Pax Europeana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pax Europeana (Latin for "the European peace"), is the long period of relative peace experienced by Northern and Western Europe (including Greece and Turkey) in the period following World War II—often associated above all with the creation of the European Union and its predecessors.[1] After the Cold War this peace was extended to most of Central and Eastern Europe, with the major exception of the former Yugoslavia (1990s).
Northern and Western Europe was after World War II characterised by increasing European and transatlantic cooperation and integration, which is regarded by many as the root cause for this period of peace. After the Cold War many Central and Eastern European countries joined or tried to join the European Union, with European enlargements occurring in 2004 and 2007 respectively, which witnessed the accession of twelve new countries.
This integration process has chiefly been the motor for and raison d'être of the European Union and is widely attributed with being the driver and enabler of this unprecedented period of peace in Europe, although not without question. 2007 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Treaty of Rome which is considered to be the founding document of the European Union, and marks the longest period of peace on the western European mainland since Pax Romana. Now with twenty-seven Member States, the European Union is home for about 500 million people, while peace and prosperity in Europe seems assured.
[edit] References
- ^ Tsoukalis, Loukas (2005). What Kind of Europe?. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199279487.
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