financial and industrial giants, these being France, Germany and the United Kingdom. The root of that domination is often attributed to the Industrial Revolution, which began on the island of Britain and quickly spread to the rest of the continent.
The Second World War, however truly destroyed the continent's stability and almost all industrial centres, as well as its infrastructure. When this happened, most countries in the Eastern part of Europe fell under the control of the Communist Soviet Republic. The countries that weren't controlled by them received aid from the United Nations, which helped them rebuild their economies. This division led to the rapid economic improvement of the Western states and serious delays in the economies of the Eastern block. As World War II ended, another war began known as the Cold War, which involved agents and spies, and a policy of isolation.During the Cold War era, the European Community formed in Western Europe grew from six to twelve members, with emphasis being placed on the economy of West Germany. In 1991, when the final USSR president Gorbachev was in power, the Eastern Block collapsed and started the process known as perestroika. The countries that were under the strong influence of the USSR separated, and tried to adapt their economics to the free market system. Those who succeeded were Poland, Slovenia and Hungary, while Russia and Ukraine had a tough time. Then Yugoslavia was shaken by a civil war which lasted for ten years and led to its division into Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Macedonia.Germany also had a hard time attempting to unify its western and eastern parts, once unnaturally separated by the Berlin Wall.
The current political atmosphere on the continent is influenced by many historical events, economic changes and cultural contributions. Today, European politics is dominated mainly by the European Union, which became strong after the end of the Cold War and the Eastern Bloc where Communism ruled. Membership in the European Union was presented and perceived as a highly positive process. Once a union of only a few countries, in the beginning of the new century the European Union accepted ten new countries, mostly former Communist states. In 2007, the European Union accepted Bulgaria and Romania, and thus the number of member countries reached twenty seven. All these countries are now represented in the European Parliament.Many countries have adopted a unified currency, the euro. Other countries maintained their original currency but pegged the value to the euro, like Bulgaria, Lithuania and Estonia, for example. The major European economic sectors are agriculture and manufacturing. The trade partners of the European Union are mainly the United States, Russia and China. Of all members of the European Union, Germany has the strongest economy on the continent, followed by France and the UK. In answer to the strong economy of the European countries, in 2005 Russia formed a trade union which is considered a rival to the European Union and is named the Commonwealth of Independent States, open only to members of the former USSR. The Commonwealth includes twelve countries that coordinate their powers in terms of finance and free-trade, as well as security and lawmaking. The plans of the Commonwealth of Independent States include the introduction of a single currency for members of the union.
