group essay :)

Hey guys!


Here is the link to the revised version of our group essay :

http://andrina-suk.blogspot.co.at/2013/12/group-essay-eu-russia-relationship.html?m=1

The European Council

Original version: 

The European Council

The European Council, one of the several institutions of the European Union, plays an important role when it comes to setting a general political direction. It became an official body of the European Union in 2009 when the Treaty of Lisbon came into force. As the EU is often confronted with difficulties which cannot be solved by the individual member states, the heads of state or government of every EU country meet and decide on a general political direction as well as on the EU’s priorities. The decisions are made by consensus. This means that a concept or an idea has to be accepted by every voter or by the qualified majority depending on the nature of the treaty. In addition, the Commission President, the European Council President and the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy take part, but they are not allowed to vote. The meetings take place twice every 6 months usually in Brussels. However, the president Herman van Rompuy, can convene a special meeting if needed.

[172]

Revised version:

The European Council

The European Council, one of several institutions of the European Union, plays an important role when it comes to setting a general political direction. This institution is composed of the Heads of State or Government of the Member States, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the President of the European Commission, who is elected for a term of two and a half years and can be re-elected once. The European Council, which meets at least four times a year, focuses on setting the general political direction of the European Union, sets priorities and debates sensitive issues. The decisions are made by consensus. This means that a concept or an idea has to be accepted by every voter or by a qualified majority depending on the nature of the treaty. Although the European Council is not a legislative body, thus not allowed to pass laws, it is still the cornerstone of the European Union, setting all of its directions.

[165]

Why was the EU founded?

Paragraph brainstorming:
- WWII
- communication, cooperation
- ECSC
- Treaties of Rome --> EEC and Euratom --> EC
- Treaty of Maastricht --> EU
- enlargements
- peace and unity


Original paragraph:

The European Union was founded with the goal of establishing communication and cooperation between countries that had been separated during the Second World War. The devastating effects of World War II and the atrocities that had been committed during that time led to the idea of a unified Europe putting an end to the seemingly endless fights. People were convinced that history must not repeat itself and wanted to find a way to ensure long lasting peace between the different european nations. The first step towards a unified Europe was taken in the 1950s, when the European Coal and Steal Community (ECSC) was established and six countries, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg agreed on running their heavy industries under a common management. Given the success of the ECSC, the Treaties of Rome was signed in 1957, creating the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) that formed the three communities (EC). In 1992, with the Maastricht Treaty, the European Union we live in today was established. Many countries have joined the EU since then and there are many more to come. Today, as then, the EU pursues the same goals: establishing peace and keeping Europe unified. 


Feedback Summary 1: 

- the topic sentence is not introductory 
- the paragraph is too long 
- a little bit wordy
- missing link between the foundation of the EC and the EU 


2nd version: 


The European Union was founded with the goal of establishing communication and cooperation between countries that had been separated during the Second World War. The devastating effects of World War II and the atrocities that had been committed during that time led to the idea of a unified Europe putting an end to the seemingly endless fights. People wanted to prevent history from repeating itself and tried to find a way to ensure long lasting peace between the European nations. The first step towards a unified Europe was taken in the 1950s, when the European Coal and Steal Community (ECSC) was established and six countries, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg agreed on running their heavy industries under a common management. Given the success of the ECSC, the Treaties of Rome was signed in 1957, creating the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) that formed the three communities (EC). In 1992, with the Maastricht Treaty, the European Union we live in today was established. Many countries have joined the EU since then and there are many more to come. Today, as then, the EU pursues the same goals: establishing peace and keeping Europe unified.

Comments:
-still a little bit too long
-commas 
-register

Final version: 

  
The European Union was founded with the goal of establishing communication and cooperation between countries that had been separated during the Second World War. The devastating effects of World War II led to the idea of a unified Europe, putting an end to the seemingly endless fights. People were convinced that history must not repeat itself and wanted to find a way to ensure long lasting peace between the different European nations. The first step towards a unified Europe was taken in the 1950s, when the European Coal and Steal Community (ECSC) was established and six countries, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg agreed on running their heavy industries under a common management. Given the success of the ECSC, the Treaties of Rome was signed in 1957, creating the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). In 1992, with the Maastricht Treaty, the European Union we live in today was established. Many countries have joined the EU ever since and there are many more to come. Today, as then, the EU pursues the same goals: peace and unity.

Corrected version: 

The European Union was founded with the goal of establishing communication and cooperation between countries that had been separated during the Second World War. The devastating effects of World War II led to the idea of a unified Europe, putting an end to the seemingly endless conflicts. People were convinced that history must not repeat itself and wanted to find a way to ensure long lasting peace between the different European nations. The first step towards a unified Europe was taken in the 1950s, when the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was established and six countries, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg agreed on running their heavy industries under a common management. Given the success of the ECSC, the Treaties of Rome was signed in 1957, creating the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). The European Union we live in today was established in 1992, with the Maastricht Treaty. Many countries have joined the EU since then and there are many waiting to join. Then as now, the EU pursues the same goals: peace and unity.