Lecture 1a: Introduction main issues in the EU
• 2018; triple crisis in Europe (euro, refugees, Brexit)
↪ but trust has increased in the EU (trust dropped in national governments)
• eurocrisis (2010); people expected the collapse of the single currency (eenheidsmunt)
↪ many stereotypes related to the eurocrisis
↪ southern problems; problem of countries like Greece and Italy with terrible public budgets
and public debts (staatsschulden). But these countries thought institutions like were to blame
(North Europe)
↪ reforms (hervormingen) started, e.g. banking union (now people think that was not enough)
↪ current issues
↪ further reforms needed and why?
↪ improve single currency area’s ability to withstand economic shocks
↪ Macron (FR); we should have a eurozone finance minister, parliament for
eurozone countries and eurozone with its own budget
↪ do we already have a transfer union, do we want it? etc.
↪ austerity (bezuiniging) and keeping to the rules of the monetary unions for public debts and loans
↪ now; new financial world philosophy (US, European Central Bank); spending, higher loans,
public debts, unlimited bond purchase by the European Central Bank
↪ Eurobarometer (2019); 75% is in favour for a single currency, for the euro
• pandemic (Covid); what is the role for the EU?
↪ they bought vaccines together. What to do with countries closing borders? Should the EU help
countries most effected by the economic consequences of the pandemic (corona recovery fund)
• migration and asylum policy; should be a new migration and asylum pact → slow discussion
↪ discussion about; outer borders of the EU. How to deal with illegal immigration industry? How to
deal with Turkey effective, is it humane? Should we have new deals with North Africa? Redistribution
of refugees? Hotspots in Greece (terrible camps)? How to relate this to the demographics of the EU
(strong need for higher immigration)
• foreign policy; western Balkan strategy (EU ↔ Russia), role of China in EU
• Brexit; economic consequences? Situation at the border with Ireland – North Ireland? Danger for
unity inside UK and wish in Scotland for a referendum for independency and re -joining EU
↪ what is the content of the deal? The first effects? Geographical consequences? Unity in the UK?
• climate and energy policy, Green Deal; EU cares for the environment, but a lot of polluting
(vervuilende) industries. Discussion about the carbon tax (CO 2 -belasting)
↪ ambitious agenda (carbon free in 2050). No real increase in EU budget, budget related to climate
policy. Corona recovery fund, related to Green Deal
↪ more cross-border cooperation? Relationship with Russia (gas, pipelines)? How to deal with
energy mix of countries? Nuclear power?
↪ weak common energy policy until now; climate ambition, issue of energy security, fostering
(bevorderen) new energies
• agriculture and rural development; simplification of rules. More sustainable agriculture? Alignment
with EU policies (climate, regional, development)
↪ regional policy; cohesion or competitiveness? Effective policy? All regions eligible (in aanmerking
komen) for funding? Alignment with other policies. Climate goals?
1
,Lecture 1b: Institutions & policy making in brief (Ch1-Ch8)
• political system; contains main institutions (commission,
counsel, parliament)
↪ take decisions and actions → EU policies
• EU policies; e.g. regional policies, agriculture
↪ implications for member states/EU geographies
• EU geographies; could lead to pressure from member states
to change policies
↪ demands and support to the political system → new
decisions and actions
• profile of the European Union Interplay between the EU political system,
EU policies and EU geographies
↪ founded 25 March 1957 in Rome
↪ principal residence (hoofdverblijfplaats); Brussels (commission, parliament, council meetings)
↪ 27 member states, 447 million people
↪ world’s largest trading block
• why is there an EU?
↪ because of WWI + WWII and nationalism, to prevent wars
↪ German Question; formation of West and East Germany, rivalry Germany ↔ France
↪ communist threat, Cold War
↪ US support and pressure
↪ unite / have a common policy / strong alliances of states for economic wealth and to deal
with the pressure of the East (1951; European Coal and Steel Community; France and
Germany forced to share coal and steel resources → forced to deal with each other, prevent
war)
• ever enlarging Union; 6 to 28 to 27
↪ 1951/57; Benelux, Italy, France, Germany ↪ 2004; CEEC-8, Malta, Cyprus
↪ 1973; UK, Ireland, Denmark ↪ 2007; Bulgaria, Romania
↪ 1981/86; Greece, Spain, Portugal ↪ 2013; Croatia
↪ 1995; Sweden, Austria, Finland ↪ 2020; UK left
↪ candidate member states, potential candidate member states; countries who would like to join EU
↪ Eastern Partnership; Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia
↪ Partnership and Cooperation Agreement; former Soviet Union states
• characteristics EU
↪ EU is an alliance of sovereign states (soevereiniteit; recht van bestuursorgaan om hoogste gezag uit te
oefenen zonder verantwoording af te leggen aan ander orgaan)
↪ power sharing; member states cede (afstaan) some of their decision-making powers and
competences to community institutions
↪ EU institutions (Council, Commission, Court of Justice) can act in only those areas that have been
defined in the treaties (member states agreed to have a role for these institutions)
↪ member states remain responsible for areas where they have not transferred powers to the EU
↪ principle of subsidiarity; decisions should be taken at the lowest level possible
• two approaches (most of the time the approach is in between, but still more intergovernmental)
↪ intergovernmental approach; member states keep sovereignty, but co-operate to achieve
objectives
↪ supernational approach; transfer (overdracht) of power from member states to supranational
authority (Brussels)
2
,• treaties; formal and binding written agreement by sovereign states and the EU. States willingly
assume binding obligations among themselves
↪ shift from communities to European Union
↪ European Communities (from the start): EURATOM, ECSC, EEC
↪ EEC (most important); now called the EU
↪ officially disappeared since Maastricht → since then; 3 pillars of European Union
↪ since Lisbon; only the European Union
• EU main institutions (called 3+2)
↪ the ‘Institutional Triangle’
↪ Council of the EU
↪ Council of Ministers (e.g. ministers of agriculture)
↪ European Council; gathering of the heads of states (often in media)
↪ European Parliament
↪ European Commission
↪ the Other Two
↪ The European Court of Justice (ECJ/CJEU)
↪ The European Central Bank (ECB)
• key persons 705 members 27 members
↪ Ursula von der Leyen (DE);
president European Commission
↪ Charles Michel (BE);
president European Council
↪ David Sassoli (IT);
president European Parliament
• EU institutions and bodies →
3
, • Council of the EU (intergovernmental)
↪ European Council; represents member states
↪ heads of state or government of all EU countries
↪ leadership role
↪ key legislator (belangrijkste wetgever); but most legislative powers shared with European
Parliament
↪ European Council Summits; summits of the heads of state and government
↪ at least 4 times a year (practice; nearly every month)
↪ set the overall guidelines for EU policies
↪ Council of Ministers; one minister from every country (e.g. ECOFIN; ministers of finance gather)
↪ presidency
↪ Charles Michel; ‘permanent’ president of the councils
↪ rotating presidency; done by one of the member states, rotates every 6 months (now
Portugal, next Slovenia). Host meetings of Council of Ministers and influence the agenda of
the debates
↪ signs agreements
↪ approves the annual budget
↪ develops foreign and defence policies
↪ coordinates cooperation
• EU Commission (supranational)
↪ main executive body (uitvoerend orgaan) of the EU
↪ 27 commissioners; one for each member state of the EU
↪ e.g. Frans Timmermans (NL) (Green Deal), Margrethe Vestager (DK) (digital age &
competition),
↪ supported by 33.000 bureaucrats/civil servants
↪ organized in departments (/services/Directorates-General); each responsible for a different policy
area (e.g. Climate Action, Migration and Home Affairs, Regional and Urban Policy)
↪ has legislative (wetgevend) initiative
↪ ‘guardian of the treaties’; Commission can start a case against a state and take the case to the
European Court of Justice
↪ EU’s external representative
↪ negotiates with new candidates
↪ trade deals (and Brexit)
• Joseph Borrell (ES); High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
↪ main co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)
↪ one of the vice-presidents of the European Commission
• European Parliament (seats in Brussels, Strasbourg, Luxembourg)
↪ only directly-elected body of the EU (directly elected since 1979)
↪ 705 members of parliament (MEPs) since Brexit (751 before)
↪ elections every five years
↪ organized in transnational political groups (e.g. in Netherlands you can only vote for the national
Christian Democratic party or the national Sociodemocratic Party) → political ‘families’
↪ turnout for elections usually very low
(↪ Volt; first pan-EU political party (European
Party). Most voted on by young people)
4
