Summary'European'Public'Policy!
Who$are$Europeans?!
Public!policy!is!
It!may!be!hard!to!pinpoint!a!European!identity!but!it!can!be!found!in! whatever!
things!like!sport!such!as!football!and!events!like!Eurovision.!Europe!has!a! governments!do!or!are!
population!of!around!600!million.! doing!to!address!
society’s!needs!
Europe!as!a!geographical!entity!
The!borders!of!Europe!are!quite!debatable.!Are!Russia,!Israel,!Ukraine,!and!
Azerbaijan!part!of!Europe!too?!The!border!between!Europe!and!Asia!is!best!taken!as!
the!western!frontier!of!Russia.!The!16!million!residents!of!Armenia,!Azerbaijan!and!
Georgia!are!considered!European!but!also!have!close!ties!with!Russia.!The!most!
debated!candidate!country!is!Turkey,!which!has!been!lobbying!for!membership!of!EU!
since!1987.!
Europe!as!a!cultural!entity!
Europe's!identity!is!also!divided!between!different!nations!with!many!different!
languages.!There!are!40!different!languages!in!the!EU!with!24!being!recognised!as!
official.!
Europe!as!a!polity!
Europe!may!have!cultural!similarities!but!legally!it!is!not!one!state.!It!does!however!
have!a!flag,!a!logo,!a!currency!and!an!anthem.!The!European!Union!also!of!course!
has!a!commission!and!parliament.!Moreover!all!citizens!of!the!EU!have!the!following!
rights:!
• To!move!and!live!freely!
• To!vote!and!stand!as!a!candidate!in!elections!
• To!seek!the!help!of!any!EU!embassy!
• To!address!EU!institutions!in!any!of!the!24!official!languages!
!
The!percentage!of!Europe's!population!in!contrast!to!the!rest!of!the!world!is!
shrinking!and!the!population!is!aging.!Family!structure!has!also!been!changing:!
• Fewer!Europeans!are!marrying!
• More!children!are!being!born!outside!of!marriage!
• Households!without!children!have!become!more!common!
!
The!ideal!of!Europe!
The!three!P's!of!Europe!are:!Peace,!Prosperity!and!Power.!Europe!has!power,!but!is!
it!enough!with!other!rising!powers!such!as!China!and!the!USA?!European!integration!
transitioned!from!peace!and!prosperity!to!power,!especially!after!the!Second!World!
War.!Recently,!Europe!is!struggling!more!with!events!than!rules!and!regulations.!
!
,Understanding+European+Integration!
Terms!and!theories!for!understanding!European!Integration:!
• Europe!is!made!up!of!states!each!with!a!territory,!sovereignty,!independence!
and!legitimacy.!Europe!is!also!made!up!of!nations,!which!can!lead!to!
nationalism.!These!have!changed!over!time!but!still!not!all!states!are!easily!
defined!(Crimea)!
• International!organisations!(IGOs,!NGOs!and!MNCs)!with!voluntary!
cooperation,!communal!management,!shared!interests!and!minimal!
autonomy.!
• International!cooperation!can!evolve!into!regional!integration!and!a!regional!
integration!association!(RIA),!which!is!when!states!work!towards!
cooperation!and!pooling!authority!for!the!mutual!benefit!of!the!members.!
• Federal!states/federation!like!Germany!(after!ww2!some!people!wanted!a!
European!Federation)!
• The!free!market,!including!the!free!movement!of!goods,!services,!people!and!
capital!
Functionalism!and!Neofunctionalism!(vertical)!
Functionalism!started!as!a!critique!of!realism!by!Mitrany!who!wrote!A"Working"
Peace"System!and!argued!that!states!should!work!together!without!interfering!
unduly!with!each!other.!Neofunctionalism!is!based!on!the!book!The"Uniting"of"
Europe!by!Ernst!Haas!(1958).!The!main!idea!is!the!functional!spill!over!effect!–!if!you!
start!to!cooperate!in!one!area!it!will!spill!over!into!other!areas.!Therefore!by!pooling!
the!coal!and!steel!community,!governments!had!to!cooperate!on!exchange!rates!and!
common!currencies.!There!is!also!political!spill!over,!which!is!the!creation!of!
supranational!governance!models!like!the!EU!or!UN.!A!neofunctionalist!would!say!
that!the!European!Commission!and!the!European!Parliament!are!supranational!
powers!and!stand!for!Europe!as!a!whole!not!for!individual!states.!Furthermore!each!
state!has!a!different!integrative!potential!to!integrate!with!one!another.!
Intergovernmentalism!(realism,!horizontal)!and!Liberal!
Intergovernmentalism!(both!horizontal!and!vertical)!
Intergovernmentalism!considers!humans!more!self^centred.!It!says!states!are!central!
in!Europe!and!each!state!is!only!seeking!to!benefit!itself.!Intergovernmentalism!
focuses!more!on!the!European!Council!for!example,!in!which!the!Heads!of!State!
come!together.!This!is!in!contrast!to!supranationalism,!which!is!based!on!the!idea!
that!authority!should!be!transferred!to!IGOs.!Andrew!Moravscik!(1993)!came!up!with!
the!term!liberal!intergovernmentalism.!It!is!a!
theory!combining!elements!of!neofunctionalism!
and!intergovernmentalism!and!argues!that!
pressures!coming!from!the!domestic!level!drive!
intergovernmental!bargains.!It!shows!that!states!
decide!to!give!more!power!to!the!EU!because!
they!feel!they!earn!more!from!it!as!individuals.!
States!want!to!cooperate!more!out!of!self^
interest!since!it!is!best!for!them!(liberalism).!!
, So!what!is!the!EU?!
Overall!the!EU!is!more!of!a!polity!than!an!actor!or!entity.!A!polity!is!an!organised!and!
structured!system!for!the!government!and!administration!of!a!political!unit!such!as!a!
state!or!a!city.!But!there!are!still!debates!about!whether!the!EU!is!a!state!or!an!IO,!a!
federation!or!a!confederation!and!whether!it!is!intergovernmental!or!supranational.!
!
There!are!different!approaches!to!viewing!the!EU:!
The"comparative"approach"
• Comparative!politics!approaches!the!EU!as!a!political!system!with!its!own!
institutions,!processes,!procedures!and!policies!
Federalist"approach"
• There!is!a!lot!of!resistance!to!the!idea!of!a!federal!Europe!and!there!is!also!no!
standard!model!of!federalism,!which!makes!it!less!appealing!
• The!EU!could!also!be!considered!a!quasi^federation,!which!is!when!powers!
are!divided!between!central!and!regional!government!resulting!in!some!
features!of!federalism!but!not!a!formal!federal!structure!
Confederalism"approach"
• A!confederation!is!a!looser!form!of!a!federation!in!which!states!come!
together!for!reasons!of!security,!efficiency!or!mutual!convenience!and!
cooperate!while!still!retaining!the!powers!they!want!to!keep!to!themselves!
• Germany!and!the!US!were!once!confederations!
!
The!EU!can!also!be!considered!a!political!system!in!its!own!right.!A!compromise!is!
that!it!is!a!unique!hybrid:!
Federal!State!(RIA)! International!Organisation!
• Supranational!government!(EC)! • Intergovernmental!institution!that!is!(becoming)!
• Exclusive!powers!over!certain!policy!areas! very!powerful!
(trade)! • Intergovernmental!legislator!(Council!of!Ministers)!
• Directly!elected!supranational!parliament!(EP)! where!each!member!state!has!one!vote!
that!functions!as!legislator! • Power!in!many!policy!areas!are!with!the!member!
states!(defence)!
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Furthermore,!there!is!multiIlevel!regulation/governance!in!the!EU.!Regulation!can!
be!done!as!individual!states!but!also!as!the!EU!as!a!whole.!So!the!EU!has!horizontal!
intergovernmentalism,!vertical!neofunctionalism!and!both!vertical!and!horizontal!
multi^level!regulation.!
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