欧洲联盟：走向“欧洲合众国”？

美欧家

The European Union: Toward a “United States of Europe”?

After World War II, European leaders vowed to stop the endless cycle of wars on their continent. To achieve this goal, they began a process of economic and political unification that some hoped would lead to a “United States of Europe.”

第二次世界大战后，欧洲领导人发誓要停止在他们大陆上的无休止的战争循环。为了实现这一目标，他们开始了经济和政治一体化的进程，希望将会最终实现“欧洲合众国”。

The history of the EU in six steps:

欧盟历史发展的六个进程：

1. In 1952, six European nations form the European Coal and Steel Community: France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Italy.

1952年六个欧洲国家组成的欧洲煤炭和钢铁共同体：法国，德国，比利时，卢森堡，荷兰和意大利。

2. The success of the Coal and Steel Community encouraged further economic and political unification. In 1957,the six member nations signed treaties in Rome that established the European Economic Community (EEC).

煤炭和钢铁共同体的成功，鼓励了进一步的经济和政治的统一。1957年，六个成员国签署了罗马条约，成立了欧洲经济共同体（EEC）。

3. The EEC established a European Parliament.

欧洲经济共同体建立了欧洲议会。

4. The economic advantages of the European common market led to its enlargement. Britain joined in 1973 mainly for economic reasons. Greece joins in 1981.

欧洲共同市场的经济优势导致了它的扩大。英国1973年加入主要是为了经济原因。希腊于1981年加入。

5. The treaty signed at Maastricht in 1992, a city in the Netherlands, created the European Union.

1992年在荷兰城市马斯特里赫特签署条约，创造了欧洲联盟。

6. The Maastricht treaty alsoestablishes the common European currency, the euro.

马斯特里赫特条约建立欧洲共同货币-欧元。

The European Union today consists of 28 member nations.

欧洲联盟今天由28个成员国组成。

The EU is stronger and more democratic than it was when six nations established the European Economic Community in 1957. Yet, the EU is still not a federalized “United States of Europe.” Some of the bodies that make decisions for the European Union as a whole are:

相比于1957年由六个国家建立的欧洲经济共同体，欧盟变得更加强大和民主化。然而，欧盟还不是一个联邦的“欧洲合众国”。一些作为一个整体做出决定的欧盟机构是：

The Council of Ministers: This body consists of top officials from the national governments with the exclusive authority to vote on EU legislation and policies. A few votes must beunanimous; some are by a simple majority; others require a weighted ballot based on national population.

部长理事会：该机构由国家政府高级官员组成，具有专属权力，对欧盟的立法和政策进行表决。一些表决必须是票数一致通过；有些则是以一个简单的多数票通过；另一些则要求以全国人口为基础进行加权投票。

The European Parliament: This one-house legislature has more than 600 members organized by political parties on a multinational basis. European citizens elect members for five-year terms. The Parliament, now considered a “co-decision maker” with the Council of Ministers, still cannot propose legislation. This is the most democratic EU institution.

欧洲议会：这个众议院立法机构拥有超过600名基于跨国基础上的各政治党派组织的成员。欧洲公民选出五年任期的成员。议会与部长理事会现在被认为是一个“联合决策者”，但仍然不能提出立法。这是欧盟最民主的机构。

总有一天，跟随美利坚合众国的样本，将会出现一个欧洲合众国。——乔治华盛顿

The Commission: Headed by 20 commissioners appointed to five-year terms by the national governments, the Commission hasthe sole authority to propose legislation. The Commission also consists of more than 20 departments that work with national governments to implement EU laws.This institution most reflects the desire for European unification.

欧盟委员会：以各成员国国家政府推选任命的20名委员为首，5年任期。该委员会有唯一的权力提出立法。委员会还包括20多个部门与各国政府合作执行欧盟法律。这一机构最能反映欧洲统一的愿望。

The European Court of Justice: Consisting of 15 judges appointed by the national governments for six-year renewable terms, the court makes rulings on EU treaties and laws. It also decides disputes among EU institutions, member nations, corporations, and individuals. The court has significantly ruled that member nations have limited their own sovereignty in some areas, making EU treaties and legislation supreme overnational constitutions and laws.

欧洲法院：由各成员国国家政府推选任命的15名法官组成，6年任期可连任，法院对欧盟条约和法律做出裁决。它也可以裁定欧盟机构、成员国、企业和个人之间的争端。法院已明显地统治成员国在某些领域限制自己的主权，制定的欧盟条约和立法要高于国家宪法和法律。

The European Council: National heads of government, foreign ministers, and representatives of the Commission meet two or more times a year to set the EU agenda. They may also override decisions of the Council of Ministers. This institution operates somewhat above the regular EU structure as a sort of “board of directors.”

欧洲委员会：各国政府首脑、外交部长和欧盟委员会的代表每年会召开2次或更多的会议来制定欧盟议程。他们还可以推翻部长理事会的决定。这一机构作为一种“董事会”在欧盟结构上有一定的运作。

Most agree that the EU is not yet a federal union, although member nations have mainly given up some sovereignty such us their economic authority in order to enjoy the benefits of a common market. However, the EU still has no elected president, no military force, no foreign policy, and no real power to enforce its laws.

On the contrary, a federal union such as the United States is a political system of shared sovereignty with significant central government powers and others that the states exercise.

大多数人都认为，欧盟还没有一个联邦联盟，虽然成员国大都主要放弃了一些主权，如经济权力以便享受共同市场的利益。然而，欧盟仍没有当选总统，没有军事力量，没有外交政策，没有真正的权力机构来执行它的法律。

与之相反的是，如美国的联邦制是一种具有重要的中央政府权力与各州独立行使权力的共同主权的政治制度。

In the recent years, European leaders seek more and more the solutions to their problems from the joint European prespective. As the economies of the European countries become more intertwined, and the feeling of being a European citizen becomes stronger than the national feeling of the residents; the European Union gets closer to becoming the United States of Europe.

近年来，欧洲领导人从欧洲联合的角度寻求更多的解决问题的办法。随着欧洲国家的经济越来越交织在一起，做为一名欧洲公民的感觉变得比一个国家居民的民族感要强烈很多；欧盟更接近成为欧洲合众国。