Summary
PSPEU - Summary
- Course
- Institution
- Book
Political Structures and Processes by prof. Alexander Mattelaer. Perfect addition to his very empty slides. WARNING: does not include the Semester System!
[Show more]
Connected book
Book Title:
Author(s):
- Edition:
- ISBN:
- Edition:
More summaries for
-
Samenvatting Politiek van de Europese Unie 2022/2023 Universiteit Leiden
-
Lecture notes and book summary - Politics of the European Union - 2023 - Grade 9.7
-
Politics of the European Union Notes on Readings - GRADE 8,0
Seller
Follow
dc12
Reviews received
Content preview
PSPEUClass 1: Introduction
1. Why study European integration?
3 Key reasons:
® 1st reason: Historical reason
o European integration:
§ THE historical phenomenon of postwar Europe
§ Key to make sense of European history in the 20th century
§ Understand where we come from (& not forget!) + prevent it from
happening again (wars)
§ => Unfortunately, many of the ppl who remember the war or nastiness
of living postwar are dying off. Younger generations don’t understand
the level of horror that ppl from that time faced
§ To create peace & unity between EU states (PEACE PROJECT)
-> response to 2 world wars -> most destructive period for EU nations
in history of modern world
® 2nd reason: Political reason -> place of debate
o European-level policy-making
-> dealing w BIG problems (small countries would struggle)
o More than technocracy
(= a system of governance where decision-makers are selected on the basis of
technological knowledge OR any portion of a bureaucracy run by
technologists)
§ E.g. subsidies for farmers, policy on trade
-> common foreign policy to stand stronger in the world
® 3rd reason: Educational reason -> how we debate
o European decision-making -> sometimes CONTROVERSIAL
-> need for informed debate
§ Choice unified – divided
§ Avoid misinformation, unhealthy populism, divisive politics
1
, Class 2. A short history of European integration
1. History of European integration
» European history of 20th C
® Started w very early seeds, treaties, bargaining (before WWII)
=> grew to much larger organization, based on security cooperation, economic
integration (+ needed to tackle immense diversity in Europe)
® Ultimately about ‘high politics’
-> highly political about how we want to govern Europe through the European
institutions
® -> economic integration
2. Some founding fathers
Jean Monnet:
® Influential French advisor
® Main founding father of the EU project (ECSC)
® ‘The Father of Europe’
® Introduced idea to win war by working closely together w allied forces
on distribution of logistics + first ideas on European integration
® Secretary-general of League of Nations
® Saw you need supranational organisation to prevent nations from
only working in their self-interest
George C. Marshall:
® American general
® Secretary of State
® “Marshall plan” -> economically stabilize various cooperating parts of
Europe -> fuelled need for European integration
Robert Schuman:
® French foreign minister; realised there was coal & steel needed to
finance war
® Proposed European Economic Community (EEC)
® “Schuman Declaration” (1950) -> to propose European integration
-> French & German production of coal & steel under one common
High Authority -> open to participation of West European countries
® One of the founders of EU, Council of Europe & NATO
2
,Paul-Henri Spaak:
® Belgian foreign minister during WWII
® Idea of BeNeLux as customs union
® Spaak Committee (see later)
® Influential role in preparing Treaty of Rome (-> EEC)
-> Spaak-report
2nd world war -> “The Big Reset”
-> everything in Europe started to change
3. Economic integration & Security cooperation
Economic integration:
-> initiated by US -> later pulled out & continued by
European nations
® Marshall speech (1947):
o Foundations for Marshall Plan
o America: willing to assist Europe
w financial support to rebuild
their economic system
IF those countries form a
corporate organization to improve their economies in the long run
o USSR counterpart: Molotov Plan (not as effective)
® Treaty of Rome (started in 1957):
o European solution to the Marshall plan
o Creation of EEC, Euratom
® Single European Act (1986):
o First major revision of Treaty of Rome
o Objective of single market
-> better economic/political stability
ð The European Union today -> product of Treaty of Rome & Treaty of Maastricht
3
,Security cooperation:
® Dunkirk Treaty (1947): France & Britain work together on security
® Brussels Treaty (1948): BeNeLux joins
‘Western European Union’
® NATO:
o Washington Treaty
o Art. 5: ‘if one gets attacked, all get attacked’
o Alliance doesn’t do anything unless attacked -> all nations respond
o Europeans: ‘maybe it’s good to keep America close so that sth like WWII
doesn’t happen again’
=> America co-founded NATO
o The European has its treaties and NATO has its strategies
European Recovery Program (aka Marshall Plan)
® George Kennan: argued that it’s up to the leaders to put forth a more positive &
secure plan than before
-> the “Long Telegram” (1946) (sent from Moscow)
-> 8.000 words
o Effort to outbid soviet competition (‘ideological competition’)
-> lessen communist influence in Europe
o If US does nth -> SU increases influence among European countries
ð US proposed Marshall Plan
® Basis for what later became OECD (Organisation for European Cooperation &
Development) -> distributing the funds of the Marshall Plan
4. On Coal and Steel
Treaty of Paris (1951) -> creation of ECSC
-> Coal & steel needed for weapons/munition => if you work together on these, can’t go to
war anymore, no one has own coal/steel
ECSC institutions (-> idea of Monnet):
® High Authority (later: merged into European Commission):
o Supranational powers
® Council of Ministers (= Council of the European Union):
o Harmonisation role between MS (control High Authority)
® Common Assembly (European Parliament):
o Advisory role
® Court of Justice:
o Legal arbitration
4
, 5. The Spaak Report
® Provides inputs for Treaty of Rome (1957)
® More intra-European trades & more prosperity for all countries involved
® Leads to development of the EEC & institutions
-> kinda similar to Coal & Steel Commission
-> except for a commission being added
-> focus: establishment of common market (goal: customs union)
EEC Institutions:
® Commission (instead of Higher Authority; supranational)
® Council of Ministers (harmonisation)
o Nation-states can have their say -> amend, stop, implement rules
® Assembly (advisory)
® Court of Justice (legal arbitration)
Common Market:
-> key goal of Treaty of Rome
-> everything is connected & accessible
® Tariff removal (no custom tariffs):
o Free trade area
® Common external tariff (no matter the entry point -> tariff to import is the same):
o Trade policy
® Competition rules
o Same rules for everyone, free market -> fair competition
-> nation-states can’t just start funding businesses to make them stronger
(exceptions tho -> below)
® Promotion of free movement (ppl, goods, services)
EEC Policies:
® Common Market (incl. trade & competition)
® Common Agricultural Policy
o Exception of competition rules (above) -> farmers get subsidies under common
European law
® Common Transport Policy
® Economic policy coordination (balance of payments)
® Creation of European Social Fund
® Creation of European Development Fund (cfr. Monnet’s call for democratization of
education in Europe)
5
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller dc12. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $5.34. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
67474 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now