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Summary Lectures Cultures of European Governance
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Extensive lecture notes of all the lectures of the course Cultures of European Governance (European Policy Master).
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Lectures Cultures of European GovernanceLecture 1: Introduction (Including the introductory video’s)
The European Union (EU) is not boring (as it provides not only peace in the last decades, but also
commotion and disagreements between the member states and it is becoming more and more present),
but it is also not very transparent.
Charles Michel is serving as the President of the European Council since 2019.
Ursula von der Leyen is serving as the President of the European Commission since 2019.
Jean-Claude Juncker was the President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019 and he
was the first Spitzenkandidat. This process is the method of linking European Parliament elections by
having each major political group in Parliament nominating their candidate for Commission President
prior to the Parliamentary elections. The Spitzenkandidat of the largest party would then have a
mandate to assume the Commission Presidency.
Josep Borrell Fontelles is serving as the High Representative of the EU for foreign affairs and
security policy and Vice-President of the European Commission since 2019.
We look at the different actors within the EU and the way they interact with one another in the
European sphere through different lenses. Some literature speaks of pendulums that swing between
supranational visions of the EU (above the national level: EU institutions) and intergovernmental
interpretations (member states) of the EU within the history of the EU in which some periods are
more supranational and other periods are with a more intergovernmental approach. Other literature
speaks of European integration as a set of steppingstones towards…. perhaps a federal or more fully
integrated EU or towards a normative endpoint (uncertain). Yet other theories/interpretations argue
that European integration is multi-layered. Different manners in looking at the EU: different
visions/lenses to look at the EU that can/do change over time and over EU history (some are
dominant at some points, others at other points in time). Also, the influence of different EU
institutions changes over times and the politics in the institutions change, with the European
Commission being highly influential during the COVID-19 pandemic with a common approach to the
vaccination process. On the other hand, the Ukraine Crisis has shown the initiative of the member
states a lot.
Institutions:
- The Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee are advisory
bodies to the rest of the European Union and the European Commission is obliged to refer to
the committees/advisory bodies when policies touch on either economic or social issues or
regional issues, but the Commission generally refers to both committees with other policy
fields as well.
- The European Court of Justice is the highest court, and it ensures compliance with the EU
Treaties: supranational.
- The European Council consists of the heads of State or Government + Presidents. The heads
of state meet every six months (or more). Supreme political authority in the EU. Responsible
for treaties and strategic direction. It furthermore sets the EU’s policy agenda, and it
needs to define the EU’s overall direction and priorities. President of the European Council
for 2.5 years – now Charles Michel.
- The Council of Ministers/EU is the voice of EU member states, and the members are the
government ministers from each EU country divided into different policy fields to be
discussed and it adopts EU laws and coordinates EU policies: intergovernmental. Interests of
member states are represented in the European Council and Council of the EU. Participants
are national ministers, in 10 configurations. Preparatory bodies: COREPER I & II. Council of
the EU presidency: currently Czech Republic. Trio formed from three presidencies.
Intergovernmental bargaining: linking dossiers, flexible alliances. Quality Majority Voting.
- The European Commission is a supranational institution of the European Union, and its
main objective is to promote the common interests of the EU (not specifically representing
, member states but representing all different actors within the EU). The Commission has four
main roles:
1. Propose legislation to the Parliament and the Council.
2. Manage and implements EU policies and budget (administrative body).
3. Enforce European law (with the European Court of Justice).
4. Represents the EU on the international stage.
The Commission consists of a political level with the College of Commissioners, and a
bureaucratic level with services and Directorates General (DGs) with the Commissioner’s
Cabinet in between the political and the bureaucratic level.
1. The College of Commissioners consists of one commissioner per member state. The
Commissioners represent the interest of the European Union and not of the country they
are from. They are appointed for a five-year mandate, some of them serve more mandates.
Each Commissioner has a specific portfolio.
2. The personnel of the Commission are divided among departments called “directorate-
generals” (DG) or “services” (e.g., the Legal Service). Each DG oversees a particular area.
A Director General is responsible to the respective Commissioner(s). The DGs prepare
legislative documents. These documents only become official after being “adopted” by
the College. The DGs manage the adopted programs and policies.
Collegiality Principle: Within the Commission, decisions are taken by the “College of
Commissioners”: these decisions and their execution imply the collective responsibility of all
its members.
Principle of administrative coherence: All the services of the European Commission make up
one administrative body serving the College and services are consulted (ISC).
Subsidiarity principle: The EU may legislate only where action is more effective at EU level
than at national, regional, or local level.
Proportionality principle: The EU may legislate no more than necessary to attain the agreed
objectives.
The Commission has the right of initiative.
In terms of consultation, the Commission needs to internally consult all the DGs and services
that have a legitimate interest in the respective issue; takes place informally and formally
(online procedure). Externally, the Commission needs to consult all stakeholders with an
interest in the respective issue (industry, NGOs, trade unions, etc.), meetings and online
consultations.
- The European Parliament represents EU citizens. The first elections were in June 1979,
but the Parliament gained importance and influence during the Lisbon Treaty of 2009. There
is a decreasing voter turnout at the Parliament. There are 705 Members of European
Parliament. Allocation of seats per Member State (MS) (an MEP in Germany represents
approximately 800.000 citizens, whereas an MEP in Malta represents 80.000 residents). There
are also c. 5000 civil servants (administration & assistants & advisers…).
1. Legislatively, the Parliament has shared and equal responsibility with the Council of
Ministers; ordinary Legislative Procedure over 95% of all legislation across 84 policy
areas; and special Legislative Procedures: consultation, consent.
2. Budgetary, the Parliament regards annual budgets and multiannual financial framework,
and it gives discharge to the EU budget.
3. Supervisory: democratic control over the European Commission primarily.
The Parliament consists of 20 standing committees.
Ordinary legislative procedure is the standard decision-making procedure used in the European
Union, unless the treaties specifically state one of the special legislative procedures is to be applied to
a particular subject. Before the Treaty of Lisbon came into force late 2009 it was referred to as the co-
decision procedure. The essential characteristic of this procedure is that both the Council of
Ministers as well as the European Parliament have a deciding vote in the legislative process, and
both institutions may amend a proposal. Roughly, the ordinary legislative procedure proceeds as
follows: the European Commission submits a proposal. The European Parliament (EP) and Council of
Ministers (Council) will either approve or amend the proposal. If EP and Council cannot reach an
, agreement on the proposed amendments both can amend the proposal a second time. If they still
cannot reach an agreement, they enter negotiations. After these are concluded both institutions can
either vote in favour or against. The Member States need to implement the policies.
Lecture 2: Theories of European Integration
Theories are valuable because they structure observations which provides a person an
understanding/explanation of what we see around us (the context). Good theories select out
certain factors as the most important or relevant to provide an explanation of an event. Without such a
sifting process no effective observation can take place. The observer would be buried under a pile of
detail and unable to weigh the influence of different factors in explaining an event. Theory is always
for someone and for some purpose, for instance to prove a point to a certain audience or to provide a
theoretical framework. Some theories work better than other theories, which depends on the context,
time and audience for instance. All theories have a perspective. Perspectives derive from a position in
time and space, specifically social and political time and space (Cox, 1981). The dominance of
certain theories changes over time, from the dominance of neo-functionalism in the 1950s to
intergovernmentalism in the 1970s and social constructivism in the 1990s in the theories of European
integration. Federalism regarded a federal Europe, which was criticised by neo-functionalism which
resulted in a shift in the dominant theory. This indicates that the
context and time is important to understand the theories and their
relevance, as federalism was created for a different purpose (to
understand what the European Community should be) than
intergovernmentalism, when the Community was a lot bigger and
more developed. The choice of theoretical framework is also
very important, because a neo-functionalist
explanation/lens/vision is different from an intergovernmentalist
vision/theoretical understanding of a situation. Theory is
capable of asking meaningful questions about a given object:
a theory’s success is judged in terms of its capacity to
generate findings consistent with its derivative hypotheses.
(Consistency is key in using a theory). Theory is a vision, not the sole and only truth as there are
different explanations. Summary: Why theory? (1) Theory helps to understand an issue, object, or
process; (2) Theory helps to explain an issue or process; (3) Theory helps to predict what will happen
next (for a positivist, prediction is possible because when data has been tested multiple times you can
predict what will happen next); (4) Theory is consistent and coherent in itself; and (5) Theory can
position itself amongst contending theories.
European Integration Theory is the field of theorising the process and outcome of European
integration. It is the field of systematic reflection on the process of intensifying political cooperation
in Europe and the development of common political institutions, policies, and patterns of governance,
as well as on its outcome(s). It includes the theorisation of changing constructions of identities and
interests of social actors in the context of this process. European integration theory has greatly evolved
over time. In the beginning, it regarded primarily the main institutions that formed the basis behind the
theories of integration whereas currently, what is included in the theorisation has broadened
immensely to include social actors, citizens, and social movements’ influence on European
integration. This indicates that European integration theory has expanded and has become
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