The European Union (EU) has come a long way since it was formed 50 years ago.
Since 1957, when the six signatory nations to the Treaty of Rome unveiled the European Economic Community (EEC), the ranks of its members have swelled to 27 and the Union has morphed into not only an economic but also a political powerhouse.
This political element could in itself be taken as testimony to the economic achievements:
Had the EEC, and later the EU, not successfully pushed aside obstacles to economic growth - creating a customs union and then the single market, lifting exchange controls that removed barriers to trade, agreeing a competition policy that aided the efficient development of commerce - then there would have been every chance the project would have flopped rather than prospered.
As it is, the near 500 million people who live in the EU's member states now account for almost a third of global GDP, or gross domestic product. Economic output has soared, and per capita wealth along with it.
Enlargement is helping more countries to join the party.
The newcomers are hoping to follow in the footsteps of formerly poor countries like Greece, Ireland and Portugal, whose economic performance supports the argument that the EU has not only fostered economic prosperity but also facilitated a more equitable distribution of wealth amongst its members.
Disgruntled voters
But whilst economic success during the early years did speed up political integration, the economic concerns of the past decade appear to have had precisely the opposite effect.
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EU in figures
 Accounts for 30% of global GDP
Some 500 million people
315 million people in 13 countries use the euro
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"Brussels" became the favourite scapegoat of many politicians. Many national problems have been blamed on the EU, while in some countries the large body of EU-wide regulation is perceived either as an unnecessary burden or too liberal for society's good.
No wonder that many voters have become disenchanted with the European Union, as they worry about sluggish economic growth and high rates of unemployment, especially in the nations that founded the EEC.
In 2005, Dutch and French voters rejected their governments' plans to ratify the European constitution.
Hits and misses
However, although the Union's political climate is a useful yardstick of economic performance, it is often precisely political disagreement that gets in the way of measuring success.
There is little agreement on the EU's most important economic hits and misses. Here are some of the areas where the debate is fiercest.
Ever since wine lakes and butter mountains created headlines during the 1970s, the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has found itself under attack from free-trade proponents both within the EU and beyond.
The CAP accounts for some 45bn euros ($60bn; £30bn) or nearly half the total EU budget.
Are fast economic growth and job security mutually exclusive?
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Indeed, the lavish subsidies to both commercially unviable farms and agroindustrial big business are often hailed as evidence that the EU is not working.
The CAP is also blamed for the misery of farmers outside the EU. Subsidies depress agricultural prices, which makes it difficult for farmers in Africa, Latin America and elsewhere to compete with the EU's subsidised farmers.
But the policy is also secretly admired by many for having preserved the countryside - especially in France - and small-scale farming across Europe.
So although not many seem to be prepared to stand up and defend the CAP, pushing through any meaningful reforms has been a painfully slow process.
Looking back, it is tempting to declare euro a resounding success.
Job creation is crucial as unemployment remains a problem
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Businesses trading within the eurozone have benefited a great deal from stable exchange rates and transparent markets, and while the euro's initial weakness boosted the area's exporters, its recent strength has done a lot to insulate member nations from the sharp rises in global commodity markets, especially oil, which are priced in US dollar.
In 2002, euro notes and coins were introduced in the eurozone, and although 315 million people in 13 countries now use the currency daily, many feel poorer as a result.
The launch of the euro has been widely blamed for a bout of inflation, with retailers using the changeover to hide sharp price rises of ordinary goods, ranging from espressos in Rome to pints of stout in Dublin.
EU exporters selling to customers outside the Union also bemoan the strong euro, which is making its goods and services more expensive.
But the main challenge posed by the euro is its one-size-fits-all monetary policy. A single interest rate applies to the entire eurozone, but for some economies this rate is probably very inappropriate. The same could be said for some of the larger countries, where for example Germany's poor east and its rich south might want to have different interest rates.
Much was made of last year's creation of three million jobs within the European Union, yet despite such headline grabbing figures there is little doubt that many EU member states, and indeed many regions within, are suffering from stubbornly high rates of unemployment.
Job creation has long been a declared goal shared by all EU member states, though there is no agreement about how to go about it.
Each country has chosen different tools for the job.
Britain and France are at opposite ends of the debate, with most other member nations somewhere in between.
In the UK the rate of unemployment stands at 5%, which is relatively low, at least by European standards. Deregulated labour markets are claimed to be behind the success. If it is easy to shed workers, employers find it less risky to create new jobs, and hence unemployment falls.
In France, where unemployment has been hovering around 10% for years, there is widespread scepticism about such Anglo-American attitudes to commerce. More people may be out of a job, but those who have one can feel more secure.
Lamentably weak economic growth, in the lower single digit percentages, is another cause of concern for many within the EU.
It is made all the more worrying by the emergence of China, India, Brazil and Russia as new powerful competitors.
Compared with these newcomers, the EU is suffering a relative economic decline, and it is widely agreed that what is crucial for the EU at this stage is to stimulate innovation to boost competitiveness and growth.
Only then can the Union make sure what was gained during the last 50 years will not be lost during the next half century.
At 0200 EST (0700 GMT) clocks moved forward by an hour, shifting an hour of daylight from morning to evening.
Summer time will last until 4 November, a week later than in previous years.
The extra four weeks are expected to help cut energy consumption, as demand falls for electricity in the evening if it is still light.
The measure was signed into law in two years ago as part of the Energy Policy Act which aims to encourage new energy technologies.
Representatives Edward Markey and Fred Upton, who sponsored the amendment to the original bill, said it was expected to save $4.4bn in energy bills by 2020 and avoid the need to build more than three large electric power plants.
They said it also would save 279 billion cubic feet of natural gas, and avoid nearly 10.8 million metric tons of carbon emissions.
"The change in the beginning of daylight saving time is just one step towards making our country more efficient in its usage of energy and conscious of our environment," Mr Markey said on Wednesday.
"Not only will Americans have more daylight at their disposal for four additional weeks in the year, but we will also see wide energy saving, less crime, fewer traffic fatalities, more recreation time and increased economic activity.
"Ultimately, daylight saving just brings a smile to everybody's faces."
Critics of the measure say the early switch may potentially lead to computer failures and cause minor headaches such as electronic calendars being out of synch, leading to missed appointments.
Canada also advances its clocks this weekend, with all provinces moving forward an hour, except Saskatchewan which does not observe Daylight Saving Time.
Thousands are held under the "re-education through labour" system
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Reforming the "re-education through labour" system is one of 20 items to be tabled at next week's National People's Congress, the China Daily reported.
The newspaper backed changes to the law, but warned of stiff opposition.
The system, known as "laojiao", allows police to send mainly petty criminals to jail for up to four years.
As many as 400,000 people have served terms in "re-education through labour" camps, the China Daily reports.
Adopted in 1957 as a way of tackling dissidents, the law is now frequently used to punish suspects in minor crimes such as prostitution, drug use and petty theft.
However, critics say it has also been used as a way of detaining political and religious activists.
'Lots of disagreements'
The China Daily said the NPC would consider a new, more lenient version of the law when it meets next week.
Under the proposal, the camps would be re-named "correctional centres", all bars and gates would be removed and the incarceration period shortened to less than 18 months, the paper reports.
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PARLIAMENTARY AGENDA
 Draft laws on tax and property
New motions aimed at tackling government corruption
School fee exemptions for some areas
Macro-economic controls
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In an editorial, the China Daily welcomed the proposed changes, saying the current law is "increasingly out of step with the country's progress in protecting human rights".
However, the newspaper pointed out that the proposed legislation has been on the parliament's agenda for the last two years, "and the standing committee said there were still "lots of disagreements" this year".
There are also no plans to change another labour camp system called "reform through labour", or "laogai", under which political activists have also been detained.
The annual session of the National People's Congress, which largely rubber-stamps decisions made by the ruling Communist Party, opens on Monday.
As well as "laojiao", the parliament is also expected to consider important laws on corporate tax and property rights as well as education.