Aims of the EU and how far have they been achieved | 欧盟的目标及其实现程度

📚 Aims of the EU and how far have they been achieved | 欧盟的目标及其实现程度

The European Union (EU) was founded on a set of ambitious, interlocking aims designed to secure lasting peace, promote economic integration, and enhance political cooperation among its members. From the Schuman Declaration of 1950 to the Treaty of Lisbon, the Union’s goals have expanded to include a single currency, a borderless travel area, common foreign policy, and robust social and environmental standards. This article examines the key aims of the EU and critically assesses how far they have been achieved, blending historical reference with contemporary evaluation.

欧洲联盟 (EU) 建立之初就确立了一系列雄心勃勃且相互关联的目标，旨在确保成员国之间的持久和平、推动经济一体化并加强政治合作。从 1950 年的舒曼宣言到《里斯本条约》，欧盟的宗旨已拓展至单一货币、无边界旅行区、共同外交政策以及强有力的社会和环境标准。本文审视欧盟的核心目标，结合历史参照与当代评估，批判性分析这些目标迄今的实现程度。

1. The overarching aim of peace and stability | 和平与稳定的总目标

The primary impetus behind European integration was to make war between France and Germany – and by extension among the nations of Europe – “not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible”. The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) of 1951 placed the industries of war under a common authority. This objective has been largely realised: no armed conflict has occurred between EU member states since the Union’s inception, earning the EU the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.

欧洲一体化的最初动力是让法德之间——进而在整个欧洲各国之间——的战争“不仅是无法想象的，而且在物质上不可能发生”。1951 年的欧洲煤钢共同体将战争关键产业置于共同管理之下。这一目标总体上已实现：自欧盟诞生以来，成员国之间未再发生武装冲突，欧盟因此在 2012 年获颁诺贝尔和平奖。

However, the peace project has been tested by the Yugoslav wars in the 1990s, during which the EU’s inability to prevent atrocities on its doorstep exposed serious limitations in its common foreign and security apparatus. More recently, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has prompted the Union to strengthen its defence dimension, revealing that peace cannot be taken for granted. While intra-EU peace is an undeniable success, the goal of projecting stability beyond its borders remains a work in progress.

然而，这一和平工程在 20 世纪 90 年代南斯拉夫战争期间经受了考验：欧盟无力在其家门口阻止暴行，暴露了共同外交与安全机制的严重局限。最近，俄罗斯 2022 年入侵乌克兰，促使欧盟加强其防务维度，表明和平不可视为理所当然。尽管欧盟内部和平的确是无可否认的成就，但向外投射稳定这一目标尚在推进之中。

2. Creating a single European market | 建立单一欧洲市场

The single market, formally completed in 1993, aimed to guarantee the free movement of goods, services, capital, and people – the “four freedoms”. By eliminating tariffs, quotas, and regulatory barriers, the EU sought to boost competition, lower consumer prices, and create an integrated economic space that could rival the United States and, later, China. Legislation on product standards, mutual recognition, and competition policy has been highly developed.

单一市场于 1993 年正式建成，旨在保障商品、服务、资本和人员的自由流动，即“四大自由”。通过消除关税、配额和监管壁垒，欧盟力求促进竞争、降低消费价格，并打造一个可与美国、以及日后与中国抗衡的一体化经济空间。在产品质量标准、相互认可以及竞争政策方面的立法已十分完善。

In terms of trade, the single market is a clear success: intra-EU trade accounts for around two thirds of member states’ total trade, and EU GDP is estimated to be 8-9% higher than it would have been without the single market. Nevertheless, barriers persist in services, digital markets, and energy. The Capital Markets Union remains incomplete, and different national tax regimes create distortions. The COVID-19 pandemic also temporarily disrupted supply chains and highlighted the fragility of cross-border interdependence. The goal is substantially achieved, but full untapped potential still exists.

就贸易而言，单一市场取得了明显成功：欧盟内部贸易约占成员国贸易总额的三分之二，据估算欧盟GDP 比没有单一市场时高出 8-9%。尽管如此，服务业、数字市场和能源领域仍存在壁垒。资本市场联盟尚未完成，各国不同的税收体制造成了扭曲。新冠疫情也曾暂时中断供应链，凸显了跨境相互依赖的脆弱性。这一目标已大体实现，但尚未充分释放全部潜力。

3. Economic and monetary union (EMU) | 经济与货币联盟

A more ambitious aim was the creation of a single currency to eliminate exchange rate risk, increase price transparency, and symbolise European unity. The euro was introduced in 1999, and today 20 of the 27 EU countries share the eurozone. The European Central Bank (ECB) sets monetary policy with a primary mandate of price stability.

更为宏大的目标是创建单一货币，以消除汇率风险、提高价格透明度并象征欧洲团结。欧元于 1999 年推出，如今 27 个欧盟国家中有 20 个加入了欧元区。欧洲中央银行 (ECB) 负责制定货币政策，其首要任务是维持价格稳定。

The euro has become the world’s second most important reserve currency, and intra-eurozone trade has flourished. Yet the sovereign debt crisis of 2010-2012 exposed the dangers of a monetary union without a full fiscal union: countries like Greece could not devalue their way out of crisis. The EU subsequently created the European Stability Mechanism and strengthened fiscal rules, but a genuine banking union and common fiscal capacity remain elusive. High inflation in 2022-2023 also strained the single monetary policy. The EMU is partly achieved; it functions in normal times but reveals fault lines during crises.

欧元已成为全球第二大储备货币，欧元区内部贸易蓬勃发展。然而 2010-2012 年的主权债务危机暴露了没有完全财政联盟的货币联盟的危险：像希腊这样的国家无法通过贬值走出危机。欧盟随后建立了欧洲稳定机制并强化财政规则，但真正的银行业联盟和共同财政能力仍遥不可及。2022-2023 年的高通胀也给单一货币政策带来压力。经济货币联盟已部分实现；它在常态时期运转，在危机时期却暴露出裂痕。

4. Promoting free movement of people (Schengen) | 促进人员自由流动（申根区）

The Schengen Agreement, incorporated into EU law, abolished passport controls at mutual borders and created a single external frontier. Today the Schengen Area encompasses 23 EU members plus four associate countries. The aim was to give substance to European citizenship and facilitate labour mobility.

被纳入欧盟法律的《申根协定》取消了内部边境的护照检查，并建立了统一的外部边界。如今申根区涵盖 23 个欧盟成员国及 4 个联系国。其目的在于充实欧洲公民身份内涵，便利劳动力流动。

Millions of Europeans study, work, and retire in another member state, and cross-border commuting is normalised. However, the migration crisis of 2015-2016 and subsequent terrorist attacks led several states to reintroduce temporary border controls, some of which have become semi-permanent. The Union also struggles with a common asylum policy, as shown by the prolonged negotiations over the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. While physical border checks are largely gone, the political obstacles to full free movement have re-emerged, tempering the original ambition.

数百万欧洲人在另一成员国学习、工作和退休，跨境通勤已常态化。然而 2015-2016 年的移民危机及随后的恐怖袭击导致多个国家恢复临时边境管制，其中一些已近乎半永久化。欧盟在共同庇护政策上也举步维艰，旷日持久的《移民与庇护新公约》谈判即为明证。尽管实体边境检查基本消失，但实现完全自由流动的政治障碍再度抬头，削弱了最初的愿景。

5. Common Agricultural Policy and fisheries | 共同农业与渔业政策

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was one of the first common policies, aimed at ensuring food security, stabilising markets, and guaranteeing a fair standard of living for farmers. Over decades, CAP absorbed over a third of the EU budget. Its aims were largely met in the early period, turning Europe from a net food importer into a major exporter.

共同农业政策 (CAP) 是最早的共同政策之一，旨在确保粮食安全、稳定市场并保障农民获得公平的生活水平。数十年来，CAP 耗费了欧盟预算的三分之一以上。早期其目标基本实现，将欧洲从净粮食进口地转变为重要出口地。

However, CAP was criticised for creating surpluses, high consumer prices, and environmental damage through intensive farming. Reforms have shifted focus towards rural development, greening, and direct payments decoupled from production. The Common Fisheries Policy has aimed to preserve fish stocks but often failed to prevent overfishing. While food security is assured, the environmental sustainability and equity of these policies remain contested. Achievement is mixed: the core supply goal is met, but the broader objectives of sustainability and fair competition require further reform.

不过，CAP 也因导致生产过剩、消费者价格高企以及集约化农业带来的环境破坏而备受批评。改革已将重心转向农村发展、绿色化以及与产量脱钩的直接支付。共同渔业政策旨在保护鱼类资源，却常常未能阻止过度捕捞。尽管粮食安全已有保障，但这些政策的环境可持续性与公平性仍存争议。实现程度喜忧参半：核心供给目标已达成，但可持续与公平竞争等更广泛目标仍待进一步改革。

6. Regional and social cohesion | 区域与社会凝聚力

The EU has long aimed to reduce disparities between regions through its cohesion policy, enshrined in the Single European Act and subsequent treaties. Structural Funds, the Cohesion Fund, and the Just Transition Fund channel billions of euros to poorer regions to improve infrastructure, create jobs, and foster economic convergence.

欧盟长期以来通过其凝聚政策致力于缩小地区差距，这一目标载于《单一欧洲法案》及后续条约。结构基金、凝聚基金以及公正转型基金向较贫困地区输送了数十亿欧元，用于改善基础设施、创造就业并促进经济趋同。

Countries such as Ireland, Spain, and Poland have seen remarkable convergence in GDP per capita towards the EU average. Nevertheless, regional inequality within member states often persists or even worsens. The 2008 financial crisis and subsequent austerity widened gaps in southern Europe. The EU’s social pillar and minimum wage directive are recent efforts to add a social dimension, yet competence in social policy remains largely national. Cohesion has been advanced, but the goal of a truly inclusive “Social Europe” is still partially unfulfilled.

爱尔兰、西班牙、波兰等国的人均 GDP 已显著向欧盟平均水平趋同。然而，成员国内部的地区不平等通常持续存在，甚至加剧。2008 年金融危机和随后的紧缩政策拉大了南欧的差距。欧盟的社会支柱和最低工资指令是近期增加社会维度的努力，但社会政策的权限仍主要在国家层面。凝聚程度有所提升，但建设真正包容的“社会欧洲”这一目标仍未完全实现。

7. Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) | 共同外交与安全政策

The ambition to speak with one voice in international affairs was formalised in the Maastricht Treaty (1992). The CFSP was intended to allow the EU to act as a global actor, promote democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, and conduct crisis management missions. Institutional innovations like the European External Action Service and the role of the High Representative were created to support this aim.

在国际事务中以统一声音发声的雄心在 1992 年《马斯特里赫特条约》中正式确立。共同外交与安全政策 (CFSP) 旨在让欧盟成为全球行为体，促进民主、人权与法治，并开展危机管理行动。欧洲对外行动署以及高级代表的角色等制度创新均为支持这一目标而设立。

In practice, unanimity requirements often paralyse decision-making, as seen during the Iraq war split or more recently in responses to China and Russia. The EU has deployed over 30 civilian and military missions, but it lacks a unified army and relies heavily on NATO. Sanctions policy has been more coherent, and the coordinated response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, including weapons supply, signalled new assertiveness. The goal remains largely unachieved: the EU is an economic giant but a political dwarf in many high-stakes diplomatic arenas.

在实践中，全体一致的要求常常导致决策瘫痪，伊拉克战争期间的分裂以及近期对华、对俄的反应便是例证。欧盟已部署了 30 多个民事与军事任务，但仍缺少统一军队，且严重依赖北约。制裁政策较为一致，针对俄罗斯入侵乌克兰的协调应对，包括提供武器，显示出新的强硬姿态。该目标在很大程度上仍未实现：欧盟在经济上是巨人，在许多高风险外交领域却是政治矮子。

8. Justice and Home Affairs cooperation | 司法与内务合作

The EU aims to create an area of freedom, security, and justice, with cooperation in policing, judicial matters, asylum, and migration. Agencies such as Europol and Eurojust, and instruments like the European Arrest Warrant, were established to fight cross-border crime and terrorism effectively.

欧盟的目标是创建一个自由、安全与司法的区域，在警务、司法、庇护和移民领域开展合作。欧洲刑警组织、欧洲检察官组织等机构以及欧洲逮捕令等工具均已建立，旨在有效打击跨境犯罪和恐怖主义。

The European Arrest Warrant has simplified extradition, and data-sharing systems have enhanced security. Nonetheless, national sovereignty sensitivities slow progress in harmonising criminal law. Migration and asylum policies remain deeply divisive, with frontline states bearing disproportionate burdens. The area of freedom, security, and justice is functional in many respects, but incomplete harmonisation and solidarity deficits mean the full vision is yet to be attained.

欧洲逮捕令简化了引渡程序，数据共享系统增强了安全性。然而，对国家主权的敏感延缓了刑法协调的进展。移民与庇护政策仍严重分歧，前沿国家承担着过重的负担。自由、安全与司法区域在许多方面运转有效，但协调不彻底和团结赤字意味着完全愿景仍有待实现。

9. Environmental protection and climate leadership | 环境保护与气候领导力

The EU has increasingly made environmental sustainability a core aim, embedding it in treaty provisions and launching the European Green Deal. Objectives include achieving climate neutrality by 2050, reducing emissions by at least 55% by 2030, preserving biodiversity, and promoting a circular economy.

欧盟日益将环境可持续性设为核心目标，将其纳入条约条款，并推出了《欧洲绿色协议》。目标包括到 2050 年实现气候中和，到 2030 年至少减排 55%，保护生物多样性，以及推动循环经济。

EU emissions have fallen by over 30% since 1990, while GDP grew significantly, proving some decoupling is possible. The Emissions Trading System (ETS) has established a carbon price, and legislation on single-use plastics and vehicle emissions sets global standards. Nevertheless, many member states lag behind their national targets, and the social costs of transition cause political backlash. The aim is legally binding and backed by significant funding, making it one of the EU’s most dynamic policy areas – broadly on track, but execution risks remain high.

自 1990 年以来，欧盟排放量已下降 30% 以上，同时 GDP 显著增长，证明了某种程度的脱钩是可能的。排放交易体系 (ETS) 确立了碳定价，而关于一次性塑料和汽车排放的立法设定了全球标准。然而，许多成员国落后于本国目标，而且转型的社会成本引发了政治反弹。该目标具有法律约束力并得到巨额资金支持，成为欧盟最具活力的政策领域之一——总体在正轨上，但执行风险依然很高。

10. Enlargement as a transformative aim | 扩大作为转型目标

From six founding members to 27, the EU’s enlargement policy has been both an aim in itself and a tool to spread stability, democracy, and prosperity across Europe. The “Copenhagen criteria” require candidates to have stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, rule of law, human rights, and a functioning market economy.

从最初的六个创始国到如今的 27 个成员国，欧盟的扩大政策既是目标本身，也是在欧洲传播稳定、民主与繁荣的工具。“哥本哈根标准”要求候选国拥有保障民主、法治、人权以及正常运作市场经济的稳定制度。

The 2004 “big bang” enlargement brought ten mostly Central and Eastern European countries into the Union, successfully consolidating democratic transitions and stimulating economic growth. The prospect of membership continues to drive reforms in the Western Balkans and elsewhere. However, “enlargement fatigue”, concerns over democratic backsliding in Hungary and Poland, and the EU’s own absorption capacity have slowed the process. While enlargement has been a historic success in transforming the continent, the Union is now more cautious, seeking to balance deepening with widening.

2004 年的“大爆炸”东扩将十个主要来自中东欧的国家纳入了欧盟，成功巩固了民主转型并刺激了经济增长。入盟前景继续推进西巴尔干及其他地区的改革。然而，“扩张疲劳”、对匈牙利和波兰民主倒退的担忧，以及欧盟自身的吸纳能力已导致进程放缓。尽管扩大在改变欧洲版图方面取得了历史性成功，但欧盟如今更加谨慎，寻求在深化与扩大之间取得平衡。

11. Democracy, legitimacy, and the rule of law | 民主、合法性与法治

A deeper underlying aim has been to create a community of law based on shared values: respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, and the rule of law (Article 2 TEU). The EU sees itself not only as an economic project but as a values-based union.

更深层次的根本目标是建立一个基于共同价值观的法律共同体：尊重人的尊严、自由、民主、平等以及法治（《欧盟条约》第 2 条）。欧盟不仅视自身为一个经济工程，更是一个基于价值观的联盟。

Yet the rule-of-law crises in Poland and Hungary, democratic backsliding, and the slow triggering of Article 7 procedures have exposed the Union’s limited enforcement toolkit. Perceptions of a “democratic deficit” persist, linked to the Commission’s lack of direct electoral accountability and low turnout in European Parliament elections. The Conference on the Future of Europe proposed reforms, but major treaty change is unlikely. The values aim is partially met: the Union possesses strong legal frameworks, but their enforcement against member states remains inconsistent and politically charged.

然而，波兰和匈牙利的法治危机、民主倒退以及触发第七条程序的缓慢，暴露了欧盟执法工具箱的局限。对“民主赤字”的感受持续存在，这与委员会缺少直接选举问责以及欧洲议会选举投票率低有关。欧洲未来大会提出了改革方案，但重大条约修订可能性不大。价值观目标已部分实现：欧盟拥有强大的法律框架，但针对成员国的执行仍然不一致且充满政治色彩。

12. Overall assessment: How far have the aims been achieved? | 总体评估：目标实现到了何种程度？

Assessing the EU’s aims requires recognising that they have evolved and expanded, creating a moving target. Using a simple classification, several core goals can be graded. The table below summarises a qualitative evaluation based on the evidence surveyed.

评估欧盟的目标需要认识到这些目标已经演变和扩展，形成了一个移动的靶子。通过一个简单的分类，可以对若干核心目标进行评级。下表根据所考察的证据总结了定性评估。

Aim	Achievement level	Key evidence
Peace among members	Largely achieved	No intra-EU wars since 1945
Single market	Substantially achieved	High trade integration, remaining barriers
Economic and monetary union	Partially achieved	Euro widely used; fiscal union missing
Free movement (Schengen)	Largely achieved but fragile	Border-free travel, yet controls reimposed
Common foreign and security policy	Limited achievement	Unanimity blocks, reliance on NATO
Environmental leadership	On track, strong legal framework	Green Deal, ETS, emissions declining
Cohesion and social convergence	Mixed	Convergence in GDP, persistent regional inequality

The EU has clearly succeeded in preventing war between its members and building the world’s largest integrated market. Its environmental ambitions are now globally leading. At the same time, politically sensitive areas where national sovereignty remains paramount – foreign policy, defence, fiscal integration, and migration – have seen only partial progress. Crises have often acted as catalysts, but progress is frequently characterised by “two steps forward, one step back”. The Union’s aims are not achieved in a binary sense; rather, they exist on a continuum, permanently under construction.

欧盟显然在防止成员国间战争并建成全球最大一体化市场方面取得了成功。其环保雄心如今已处于全球领先地位。与此同时，在国家主权依然至上的政治敏感领域——外交、防务、财政一体化以及移民——仅取得了部分进展。危机常常起到催化剂作用，但进展常呈现“进两步，退一步”的特征。欧盟的目标并非以二元化的方式实现，而是存在于一个连续体上，永远处于构建之中。

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Aims of the EU and how far have they been achieved | 欧盟的目标及其实现程度