THE EUROPEAN UNION HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF MANY RADICAL LEGISLATION WHICH HAS SET PRECEDENTS AROUND THE GLOBE. HERE'S HOW.
Often on this blog, the European Union has been described as an "inept geopolitical power" and its existential crisis has also been examined in great detail. However, despite all its shortcoming, the EU has been a true global leader in passing laws which have had a colossal impact on the parties involved and the laws have cascaded overseas to a certain extent as well. Let's have a look at some of them:
PLAYING WITH DATA
EU was one of the first global players to understand & act upon the security threat of data. The General Data Protection Regulation, passed in 2018, is the toughest data security legislation passed anywhere in the world. Given below is the snapshot of the law:
The law applies to every resident of EU, irrespective of the location of the company.
The penalties imposed on breaching are astronomically high. They max out at 20 million euros or 4% of global revenue, whichever is higher.
User consent is mandatory to collect any personal data.
A User can be compensated if his data is extracted & misused without prior permission (this will have far-reaching implications as a monetary value can be assigned to misused data)
Strict protection has to be provided to user data collected through measures like end to end encryption & two-fold authentication.
As you might have gauged, these laws are one of a kind and path-breaking. Major democracies like India and Japan have no definitive data laws. So the GDPR can act as a guiding light for these nations.
NO MORE BLATANT COPYING
The EU passed a divisive copyright law in 2019 which has the potential to change the face of the internet forever.
Basically, the law aims to remunerate the artists & creators whose content is reproduced on the Internet.
This is a major creator vs big tech event with both sides claiming it will either lead to "empowered creativity" or the "death of the internet".
A creator can receive royalties or any form of compensation during his lifetime and his family members till 70 years of his/her death.
Some nations like the UK & Poland have outright refused this legislation & are not willing to enact this law in their respective parliaments.
It is unclear as of now which nations will actually accept this amendment.
What is clear is that this legislation can drastically alter the lives of millions of creators around the union as well as change the landscape of the Internet from what we see now.
AN ECO-FRIENDLY LAW
EU has acted as a torchbearer for the world by being the first major body (first even amongst nations) to lay a target of being net-zero emitter of greenhouse gas by 2060!
This initiative has accentuated a slew of green legislations around the world which has culminated in an eco-friendly movement around the globe.
The action plan is formulated around cutting emissions, investing in green technologies and protecting the natural environment.
The COVID-19 Pandemic has aptly illustrated the power of nature. In such a scenario, it is imperative that the world takes climate change seriously. And the EU has made sure the world will.
On the plus side, their efforts seemed to have worked in their favour as well. The chart below shows how European countries are leading the EPI globally (EPI quantifies the performance of a government's environmental policy)
THE EURO WAY
Going a bit back in time to 19922, the Maastricht Treaty legitimized the dream of a common European currency.
Nowhere before was a common currency adopted on such a large scale by such prominent economies.
2002 was the year in which cash & coin started circulating in the member states of the EU.
After all these years, it seems like the Europeans are happy with their decision.
PARTING THOUGHTS
The EU is a leading neo-liberal organisation which in my humble opinion, has lead the way in forward-thinking legislation. There were other spheres like migration, IP & trade agreements (Schengen Area) where EU has again thrown a futuristic spotlight. These are subjects for perhaps another day! All things considered, democracies around the world can take a leaf out of the EU's book & try to enact these reforms after due modification for the local economy.