European Union Politics
Michelle Cini & Nieves Pérez-Solórzano Borragán
Summarised by Jennie Weemhoff
European Union Politics 1
1: Introduction 2
Part I: The Historical Context 4
2: The European Union: Establishment and Development 4
3: From the Constitutional Treaty to the Treaty of Lisbon and Beyond 10
Part 2: Theories and Conceptual Approaches 14
4: Neo-functionalism 14
5: Intergovernmentalism 16
6: Theorizing the European Union after Integration Theory 19
7: Governance in the European Union 19
8: Europeanization 22
Part 3: Institutions and Actors 23
9: The European Commission 23
10: The European Council and the Council of the European Union 26
11: The European Parliament 29
12: The Court of Justice of the European Union 32
13: Interest Groups and the European Union 34
Part 4: Policies and Policy-making 38
14: Policy-making in the European Union 38
15: EU External Relations 45
16: Enlargement 48
17: The European Union’s Foreign, Security, and Defence Policies 55
18: The Single Market 60
20: The Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice 64
21: Economic and Monetary Union 69
22: The Common Agricultural Policy 74
23: Environmental Policy 79
Part 5: Issues and Debates 81
26: The Euro Crisis and European Integration 81
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,1: Introduction
WHY A EUROPEAN UNION
The European integration process was initiated in the 1950s largely as a consequence of the
negative experiences of the six founding member states during and in the immediate aftermath of
WWII. Maintaining peace was a primary objective at the time. This goal went hand-in-hand with a
general awareness that (Western) Europe had to get back on its feet economically after the
devastation of the war years. Inter-state cooperation was considered an essential step towards a
new post-war world. Fundamental to this objective was the reconstruction and rehabilitation of
Germany.
An, to this day, important factor of the EU’s role is security. Two contextual ‘events’ have been
crucial in accounting for the broadening out of the concept of security: the end of the Cold War in
1889 and the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington DC on 11 September 2001.
The EU is not just about security and economics, however, no matter how broadly we define the
concepts. It also concerns welfare-related issues.
WHAT IS THE EUROPEAN UNION?
The European Union is a family of liberal-democratic states, acting collectively through an
institutionalised system of decision-making. When joining the EU, members sign up not only to the
body of EU treaties, legislation and norms (the acquis communautaire), but also to a set of
shared common values, based on democracy, human rights and principles of social justice.
The common institutions of the EU, the Commission, Parliament, Council, Court, the European
Council and the European Central Bank (ECB) along with many other bodies, are perhaps the
most visible characteristics of the European Union. These institutions are highly interdependent;
and together they form a nexus for joint decision-making in a now extremely wide range of policy
areas.
Ultimately, however, the member states remain in a privileged position within the EU, as it is they
(or rather their governments) who can change the general institutional framework of the Union
through treaty reform; or even -potentially- withdraw from the Union.
The ECB is a unique body which enjoys a high degree of independence in determining the
eurozone’s monetary policy.
WHO CAN JOIN?
In 1993 the Copenhagen European Council agreed that countries wishing to join the Union had to
meet political and economic criteria: they must have working market economies and liberal
democracies, and be able to take on board the acquis communautaire. These criteria are known as
the Copenhagen Criteria.
The EU’s enlargement experience to date is often heralded as one of the great achievements of
the European integration project. The prospect of membership pushes reforms in the potential
candidate states and is a guarantee of stability in the entire region. Yet, enlargement fatigue and
democratic backsliding on some of the newer member states challenge the EU’s transformative
power.
WHO PAYS?
The European Union has its own budget, referred to as the EU budget. Unlike national
governments, the Union does not have the capacity to tax European citizens in a direct way. The
budget has more than one source of money: it comprises most of the receipts from customs duties
and sugar levies at the EU’s border, a percentage of the value-added tax (VAT) collected in the
member states, and national contributions provided by the member states, amounting to one per
cent of Gross National Income (GNI).
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,To avoid the annual wrangling over the budget, it was decided in the 1980s that the general
framework of the budget would be decided on a multi-annual basis. Agreement on this framework
is always controversial.
The EU’s budgetary process is complex. It involves the Commission, the EU Council, and the
European Parliament (EP). Negotiations may last several months if not years and are always
highly technical. Although there is a technical dimension to it, the process is also highly political.
WHAT DOES THE EUROPEAN UNION DO?
The most high profile and important task is the making and management of European-level
policies. EU-level actors tend to devote most of their attention to developing policy ideas, and
turning those ideas into legislation or actions which have concrete effects. Many of these policy
initiatives respond to problems that have arisen in Europe as a consequence of increasing
transnational (or cross-border) movements.
There is no one way process of making European policy. Some policies, such as foreign policy and
policy on certain aspects of justice and home affairs, are very intergovernmental and use a
decision-making process that is based largely on government-to-government cooperation. By
contrast, there is much more of a supranational quality to policies, such as agricultural policy on,
say, European-wide mergers.
There are five ‘modes’ of European decision-making:
- The classical Community method;
- The EU regulatory mode;
- The EU distributional mode;
- The policy coordination mode; and
- Intensive transgovernmentalism.
This will be discussed further in Chapter 14.
Policy now emerges as a result of the interaction of a number of actors and institutions. First
among these is what is sometimes referred to as the ‘institutional triangle’ of the European
Commission, European Parliament, and the Council of the European Union (the EU Council).
Most legislation is now made using the ordinary legislative procedure (OLP). This procedure
used to be called ‘co-decision’. The OLP allows both the Parliament and the Council, as co-
legislators, two successive readings of legislative proposals drafted by the Commission. Roughly
speaking, it means that the Council, comprising national ministers or their representatives, and the
European Parliament, made up of elected representatives, together ‘co-decide’ EU laws.
The Commission, by contrast, is often labelled the EU’s executive body (note however that the
Council also performs some executive functions.
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,THE EUROPEAN UNION AND ITS CITIZENS
The Maastricht Treaty established a new citizenship of the Union conceived of as a supplement
to, not a substitute for, national citizenship. This European citizenship conferred on every citizen of
a member state:
- the right to move and reside freely in the Union;
- the right to vote for and stand as a candidate at municipal and European Parliament elections in
whichever member state the EU citizen might reside;
- the right to petition the EP and the European Ombudsman; and
- the right to diplomatic and consular protection.
Such rights were further extended at Amsterdam, incorporating an anti-discrimination clause and
member states’ commitment to raise the quality of and guarantee free access to education. The
Charter of Fundamental Rights, included in the Lisbon Treaty summarises the common values of
the member states and brings together a set of common civil, political, economic, and social rights.
At Maastricht in 1992, for the first time the citizens of Europe contested the move towards further
integration. Ever since, contestation has become the norm rather than the exception each time the
direction of European integration has been put to the vote, as the ratification of the Nice Treaty, the
Constitutional Treaty, and the Lisbon Treaty have shown.
‘We are not forming coalitions of states, we are uniting men.’ said Jean Monnet. Yet, European
citizens have different interests, culture, language, and history. Any attempt to forge an ever closer
union among the peoples of Europe needs to account for such a variety of goals, perceptions, and
expectations.
Part I: The Historical Context
2: The European Union: Establishment and Development
INTRODUCTION
The EU is formally established on 1 November 1993, after early efforts at promoting
institutionalised cooperation between European states bore initial fruit with the establishment of the
Council of Europe in 1949.
The establishment of the EU in 1993 needs to be viewed as a further stage in a process of ever-
closer integration between an increasing number of states. The roots of the process can be clearly
traced back to the early years of European cooperation un the 1940s and in particular to the efforts
of ‘the Six’ - Belgium, France, Germany (West), Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands- in the
1950s to establish new forms of supranational integration in a concerted effort to promote peaceful
reconciliation and coexistence, economic growth and security, and social development.
The idea of ‘European union’ was rekindled in the 1980s with the Single European Act (1986) and
the Single Market project acting as catalysts for a new era of dynamic Communities-based
integration.
INTEGRATION AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE; AMBITIONS, TENSIONS, AND DIVISIONS
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s and also during the war years, various proposals had been
drafted for federal or pan-European union. Among these was Altiero Spinelli’s 1941 Ventotene
Manifesto ‘For A Free and United Europe’, a blueprint for a federation of European states.
When hostilities in Europe ended in May 1945 the new governments of Belgium, Luxembourg and
the Netherlands moved quickly to establish a ‘Benelux’ customs union. Fears of German military
revival also led France and the United Kingdom in 1947 to sign the Treaty of Dunkirk on
establishing a defensive alliance and mutual assistance pact; a year later they were joined through
the Treaty of Brussels by the Benelux countries, and the following year (1949), military and
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,defence cooperation was extended even further with the establishment of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organisation (NATO).
On 5 May 1949, Belgium, Denkmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway,
Sweden, and the United Kingdom established the Council of Europe. Soon Greece and Turkey
joined, and in 1950 the accession of Iceland and (West) Germany brought the membership to 14.
Created at the insistence of the US government to administer US financial assistance from the
Marshall plan, the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) (1948) was also
committed to promoting trade liberalisation among the 17 participating ‘West’ European states.
In May 1950, the French Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman, proposed the pooling under a
supranational authority of French and German coal and steel resources. This would not only
facilitate the modernisation of production and increase the supply of coal and steel and so
contribute to further economic development, it would also make war between France and Germany
‘materially impossible’. Other states, notably the UK, were to encouraged to join. Yet Schuman was
clear that this new initiative of narrowly focused sectoral integration was but a step in a process
of establishing closer economic and political integration.
This meant the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (1952) and the
creation of Europe’s first supranational institutions: the High Authority, the Common Assembly, the
Special Council of Ministers, and the Court of Justice.
In 1954, a treaty establishing the European Defence Community (EDC) was drawn up. Once
again this new supranational initiative would be limited to ‘the Six’, the UK having refused to
participate in the creation of a de facto European army. So too would the European Political
Community (EPC) that was being planned to complement the EDC. Neither the EDC nor the EPC
came into being.
One new organisation, however, did emerge and this time involved more than just ‘the Six’. In
1954, the Brussels Treaty was modified to include West Germany, and the Western European
Union (WEU) involving ‘the Si’ and the UK was established.
In 1955, Foreign Ministers of ‘the Six’ gathered in Messina and agreed on ‘une rélance
européenne’, a relaunch of the integration process, through a customs union as well as
integration in specific economic sectors. Discussions, which initially involved the UK, ensued
before negotiations to establish two new supranational communities - the European Economic
Community (EEC), and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC) - were launched in
1956 with the signing of the Treaties of Rome. Drawing on the model of the ESCS, ‘the Six’
committed themselves not only to the establishment of a customs union but also to the adoption
of common commercial, agricultural and transport polices and the establishment of a common
market with common rules governing competition. The EEC would also involve the free movement
of workers and capital, certain social policy activities and investment bank. The purpose of the
EAEC was, through supranational integration, ‘the speedy establishment and growth of nuclear
industries’.
With the establishment by Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK,
intergovernmental European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1960, an ‘outer seven’ was
created and the division of Western Europe into two trade blocks was formalised.
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,Key dates in European Integration: early efforts
1947 March United States announces Truman doctrine
March Treaty of Dunkirk signed
June United states announces Marshall Plan
1948 January Benelux Customs Union established
March Treaty of Brussels signed
April Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) established
May Congress of Europe in The Hague
1949 April Washington Treaty establishing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) signed
May Statute of the Council of Europe signed
1950 May Schuman Plan circulated
October Pleven Plan for a European Defence Community (EDC) circulated
1951 April Treaty of Paris -establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)- signed
1952 May Treaty constituting a European Defence Community signed
July ECSC established
1953 March Draft Treaty embodying the Statue of the European Political Community adapted
1954 August Assamblée Nationale rejects EDC
October West European Union (WEU) established
1955 June Messina Declaration on further European integration
1957 March Treaties of Rome -establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) and the
European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC)- signed
1958 January EEC and EAEC (Euratom) established
1959 November OEEC negotiations on a European free trade area collapse
1960 May European Free Trade Association (EFTA) established
THE COMMUNITIES AND A EUROPE OF ‘THE SIX’
Considerable energies had to be invested in realising the goals set out in the Treaties of Rome.
New institutions, notably the Commission, had to be created and their operations coordinated with
those of the ECSC. It was this reality that in many respects accounted for the fact that ‘the Six’
were not joined by others. Also, lots of states were very wary about the perceived and actual ‘loss’
of sovereignty that membership of a supranational entity entailed.
But the early years of the EEC and EAEC demonstrated that integration was possible, at least
between the Six. So soon the UK was reassessing its decision to stand aside, and in 1961 applied
for membership. The French President, Charles de Gaulle, thought this vetoed the application of
the UK, seeing the UK as a Trojan Horse for US influences in Europe.
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,French ministers refused to participate in Council meetings for seven months, which paralysed
decision-making and caused the empty-chair crisis, which was resolved by the adaptation of the
Luxembourg Compromise: ‘Where, in the case of decisions which may be taken by majority vote
on a proposal of the Commission, very important interests of one or more partners are at stake, the
Members of the Council will endeavour, within a reasonable time, to reach solutions which can be
adopted by all the Members of the Council while respecting their mutual interests and those of the
Community.’
When de Gaulle resigned the French Presidency, all the Heads of State and Government of ‘the
Six’ gathered and allowed the UK, Denmark, Ireland and Norway to join. They also set up a
proposal for the European Political Cooperation (EPC) to ensure further integration. First
tentative steps at foreign policy were taken, and later in the decade two Structural Funds - the
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) - were
established. Further enlargement was on the agenda.
International currency instability, the 1973 oil crises, and inflation brought an end to the
unprecedented sustained economic growth of the post-war period. Europe entered a period of
‘Eurosclerosis’ with integration apparently stagnating. Efforts nevertheless continues to be made
to sustain and deepen integration.
In 1975, Leo Tindemans, Belgian Prime Minister, produced a report on ‘European Union’, setting
out proposals for inter alia institutional reform, EMU, and a common foreign policy. The European
Council responded to the second of these and a European Monetary System (EMS) was
established in 1979.
Key dates in European Integration: the establishment and growth of the communities
1958 January EEC and EAEC established
1961 July The Fouchet Plan for a ‘union of states’ proposed
1962 January The EEC develops basic regulations for a Common Agricultural Policy
1963 January De Gaulle vetoes membership UK & Elysée Treaty on Franco-German Friendship and
Reconciliation signed
1965 April Merger Treaty establishing a single institutional structure for the ECSC, EEC and
EAEC signed
June Empty-chair crisis begins
1966 January Luxembourg Compromise ends the ‘Empty-chair Crisis’
1967 July Merger Treaty enters into force
1968 July EEC customs union established
1969 December Hague Summit supports enlargement, greater policy cooperation and EMU
1970 October Davignon Report on foreign policy cooperation leads to establishment of EPC
1972 March Currency ‘snake’ stablished
1974 December Paris Summit agrees to establish European Council and accepts the principle of
direct elections to the European Parliament
1979 March European Monetary System (EMS) established
June First elections to the EP
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, ESTABLISHING THE EUROPEAN UNION
In June 1983, the Stuttgart European Council proclaimed a ‘Solemn Declaration on European
Union’ and agreed to a ‘general review’ within five years of the Communities’ activities with the
possibility of a new ‘Treaty on European Union’.
Thatchers government proposed to remove remaining barriers to trade among within the EEC and
establish a genuine ‘single’ or ‘internal’ markt, also known as the Single Market Project.
Necessary treaty changes were soon negotiated in an intergovernmental conference (IGC) and
the result was the Single European Act (SEA) in 1986.
Intergovernmental conference: if the member states wish to reform the EU, they need to amend
the constitutive treaties. This has historically been done via an intergovernmental conference
(IGC), in which the member states negotiate amendments. Agreed amendments are then brought
together in an amending treaty that all member states must sign and ratify. Ratification normally
involves each member state’s parliament approving the treaty by vote.
SINGLE EUROPEAN ACT
Changes made by the SEA:
- introduced a range of new competences (environment, research and development, and
economic and social cohesion);
- facilitated the adoption of harmonised legislation to achieve this;
- committed the member states to cooperate on the convergence of economic and monetary
policy;
- expanded social policy competences to include health and safety in the workplace and dialogue
between management and labour;
- expanded the decision-making role of the EP through the introduction of a cooperation
procedure to cover mainly internal market issues and the assent procedure governing
association agreements and accession;
- extended the use of Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) in the Council;
- allowed the Council to confer implementation powers on the Commission;
- established a Court of First Instance (CFI) to assist the European Court of Justice in its work;
- gave formal recognition to the European Council and EPC.
The establishment of the SEA made governments rethink about the level of integration they were
interested in.
THE TREATY ON EUROPEAN UNION
In 1991, the TEU, or the Maastricht Treaty, expanded the scope of European integration. To:
- reform the EC’s institutions and decision-making procedures;
- bring about EMU
- further the goal of ever-closer union by bringing together the EEC (now named the European
Community), the ECSC, and the EAEC as part of an entirely new entity, the ‘European Union’.
Prior to the EU, there was essentially one approach to decision-making, the so-called ‘Community
method’ - that is, the use of supranational institutions and decision-making procedures to
develop, adopt, and police policy. This would no longer be the case.
The EU lacked uniformity in terms of its structures and policy-making procedures, it was
structurally akin to a Greek temple consisting of three pillars:
I. The three Communities;
II. Common Foreign and Security policy; and
III. Justice and Home Affairs.
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