Introduction to European
governance
The EU has a lot of different institutions with different interests. A lot of functions are shared among
actors. The EU is a very complex thing to understand because of the institutional framework.
Shared executive and legislative functions.
Policymaking requires cooperation among bodies with different interests.
Not presidential, not parliamentary.
More consensual than majoritarian decision making.
Key questions in this course: (1) What are we actually talking about when we refer to the ‘European
Union’ or ‘European governance’? (2) How can we describe and explain what is really going on in the
European Union and how Europe is governed?
Chapter 1.
Points of departure for theorizing about the EU.
International relations: we theorize by using what we know about international
organizations.
Comparative politics: we theorize by drawing on our knowledge of executive politics, law-
making, parties, public opinion.
Policy/ institutional analysis: we theorize by considering the EU as policy-making or
institutional system.
The European “GreenDeal”: this is a proposal. The mean goal is to be climate natural in 2050. Their
plan to achieve their goal by using green energy in different sectors. The European countries are
putting in a lot of money to make this goal happen. Some countries have more problems with it than
others.
How does this GreenDeal fit with the history of the EU? This climate change is an actual
problem right now. This is a big problem and a huge challenge. You can compare this with
the beginning of the EU when the EU was formed. Sites to follow the information about the
EU: politico.eu or euractiv.com
In the 50’s when the EU was created: coal and steel (energy) where the reasons to create the EU. So
the first issue was about energy (this is now a big issue again). The EU was intergovernmental ->
cooperation between member states governments through conferences and treaties. Member states
were involved in negotiations and bargaining. Countries make deals, compromises ect. to work
together. ‘Grand bargains’: history-making decisions concerning policies with national stakes.
The EU was also party supranational -> beyond cooperation there is integration in institutional
terms, day-to-day administration (based on treaties) in between conferences. The sovereignty went
to the EU institutions in stead of the countries themselves. The EU had its own powers (authority) ->
countries decided to give a bit of their power to the EU.
For a long time the EU policy wasn’t much about climate. There was no integration when it comes to
energy and climate change. In the 90’s the EU started to use its powers in the area of competition
policy -> national competition offices are the executive arm of the EU area of competition.
, Because of this things started to change. Also more interest in the area of environment. The
EU started to create policies there as well. The EU is gaining activity on the environment,
climate change and green energy level.
In the EU it is important to ask the question is this something the member states want or is this a
supranational thing? There are different theories about this question -> Increasing European
integration in three ways. Integration = (1) (policy) The EU being more and more involved in different
areas (2) (institutional) More and more European institutions are developing their tasks and powers
(3) (enlargement) more and more countries are joining the EU (membership is expanding). Why and
how is integration going?
Chapter 2.
How can we explain EU politics in the area of energy and climate change? What have been forces
driving EU politics in the area of energy and climate change? National interests, political and
ideological changes, economic and ecological ‘crisis’, functional ‘spill-overs’, legal procedures and
court decisions, technological innovations.
There are two approaches to study the EU:
Analytical perspectives
Integration Theories of EU politics
theories
Neo-functionalism Intergovernmentalism
Supranational Liberal
governance intergovernmentalism
Analytical perspective to study the EU (I).
1. Integration theories.
Understand how sovereign states interact with each other and what conflicts and
collaborations may be the result of interaction. This type of theory is separated in two major
approaches:
o Neo-functionalism – Haas: All interests will organize to affect decision-making. Every
group is trying to get as much political support as possible -> the process of
integration and its results reflect the success of different groups in advancing their
interests.
Groups are not restricted to boundaries of their country but can force
transnational alliances with like-minded groups in other countries in favor of
their own interests.
European integration was primarily an elite-driven process.
Why did sovereign nations decide to start working together? -> Haas
identifies four steps which drive integration:
, 1 – Recognizing the possibilities of mutual economic gains.
2 – Parties realize that economic gains can only be arrived if sectors are
integrated as well. The result: spillover.
3 – Creation of a new center of authority provide the emergence of new
transnational interests -> pressure on governments to move towards
integration.
4 – Complexity of functional arrangements lead to further institutionalization
at supranational level (coordinate policy-making).
Neofunctionalism = (scholars in the 1950s – Ernst Haas) countries have mostly
economic reasons why member states start to pull their resources to higher levels.
There are different sectors who want to be involved in this, they collaborate with the
EU because of their good market, they want to make money ect. Spillover effect =
once you decide to live without borders that also means that when there are no
borders anymore you get crime -> when you decide something (it starts with
economic reasons) there are different things that will follow up. You start with
something and then integration will going on. In between there are a lot of things
going on in low politics.
Cooperation between governments because mutual gains to be reaped.
Integration of adjacent sectors, so-called spill-over effects.
Emergence of transnational interests, putting further pressure on
governments to integrate.
Increased functional complexity will lead to further institutionalization in
terms of policies, politics.
Example: liberalization of energy market.
o Intergovernmentalism - Hoffman: important branch of the integration theory -> has
roots in the realist approach of international relations theory:
Issues of sovereignty and security are dominant in explaining the behavior of
countries.
Intergovernmentalists do NOT accept the idea that non-governmental groups
are able to exert a strong influence on the preferences and activities of
governments.
Skeptical: are governments willing to transfer sovereignty to a new center?
(EU level). Hoffman calls the nation-state ‘a factor of non-integration’.
A key element in Hoffman’s’ theory: separation (onderscheid) between low politics
and high politics.
Low politics -> (economics) governed by logic of integration, may lead to
collaboration because nations share the same interests.
High politics -> (territorial security) governed by logic of diversity. Different
interests.
Spin-off: liberal intergovernmentalism -> Hoffman’s theory has been developed by
Moravcsik (1952 - 1992). He had the following conclusions;
The preferences of member states are NOT formed autonomously -> result
of influence of different domestic (binnenlandse) interests.
Economic considerations are ALWAYS major considerations, geopolitical
NOT.
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