Pakistan-EU: A Partnership in Slow Progression

Byline: M. Saeed Khalid The European Union has traversed several stages of development and consolidation since its inception as an economic community in 1957 under the Treaty of Rome. A gradual process of integration has brought important gains to the Europeans. The EU is a global political and economic player in the same league as the US and China. With 27 member states and a population of half a billion, the Union constitutes the single largest customs union and common market. The monetary union of 13 EU members successfully adopted the Euro as their common currency, which has emerged as the world's second most important monetary unit after the US dollar. It should, however, be understood that European integration in the framework of the EU is essentially through non-military means. Modest gains have been made in the form of some EU sponsored peace-keeping operations. The EU does aim at a common foreign and security policy but military commitments of its members remain in the ambit of NATO, where most of them are represented.