'Despite the extenxive advances in integration in the European Union, Essay

'Despite the extenxive advances in integration in the European Union, the member states remain in the driving seat'. How accura - Essay Example ember States are Seen to Remain in the Driving Seat.† How Accurate is this Description of Where Power Lies in the European Union? Introduction The European Union The European Union which is more formally referred to as the European Economic and Monetary Union is essentially an economic and political Union that that comprises of 28 different countries that are seen to primarily located in Europe. The European Union (EU) is seen to primarily operate through a number of institutions that variously include; the European Union Council, the EU court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Commission as well as the European Parliament. The Union essentially serves to establish a common market for use by its different member states, a factor that caused the Union to eliminate the restive border controls that existed between the member states. This has allowed for the relatively free flow of both people and goods although there are however, random checks that are normally conduc ted to prevent drug trafficking and crime between the different members states (Staab, 2013). The common market formed by the European Union is seen to allow for the legal sale of products that have been manufactured in one country in another different country without the restrictive influence of any duties or tariffs. Taxes across the Union’s different member countries are also seen to have been greatly standardized. The EU is also seen to allow service providers in various fields such as medicine, banking, law, tourism, and insurance to freely operate across all the different member countries of the Union. While the formulation of successive treaties is seen to have helped provide the EU with an extensively elaborate foreign policy making machinery, the various member states of the EU are seen to not collectively mobilize their strength to help the Union fully realize its power. It is this position that is seen to raise question surrounding power in the European Union and t he general postulation that â€Å"Despite the Extensive Advances in the Integration of the European Union, the Member States are Seen to Remain in the Driving Seat.† The History of The Formation of the European Union The idea behind the formation of a unified Union Europe is seen to not be a new one. During the 9th Century, the Frankish emperor is seen to have made efforts towards the unification of Europe and ended up dominating much of Europe. During the beginning of the 19th century, Napoleon Bonaparte is seen to have led France in an attempt to try and attain this objective and also ended up conquering a large part of Europe. During the 1930’s, the dream of having a unified Europe is seen to have been borne by Adolph Hitler who sparked the second world war in his attempt to conquer all of Europe. Throughout history, numerous wars

Merger & Acquisition in Pharmaceutical Industry Dissertation

Merger & Acquisition in Pharmaceutical Industry - Dissertation Example This essay stresses that M&As can be motivated from multiple sources. This conclusion is supported by industry surveys of pharmaceutical firms who report having multiple M&A goals: grow the core business, realize cost synergies, acquire new technologies, gain competitive advantage, generate fiscal advantage, and so on. Such a phenomenon is not unique to pharmaceutical firms; firms in other industries typically have multiple objectives in pursuing M&As. It is possible, of course, that many positive aspirations are voiced to disguise underlying motivations for cost synergies. This paper makes a conclusion that the problem with multiple rationales noted in these other industries may also pertain to pharmaceuticals: the lack of a clear focus in the merger and the presence of conflicting agendas. In the presence of multiple goals, the intentions of the two firms (particularly if one acquires the other) are likely to diverge, if not conflict. Moreover, there may be a simultaneous (and confusing) effort to cut costs and pursue growth. Other problems that stem from multiple rationales concern the merger implementation effort – for example, the difficulty in mapping out the implementation steps due to the need to accommodate a variety of potentially conflicting interests and directions. Multiple rationales may thus prove dysfunctional during the merger transition and lead to unresolvable conflicts. Industry analysts argue that one party in clear control, with a dominant economic rationale, a simple program, great communication, and excellent execution, is the critical ingredient for M&A success.