Research Paper on:
European Union and the Reluctance of Switzerland to Join

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
was nearly a decade ago that the Maastricht accord for the formation of the European Union (EU) and the common currency the euro were first formalized. Nearly all the  attendees at the meetings were positive about the future economic effects of the EU, and nearly all the nations of Europe strove to ensure that their economies would meet the  stringent requirements allowing first-wave membership in 1999. Two nations opted out of that first-wave membership, however. Great Britain cannot abide being dictated  to by a power that supercedes its own Parliament, which is the effect that the British - as do all other members - would see. The people of Switzerland  chose not to join the EU either, but their reasons are less clear. Historical Basis  At Maastricht in 1992, Germany was able to push through some stringent requirements for membership in the then-future European Monetary Union (EMU). Germanys economy was performing better than most  European nations at the time but took a turn for the worse as the recession of that time spread throughout the world and the pressures of competition and globalization began  to more greatly effect the Germany economy. As the time neared for deadlines of assessing national economies for the first wave of membership in the EMU, Germany was in  danger of missing the first wave. All of Europe improved in those years of 1997 and 1998, and all of Europes leading economies opting into the union were able  to join in the first wave in 1999. The Vision What the European leaders envisioned