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Summary 'The Politics of The European Union'
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Summary of the book 'The Politics of the European Governance' (second edition) which is discussed during the lectures.
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Summary The politics of the European UnionChapter 1: The historical development of the EU
The two world wars were the reason for new ideas for international cooperation. The plan was
innovative because it proposed the institution of an impartial body, the high authority, that would be
empowered to monitor and execute the agreement between the member states.
Supranational organizations: organizations in which countries pool their sovereignty on certain
matters to allow joint decision-making.
Intergovernmental organizations: organizations in which member states work together on policies of
common concern but retain their full sovereignty
First the cooperation started on a small basis by trying to manage the common market for coal and
steel six countries participated in the Treaty of Paris which established the European Coal and
Steel Community.
To look at the historical developments, three questions can be set up:
In which areas did member states decide to cooperate?
How did the member states organize their cooperative efforts?
Which countries became members?
1950: From one to three communities
ESCS started operation, three communities were set up.
Ratification: procedure through which a member state formally commits itself to a treaty, in most
countries via a majority vote by its parliament.
1960: Progress and setbacks
Custom duties or traffics are charges levied on imports or exports, resulting in higher prices for
consumers buying those products.
Preferential trade agreement: an agreement in which countries agree on lowering the tariffs they
charge for importing goods.
Direct effect: a major legal principle in EU law holding that individuals can directly invoke EU
legislation in cases before national courts.
Supremacy: a major legal principle in EU law holding that if national legislation is in conflict with EU
law, EU law overrides national legislation.
Judicial activism: type of judicial behaviour where judges take a broad and active view of their role as
interpreters of the law.
Qualified majority voting: decision-making rule in the Council which requires a majority that is
substantially larger than a simple majority of, but does not require unanimity.
Luxembourg Compromise: agreement allowing a member state to block a decision in the Council if it
declares tha matter to be of ‘vital national interest’.
So, some progress in the process of integration, with a few obstacles which led to new rules.
1970: moving out of gridlock, slowly
Non-tariff barriers: all kinds of conditions, restrictions or regulations that do not consist of tariffs, but
still make the import or export of products difficult or impossible.
,1980: moves towards a single market
There was a wide gulf between the principles and the practice of the Community’s free trade area.
This asked for a single market.
1990: the road towards European Union
Opt-outs: specific exceptions that are granted to a member state when it is unwilling or unable to
fully accept all provisions of a treaty or law.
Ordinary legislative procedure: decision-making procedure that is most commonly used in the EU for
adopting legislation, giving equal powers to the European Parliament and the Council.
Copenhagen criteria: fundamental conditions regarding institutions, human rights and economic
readiness aspiring member states have to meet before being able to join the EU.
2000: further enlargements, difficult treaty revisions and the beginning of a financial crisis
More states joined the EU. Lot of revision of treaties.
Intergovernmental Conference: meeting of the member states to discuss and decide a revision of
treaties. As its name indicates an IGC is a purely intergovernmental affair that only involves
representatives of the member state governments.
Eurosceptic: term used for people, member states of political parties that have been highly critical of
European integration. This causes a lot of discussions, because members states have different
purposes by joining the EU.
Some steps are taken because of treaties, some are taken as significant for integration.
Decision-making on policies, institutions and members is very often related, which makes it more
difficult to decide. Which institutions should have a say if all the people they represent are related?
Chapter 2: Analysing the EU
To understand what the EU is, it is necessary to decide what we want to find out and how we are
going to do that. This could be done through a few questions about main theories which cause
different insights on the EU.
There are two views at the EU; integration and politics.
Explaining integration
Study about international relations; how do sovereign states interact with each other and what forms
of conflict and collaboration causes this?
Neo-functionalism and supranational governance
Neo-functionalism: integration theory which states that member states will work together to reap
economic benefits, setting in motion a process in which ever more tasks are delegated to the
supranational level. The process of integration and its results reflect the relative success of different
groups in advancing their interests.
Transnational: When a organization connects subnational levels of governments or brings together
any other type of organization from different countries.
Political elites: consists of the relatively small number of people at the top of a political system who
exercise disproportionate influence or power over political decisions. Integration is mainly driven by
this elites.
Steps which drive integration:
Recognizing the possibility of mutual gains cooperation in a specific policy area
, Realization that adjacent sectors must integrate as well.
Creation of a new centre of authority press to more integration
Further institutionalization at the supranational level the complexity asks for the
coordination of policy-making.
Spillover: refers to ‘the way in which the creation and deepening of integration in one economic
sector creates pressures for further economic integration within and beyond that sector and greater
authoritative capacity at the European level’.
Functional spillover: integrative steps can only be attained if further integration takes place.
Political spillover: pressure from national interests because they expect to benefit from
further integrative steps.
Cultivated spillover: supranational actors play an active role in forcing further integration.
Policy entrepreneur: when a supranational actor successfully influences decisions made by
others, by skilfully mobilizing support, building coalitions and proposing solutions in the
direction of an outcome close to its own preferences.
Supranational governance; a spin-off of neo-functionalism
States that some policy sectors are more prone to integrative steps than others. Integrative moves
are more likely in those sectors where there is a considerable amount of trade between member
states.
Intergovernmentalism
Intergovernmentalism: integration theory which holds that member states are fully in charge or
cooperative steps they take and only collaborate with a view to their direct self-interest. Issues of
sovereignty and security are dominant in explain the behaviours of countries. Intergovernmentalists
state that non-governmental groups are not able to exert a strong influence on the preferences and
activities of governments.
Distinction between high politics (economics) and low politics (territorial security and sovereignty).
High stimulates collaboration, low does not.
Spin-off: liberal intergovernmentalism
More conclusions:
Preferences of member states are influenced by domestic interests on their respective
governments
Economic considerations are always a major consideration
The outcomes of negotiations are the result of bargaining between the member states, not
the of the commission
Institutional arrangements to put the deals into effect ensure the credible commitment of
each of the member states
More attention on the role of domestic and economic influences on the position of national
governments in international negotiations.
Intergovernmentalists and supranationalists agree on the following points:
Member state preferences are influenced by domestic circumstances (not fully autonomous).
The influence of actors depend upon the type of decision and policy. What is true in one
policy area doesn’t have to be true in another area.
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