POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE EUROPEAN UNION GTU, Fall 2015 Fundamentals of Politics Basics of Modern Political Science Man is by nature a political animal. ARISTOTLE, Politics, 1 Basics of Modern Political Science What is political science? is the systematic study of politics. is the study of governments, public policies and political processes, systems, and political behavior. the systematic study of governance by the application of empirical and generally scientific methods of analysis Basics of Modern Political Science Modern university departments of political science (alternatively called government or politics at some institutions) are often divided into several fields, each of which contains various subfields. Basics of Modern Political Science What are the subfields of political science? Traditional Subfields Political theory Comparative politics Public administration International relations Public law Political methodology Political economy Basics of Modern Political Science What is politics? is a process whereby a group of people, whose opinions or interests are initially divergent, reach collective decisions, which are generally accepted as binding on the group, and enforced as common policy. Basics of Modern Political Science Approaches to defining politics Basics of Modern Political Science Basic theoretical assumptions of modern political science can be expressed in the following fundamental equation of politics Preferences + Institutions = Outcomes Preferences are the personal wants and desires of political actors. Institutions are the formal and informal rules that determine how collective decisions are made Outcomes (public policies and new institutional forms) result from the interaction between preferences and institutions Basics of Modern Political Science Common Assumptions Political actors are rational; this means that actors have a clear set of preferences about what outcomes they want from the political process. not in isolation; they must take account of each others interests and expected actions. Basics of Modern Political Science Common Assumptions Political outcomes are seen as the result of strategic interaction between competing actors. o Optimal- interaction results in the best outcome for the actors involved o Suboptimal- actors pursue strategies that do not lead to the best outcome Institutions are the main constraints on actors behaviour. o Formal- constitutions and rules of procedure o Informal- behavioural norms, shared beliefs and ideology o Institutions are not fixed. If an actor thinks he/she will be better off under a different set of institutions, he/she will seek to change the institutional arrangements. Basics of Modern Political Science Preferences + Institutions = Outcomes This equation illustrates two basic rules of politics: If preferences change, outcomes will change, even if institutions remain constant. If institutions change, outcomes will change, even if preference remain constant. Government and Governance A government consists of institutions responsible for making collective decisions for society. More narrowly government refers to the top political level within such institutions. Governance refers to the process of making collective decisions, in which government may not play a leading, or even any role. How state differs from government? The state is the more abstract term, referring to the ensemble formed by government, population and territory. It defines the political community of which government is the executive branch. The State A legal and political arrangement through which all large- scale political communities are organized, combining territory with sovereignty, independence and legitimacy. The qualities of the State The Nation and Nationalism If a state is a legal and political entity, then a nation is primarily a cultural entity: A group of people who identify with one another on the basis of a mix of real and mythical qualities, which include language, ancestry, history, culture, territory, religion, and symbols. Ernest Renan described nations as a soul, a spiritual principle; Benedict Anderson described them as imagined communities. Nationalism: a belief in the value of preserving the identifying qualities of a nation, and in promoting and protecting its interests. International Organizations A body that functions in two or more states, or that is set up to promote cooperation among states. International Organizations The underlying motives have varied: promoting peace, encouraging trade, sharing ideas and resources, reducing duplication, addressing shared problems such as illegal immigration, environmental decline, cross-border crime, and financial regulation. The qualities of the IOs International Organizations Most IOs fall into one of two major categories: o International nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) whose members are individuals or the representatives of private associations. (Amnesty International, Greenpeace, and the International Red Cross, and multinational corporations such as Ford, Toyota, Royal Dutch Shell, ING, and HSBC) o Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) whose members are states and whose goal is to promote cooperation among state governments. (United Nations, the World Trade Organization, NATO, the OECD, and Interpol) Regional Organizations International cooperation can evolve into support for regionalism. This usually happens when a group of states forms a regional integration association (RIA) designed to encourage collective action and develop common rules on shared interests. Regional Organizations What Is the EU? Where to start? Theorising the EU Comparative Politics The study of different political systems, usually based on cases, and aimed at drawing up general rules about how those systems function. International Relations The study of relations among states, focusing on alliances, diplomacy, and the dynamics of decisions reached by states working together or in competition with each other. Major Theories of International Relations Intellectual Background Realism A theory of international relations which argues that we live in an anarchic global system (one without rules or an authority above the level of the state), and that states relate to-and compete with-each other according to their self- interest. States must use both conflict and cooperation to ensure their security through a balance of power among states. Major Theories of International Relations Functionalism: The idea that if states cooperate and create new functionally specific interstate institutions and agencies, regional integration will develop its own internal dynamic, and peace can be achieved through the creation of a web of interstate ties without the need for grand intergovernmental agreements. David Mitrany ( ) The best way to bring about peace was not through alliances and agreements among governments, but by setting up a network of functionally specific international institutions dealing with relatively noncontroversial matters such as postal services or the harmonization of weights and measures, and managed by bureaucrats. Major Theories of International Relations Federalism: Promotion of, or support for, the idea of federation. For European federalists this means a belief in the merits of replacing the European state system with a new European federation, or a United States of Europe. Jean Monnet ( ) Altiero Spinelli ( ) Federalism by Installments Federalism by Strong and Independent Institutions vs. IR Theories of European Integration Neofunctionalism: The theory that integration in one area of activity will lead to pressures and political support for integration in other related areas. Ernst Haas ( ) Integration would take on a life of its own (an expansive logic) through the phenomenon of spillover, described by Leon Lindberg as a process by which a given action, related to a specific goal, creates a situation in which the original goal can be assured only by taking further actions, which in turn create a further condition and a need for more action IR Theories of European Integration Intergovernmentalism: A political dynamic in which key decisions are made as a result of negotiations among representatives of the member states of an IGO The EU primarily as a forum within which member states negotiate in an attempt to achieve a consensus, and where all decisions are taken by the representatives of the member states. Stanley Hoffmann (1928-) Hoffmann argued that while non-state actors played an important role in the process of integration, state governments alone had legal sovereignty, the political legitimacy that came from being elected, and the authority to decide the pace of integration. IR Theories of European Integration Supranationalism A political dynamic by which IGOs become the forum for the promotion of the joint interests of state members, which involves the transfer of authority to joint institutions functioning above the states. Liberal Intergovernmentalism A theory combining elements of neofunctionalism and intergovernmentalism, arguing that intergovernmental bargains are driven by pressures coming from the domestic level. American political scientist Andrew Moravcsik argues that the positions of the governments of the member states are decided at the domestic level, and European integration then moves forward as a result of bargains reached among those governments negotiating at the European level. IR Theories of European Integration TO CONCLUDE !!! There is no grand theory of European (or even of regional) integration. As Michael Burgess neatly summarized; the EU works in practice but not in theory What is the EU? Theories developed by scholars of International Relations, who mainly see the European Community/Union as a cooperative arrangement among governments. By contrast, the arguments made by scholars of comparative politics and public policy focuses on the European Union as a political system in its own right. Since 1980s; the process of integration has accelerated, the relationship between EU institutions and the member states has changed, and the reach of EU institutions, law and policy has expanded. This has led some to conclude that we should consider the EU a political system in its own right, using the methods and principles of comparative politics. Is EU a State? In 1975, Donald Puchala hinted at new thinking about the Community as an international regime within which member state governments cooperated on the basis of rules, norms, and decision-making procedures In 1983, William Wallace argued that the Community was more than an international regime, but less than a fully developed political system In 1992 Alberta Sbragia suggested that comparative federalism in particular had much to offer as a way of understanding the Community, and that perhaps the study of the Community could be incorporated into and contribute to the study of comparative politics rather than being isolated In 1994, Simon Hix argued that while the political system of the Community might only be part-formed, the practice of politics in the EC was not so different from that in any democratic system. Comparative Approaches to the EU Since few scholars would agree that there is a European government as there are national or local governments in the member states, some instead prefer the looser term European governance Government: The institutions and officials that make up the formal structure by which states or other administrative units (counties, regions, provinces, cities, towns, and even universities) are managed and directed. Governance: An arrangement by which decisions, laws and policies are made without the existence of formal institutions of government. Multilevel governance: An administrative system in which power is distributed and shared horizontally and vertically among many different levels of government, from the supranational to the local, with considerable interaction among the parts. Comparative Approaches to the EU The invention and adoption of new conceptual terms reflects how little agreement there has been on how best to understand the EU. The best options may be the simplest, and here we might focus on two older and better- developed concepts, namely: Federalism Confederalism Federalism There is no clear-cut academic school of European federalism, mainly caused by; the political nature of the federalist debate the difficulty of pinning down what federalism actually means A federation is a system of administration involving two or more levels of government with autonomous powers and responsibilities while the term federalism refers either to the principles involved in federal government, or to advocacy for the idea of federation. Federalism is a concept with no fixed meaning, and more recently has warned that there is no single pure model of federalism and that we cannot just pick models off a shelf . On the contrary, federations come in many different forms, the specifics changing according to the relationship between the whole and the parts. Quasi-federation: An arrangement by which powers are divided between central and regional government, resulting in some of the features of federalism without the creation of a formal federal structure. Federalism There are about two dozen formally-declared federations in the world Confederalism A conceptual cousin of federalism, describing a looser form of association among states. A confederation is a group of sovereign states with a central authority deriving its authority from those states, and citizens linked to the central authority through the states in which they live. While the number of federations has been growing, there have been few examples in history of confederations, and none have lasted. Switzerland; in the medieval era and from 1815 to 1848 United States; from 1781 to 1789 Germany; from 1815 to 1866 The EU has several levels of administration (European, state, provincial, urban, and local), and each has some autonomy in different areas of policy. It has treaties that are the functional equivalent of a constitution and that allow for administrative institutions that function above the level of the member states, and that distribute powers between the European institutions and the member states. One of the core treaty principles is subsidiarity, or the idea that policy responsibilities should be transferred to the EU institutions only where they are more efficiently dealt with at the European level rather than the state level. This seems to confirm the existence of two levels of government. The European Court of Justice acts as an umpire that works independently of the member states and rules on disputes about the distribution of power within the EU. There is direct representation of the views of the member states within the EU institutions, notably in the European Council and the Council of Ministers. There is a separate executive/bureaucracy (the European Commission), a separate legislature (the European Parliament), and a separate court (the European Court of Justice), that coexist and share powers with their national equivalents. The existence of the European Parliament takes the EU beyond a confederation. There are at least two systems of law: European and national (and sub-national systems of law in federations such as Austria, Belgium and Germany). The member states of the EU are increasingly defined not by themselves but in relation to their EU partners, and Europeans increasingly identify with Europe and with European priorities The federal features of the EU While the minimum necessary two levels of administration needed for a federal system both exist, the EU institutions are weaker relative to national institutions than is the case in a conventional federal system. Although the EU has treaties and administrative institutions, the interests of the member states play a greater role in the relationship between the whole and the parts than is the case in federations. There is no European constitution adopted by the member states and capable of being amended and developed by proposals from the EU institutions and the approval of a majority of member states. Instead the EU is based on a series of treaties that each had to be accepted by all member states before they were adopted. One of the key qualities of a confederation is indirect representation in the joint government through state governments. Although EU voters are directly represented through the European Parliament (a federal quality), much power still lies in the hands of the European Council and the Council of Ministers, which are more clearly confederal in character. The member states are still distinct units with separate identities, they have their own national defence forces and policies, they can still sign bilateral treaties with non-EU states, and the governments of the EU states can still argue that the EU institutions exist at their discretion. Unlike federations, the EU is a voluntary association, so its members are free to leave if they wish. Although the EU has leaders and institutions that look much like a European government, they have fewer powers than their national counterparts. The EU may have its own flag and anthem, but most of the citizens of the member states still have a higher sense of allegiance towards national flags, and anthems and they cannot surrender their state citizenships and become citizens of the European Union. The confederal features of the EU Dimension of the EU What is the EU? TO CONCLUDE !!! Combining federal and confederal explanations and understanding EU is a hybrid, containing features of both. federal-confederal union new confederation association of compound states hybrid confederation-federation Just as there is no general agreement on how and why the EU evolved the way it did, so there is no general agreement on what it has become. BUT The EU can be a political system without also having to be a state. Democratic political systems consists of four main elements: 1.A stable and clearly defined set of institutions for collective decision- making and a set of rules governing relations between and within these institutions. 2.Citizens and social groups that seek to realize their political desires through the political system 3.A significant impact on the distribution of economic resources and the allocation of social and political values across the whole system. 4.A continuous interaction (feedback) between these political outputs, new demands on the system, new decisions and so on. The EU: a Political System but not a State The EU possesses all these elements: 1.The basic institutional quartet the Commission, the Council, the European Parliament (EP) and the Court of Justice. 2.An increasing number of groups such as individual corporations and business associations to trade unions, environmental and consumer groups and political parties 3.EU outputs have a significant impact on the authoritative allocation of values (Easton, 1957) and determine who gets what, when and how in European society (Lasswell, 1936). 4.The real essence of EU politics lies in the constant interactions; within and between the EU institutions in Brussels; between national governments and Brussels, within the various departments in national governments, in bilateral meetings between governments, and between private interests and governmental officials in Brussels and at the national level. The EU: a Political System but not a State The EU does not have a monopoly on the legitimate use of coercion which, remains in the hands of the national governments of the EU member states. As a result, the EU is not a state in the traditional Weberian meaning of the word. The EU can function as a full-blown political system without a complete transformation of the territorial organization of the state unlike the evolution from the city-state to the nation-state in the early-modern period of European history. The EU: a Political System but not a State History of the EU Background 1: The impact of World War II on Europe Economic devastation (massive war debts, infrastructural damage) Political weakness (newly established political systems, loss of empires) The Continent was quickly divided in two, with Western Europe facing a new menace to the East There was a consciousness that the Versailles approach had not resolved the German problem These factors combined to produce a situation wherein there was a willingness on the part of many decision-makers to explore new forms of inter-state relations The Legacy Of War Between 1948 and 1951 the US-funded Marshall Plan provided financial assistance to European economies in order to encourage postwar recovery. It also provided the foundations for European integration: the USA insisted on the creation of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation to coordinate the distribution of aid. In the context of increasing tension between the USA and the Soviet Union, the USA and their western European allies formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in This was set up with the aim of providing mutual protection to member states and sending a message to the USSR. The Road to Recovery By 1945 European governments had three critical needs: to rebuild weakened economies, to ensure security from one another and external threats, and to limit the dangers of nationalism. The general goals for the peace had been set at the 1944 Bretton Woods conference, which agreed on the importance of free trade and stable rates of monetary exchange. A new kind of Cold War between the USA and the Soviet Union loomed, threatening an incipient peace. Moves Towards Integration Amidst an atmosphere of improved security and economic recovery, European leaders became more receptive to cooperation. There was support for greater cooperation, but governments and elites were divided over what this meant, and how to proceed. The Council of Europe was formed in May 1949, with the aim of achieving greater unity between its members. The Councils lasting achievement was the European Convention on Human Rights. Coal and Steel On 9 May 1950, the Schuman Plan (championed by Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman) was announced. This led to the signing in April 1951 of the Treaty of Paris, which created the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in With six founding members (France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg), the ECSC was charged with the task of building a common market in coal and steel by eliminating duties, discriminatory measures, subsidies and state assistance. This was a first step in the process of building of European economic ties. Coal and Steel Early European Initiatives The achievements of the European Coal and Steel Community were more symbolic than substantive. Supporters of further integration campaigned for further initiatives. The European Defence Community (EDC) (1952) was a stillborn plan to create a common European military as a way of binding West Germany into western Europe. The European Political Community was an attempt to create a political body to oversee the ESCS and EDC. The failure of both left supporters of integration chastened, but contributed to an improvement in Franco-German relations. Rome and the EEC Economic integration inspired the signature of the 1957 Treaty of Rome, which led to the foundation in 1958 of the European Economic Community (EEC). It committed its six founding members to the creation of a single market; the elimination of customs duties between members; and the establishment of common agricultural, trade, transport and competition policies. Progress was mixed: EEC institutions had little power and integration was mainly an intergovernmental process. During the 1960s the EEC was troubled by political disagreements over the power and reach of its institutions and over enlargement. Rome and the EEC European Enlargement With six members, the EEC had a 56% share of western Europes wealth. To secure regional peace and economic prosperity, other states had to join. Britain, the most obvious absentee, gradually became more amenable to integration, when it became clear that it would risk political and economic isolation by remaining outside the EEC Vetoes by De Gaulle in 1963 and 1967 delayed British membership until January 1973 (when Denmark and Ireland also joined). Greece joined in 1981 and Portugal and Spain in Now the largest economic bloc in the world, the international influence of the EEC was greatly boosted. However, decision-making processes became more complicated by requiring a wider range of interests to be considered. Enlargement, Monetary Union Exchange rate stability had been central to western economic and monetary policy since Bretton Woods. The first attempt to pave the way to a single currency the 1972 snake in the tunnel failed mainly because of bad timing, and was replaced by the 1979 Economic Monetary System (EMS). The EMS used an Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) based on a European Currency Unit (ecu) whose value was based on a basket of western European currencies. Governments participating in the ERM made efforts to keep national currencies stable within the ERM. Single European Act Concerns that progress on completing the single market was slow, leading to agreement on the 1986 Single European Act, the first substantial change to the Treaty of Rome. Coming into force in 1987, its key goal was to remove the remaining physical, technical and fiscal barriers to the single market by the end of New prominence on the Community agenda was also given to cohesion (balanced economic and social development). It set the target of creating equal employment opportunities and working conditions. International Events European integration was impacted from the start by international developments. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 symbolized the end of the Cold War division of Europe, and emphasized the need for the EEC to assert itself on the global stage. However, the Communitys failure to agree on a common response to both the Gulf War and the crisis in the Balkans in the 1990s undermined its political credibility. The Community was failing to match its economic power with an international political presence. From Community to Union The Treaty on European Union (signed in Maastricht, 1992) created the European Union, and outlined a commitment to a single European currency and a common foreign policy. For some, the controversial treaty raised troubling questions about national sovereignty. The dynamics of the European debate took on a new character. The term euroscepticism entered the public debate, suggesting hostility to the idea of integration. There was also talk of a democratic deficit, which referred to the growing gap between the work and power of EU institutions and the ability of EU citizens to impact their work. More Enlargement There had been no specific policy on enlargement, but as the number of applications for membership of the EEC/EU grew, so a new approach was taken. In 1993 the Copenhagen conditions were agreed, by which applicants had to be democratic, capitalist, and agree to adopt the entire existing body of the EU laws and policies (the acquis communautaire). In 1995, Austria, Finland and Sweden joined the EU, taking membership to 15. More Enlargement Unfinished Business The Maastricht treaty left a number of items of business unfinished, the institutional structure of the EU in particular being strained by the prospect of more enlargement. The Treaty of Amsterdam (signed 1997, in force 1999) and the Treaty of Nice (signed 2001, in force 2003) made only relatively minor changes. The 2000 Lisbon Strategy was launched with the goal of making the EU, within ten years, the most dynamic and competitive economy in the world. Arrival of the Euro Preparations were also under way for the single currency, named the euro in Convergence criteria were agreed as preconditions for participation in the euro, including controls on budget deficits, inflation, and interest rates. The euro became available as an electronic currency in 1999 and as a physical currency replacing those of 12 EU member states in early Only Britain, Denmark and Sweden did not take part. Transatlantic Tensions The 9/11 attacks of 2001 generated strong transatlantic solidarity, but this quickly changed once the Bush administration began preparations for a pre-emptive military invasion of Iraq in Several EU leaders were openly critical of US policy, and public opposition in Europe was deep and near uniform. With the end of the Cold War having removed much of the glue that had held the US and Europe together, the controversy over Iraq revealed a new willingness by the EU to assert itself against the USA. Transatlantic Tensions More Enlargement Enlargement now looked east, focusing on bringing in Eastern European states and former Soviet republics. Eight Eastern European states, along with Cyprus and Malta, joined in 2004, and Bulgaria and Romania joined in These new rounds took membership of the EU to 27, and were politically significant for marking the final end to the Cold War division of Europe, and the transformation of much of the former Soviet bloc states from communism to liberal democracy. As of early 2011, candidates for future membership were Croatia, Iceland, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Turkey. More Enlargement More Treaties In 2001 a European Convention was held to draft a constitutional treaty for the EU, ending the process of periodically amending the treaties. It was published in 2003, but rejected by national referendums in France and the Netherlands in Signed in 2007, and coming into force in 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon was almost exactly the same in content as its failed predecessor. It brought the rules of the EU up to date, the most significant institutional changes being the creation of a president for the EU Council, and a newly powerful High Representative for foreign affairs and security policy. In 2007 the EU began to suffer the effects of the global economic crisis, worsening in 2010 as new strains were placed on the euro. Institutional Architecture Basics of Modern Political Science Basic theoretical assumptions of modern political science can be expressed in the following fundamental equation of politics Preferences + Institutions = Outcomes Preferences are the personal wants and desires of political actors. Institutions are the formal and informal rules that determine how collective decisions are made Outcomes (public policies and new institutional forms) result from the interaction between preferences and institutions Institutions Institutions are the main constraints on actors behaviour. Formal- constitutions and rules of procedure Informal- behavioural norms, shared beliefs and ideology A constitution is a document (or a set of documents) that sets out the general rules and principles by which a state is governed. A listing of the general goals and values of the state (such as democracy, equal rights, and the rule of law). An outline of the powers and responsibilities of its governing bodies. An outline of the procedures used in electing or appointing government leaders, and of the limits on their powers. A listing of the rights of its citizens. The steps needed to change or amend the constitution. Constitutions Understanding EU Treaties The EU does not have a constitution as such, but it has a body of treaties that have almost the same role, in the sense that they outline the rules by which the EU functions. Treaty: An agreement under international law entered into between sovereign states and/or international organizations, committing all parties to shared obligations, with any failure to meet them being considered a breach of the agreement. Understanding EU Treaties The process of integration was initially guided by treaties agreed between sovereign states, but through a process of constitutionalization those treaties have since taken on most of the features of a constitution. Sources of constitutional norms in the EU Treaty-Building There have been two phases in the development of the treaties: the first lasted until 1986 and was mainly intergovernmental with little public input or interest (influenced by an atmosphere of permissive consensus), while the second has been more open and affected by public debate. The process of treaty-drafting has mainly taken place in intergovernmental conferences (IGCs), the meetings of which have been subject to increased public and political pressures. Lisbon may be the last major amendment to the rules of the EU for some time to come, given that most of the rules needed to allow it to function efficiently are now in place, and that reform fatigue has settled in. It has also been argued that a plateau has been reached, and that there is a constitutional settlement that obviates the need for additional treaties. Evolution of the The Treaties of the European Union-1 There were three 'founding Treaties: the Treaty of Paris (1951) the two Treaties of Rome (1957) Three further amending Treaties in the 1960s and early 1970s: Merger Treaty (1965); merged the Councils and the Commissions of the three Communities First Budgetary Treaty (1970) Second Budgetary Treaty (1975) The Treaty of Paris (1951) Formed the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), providing for a common market in coal and steel and laying down an institutional structure still clearly discernible in the EU of today The High Authority: 9 members, including at least one from each member state. No member was to regard him- or herself as a national delegate. Given strong independent powers, including on the prohibition of subsidies and aids, and action against restrictive practices The Council of Ministers: One minister per national government, charged with harmonizing the actions of the High Authority and that of the governments The Common Assembly, members of which were chosen by national governments, and whose role was advisory The Court of Justice: to settle conflicts between organs of the Community, and the Community and any of the states. Its decisions were to be enforceable The Treaties of Rome (1957) One formed the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) The other formed the European Economic Community (EEC), which provided for a common market and a few other common economic policies (notably in respect of agriculture). The common market was to be based on The removal of all tariffs on internal trade The erection of a common external tariff Measures to promote the free movement of goods, services, persons and capital The institutional and decision-making structures were based on the ECSC structure, though were not quite so supranational. Between 1957 and 1986 The Merger Treaty (1965) established a single Council of Ministers for all three Communities, and merged the High Authority of the ECSC, the Commission of Euratom and the Commission of the EEC into one Commission Treaty Amending Certain Budgetary Provisions of the Treaties (1970) and the Treaty Amending Certain Financial Provisions of the Treaties (1975) together laid down a budgetary procedure and allocated budgetary powers between EC institutions Act Concerning the Election of the Representatives of the Assembly by Direct Universal Suffrage (1976) provided the legal basis for direct elections to the EP Evolution of the The Treaties of the European Union-2 Four new Treaties in from 1980s to the beginning of 2000s: the Single European Act (SEA) ; the Maastricht Treaty ; the Amsterdam Treaty the Nice Treaty The Single European Act (1986) Completion of the internal market by 1992 was identified as a specific goal A number of new policy areas environment, research and technological development, and economic and social cohesion were put on a treaty basis The Councils ability to take decisions by QMV was extended The European Council was given legal recognition The EPs powers were increased in certain ways, notably by the creation of the cooperation and assent procedures The Maastricht Treaty (1992) The Maastricht Treaty had introduced a structure consisting of three 'pillars: the EC pillar, governed by the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC); two intergovernmental pillars, covering the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) governed by the Treaty on European Union (TEU) The EUs Three-Pillar Structure Source: Bache et.al., Politics in the European Union 3rd Ed. The Amsterdam Treaty (1997) The contents of the treaty were relatively modest: modernizing and consolidating rather than transforming eg as with the SEA and the Maastricht treaties there were extensions to QMV and to EP powers. The EPs de facto right to approve the European Councils nominee for Commission President was given treaty status The Schengen acquis was given treaty status A new post of CFSP High Representative was created to assist the Council in all CFSP matters The Nice Treaty (2001) Designed to prepare the way for EU enlargement From 2005 the College of Commissioners would consist of one national per member state, so the 5 largest states lost their right to have two Commissioners each There were the customary extensions to QMV and to EP powers. The size of the EP and allocation of seats was agreed The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union was proclaimed Evolution of the The Treaties of the European Union-3 The Constitutional Treaty, agreed at the Brussels European Council on 18 June 2004, was designed to consolidate the existing Treaties into one. However, following its abandonment in 2005, the somewhat more modest Lisbon Treaty made revisions to the existing Treaties. Lisbon Treaty changed the general organization (or architecture) of the EU in a way comparable with the earlier Maastricht Treaty. Second, it included many amendments to the existing Treaties. The Lisbon Treaty (2007): Key contents Most symbolic references on flag and anthem removed Constitutional Treaty (CT) provisions creating new legislative acts dropped CT and Lisbon Treaty 1- provision to reduce number of Commissioners to two-thirds of the number of member states dropped Some significant institutional changes: The Union is given a legal personality in international law A semi-permanent European Council President A strengthened position of CFSP/CSDP High Representative Some extensions to QMV Abolition of third pillar The co-decision procedure becomes the ordinary legislative procedure Differentiation is extended, with opt-ins and opt-outs The Lisbon Treaty (2007): Its significance Whereas the CT replaced all existing treaties, the Lisbon Treaty is (another) amending treaty; the existing treaties remain in place It amends the Maastricht Treaty (1993), which also is known as the Treaty on European Union (TEU), and the Treaty of Rome (1958), which was renamed as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Treaty on European Union (TEU) The TEU sets out: the broad principles governing the EU, such as its commitment to democracy; the general role of the institutions; the principles governing who may apply to join the EU; how a member state may leave the EU (a provision that is new in the Lisbon Treaty). the details of the operation of the CFSP, making clear that its location in this Treaty designates it as not subject to the full authority of the Court of Justice. Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) The TFEU sets out: sets out the detailed operation of the institutions and of all other policy areas the arrangements covered by the TFEU will be termed the Union method. The EUs Post-Lisbon Architecture Source: Bache et.al., Politics in the European Union 3rd Ed. The EU Legal Order The major treaties are the foundations of the European legal order, but the EU legal order has additional elements, including the following: Accession agreements signed each time a new state joins the EU. Agreements among sub-groups of member states (such as Schengen and the Social Charter). The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, adopted in 2000 and coming into force under the terms of Lisbon. The European Convention on Human Rights, drawn up in 1950 by the Council of Europe. Political Actors of the EU Basics of Modern Political Science Basic theoretical assumptions of modern political science can be expressed in the following fundamental equation of politics Preferences + Institutions = Outcomes Preferences are the personal wants and desires of political actors. Institutions are the formal and informal rules that determine how collective decisions are made Outcomes (public policies and new institutional forms) result from the interaction between preferences and institutions Preferences of Political Actors Political actors are rational; this means that actors have a clear set of preferences about what outcomes they want from the political process. not in isolation; they must take account of each others interests and expected actions. Major Political Actors in EU Politics 28 Member states o not a synonym for the national governments of the member states o but instead as shorthand for all the political actors and institutions within a member state. EU Institutions o European Commission (EC) o European Council o Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers) o European Parliament (EP) has represenration in has represenration in Member States of the EU Role of the Member States Four principles govern the division of power between the EU and member states: Competence (that is, authority): the EU has a high level of competence in certain areas, but less in others, such as education and taxation. Conferral: the EU can act only where given authority by member states to achieve objectives set out by treaties. Subsidiarity: the EU can act only in areas which do not fall under its competence if the action needed cannot be better taken by the member states. Proportionality: the EU should not go beyond the action needed to achieve the objectives of the treaties. The Division of Political Authority Role of the Member States Although member states are sovereign actors, they have transferred authority to the extent that it is no longer accurate or practical to think of them as independent actors Ambiguity is built into the system, with the result that in most areas competence is shared by the EU and member states Attempts to understand the place of member states have focused on the idea of Europeanization the process through which laws and policies in member states are gradually brought into line with EU law through gradual, incremental adaptation Influence of the Member States The role and influence of member states within the EU is determined by at least four key factors: How long each state has been a member of the EU, those that have been in longest having had more time to shape the rules. Economic wealth, with the wealthiest having had most political influence and the poorest having had least influence. Population size, the biggest having more votes in the Council of Ministers and louder voices in the European Council. Attitude towards the process of integration. Future Enlargement The requirements for EU membership have become more complex with time. At each round of enlargement troubling political, social, economic issues have been raised. The Copenhagen conditions require that an aspirant member state should be democratic, a free market economy, and willing to adopt the existing body of EU laws and policies and to adapt its administrative structures to fit with the needs of integration. Membership applications are submitted to the European Council, which consults with the European Commission and the European Parliament. Approved applicants are known as candidate countries and negotiations then begin on the terms of entry. Future Enlargement