2211+European+Union

=Historical Development of EU=
 * European unity: background**
 * · Pan-Europeanism—failed post-WWI movement to unite Europe, prevent bloodshed
 * · After WWII much greater interest, including (oddly) Churchill’s suggestion that a United States of Europe be formed (note, he meant without Britain)
 * · An early body (unrelated to the EU) which still exists is the [|Council of Europe] 1949 in Strasbourg including [|Commission on Human Rights], [|Court of Human Rights], and [|European Social Charter]
 * · The [|European Defense Community] failed to get off the ground in 1954 with veto by France; however, the [|Western European Union]  was more successful, and has 10 members who cooperate on defense outside the EU.
 * · The [|European Free Trade Association] is a separate body created by countries who were outside the EEC; it includes Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland
 * · The [|European Union] is the most important entity, but is an accretion of institutional relationships that began with the [|European Coal and Steel Community] with the Treaty of Paris in 1951; the [|European Economic Community] was added to the Coal and Steel Community structure, together with Euratom in 1957 with the Treaty of Rome. The European Economic Community was formally renamed the European Union in 1993 when the 1991 Maastricht Treaty (the Single European Act) came into effect

Early Steps 45-50

 * · 1948 Benelux customs union (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg)
 * · 1948 Organization for European Economic Cooperation founded to coordinate the Economic Recovery Program (Marshall Plan)
 * · 1948 Congress of Europe creates Council of Europe to develop common action in economic, social, cultural, scientific, legal, and admin matters (not defense); HQ in Strasbourg
 * · Throughout this period, not much progress to satisfy the federalists…really it’s diplomacy

Opening: 50-58
· Monnet and Schuman behind creation of ECSC (European Coal and Steel Community) · 9 May 50 Schuman Declaration: step by step functional integration · The key difference from other IGOs is that resources were put under control of a common ‘High Authority’ that was given responsibility for promoting interests of all · UK didn’t join: · The ECSC institutions established the basis for EC institutions · High Authority later became the Commission · Council of Ministers · Common Assembly à initially appointed, later elected European Parliament · Other efforts failed:
 * Coal and steel key building blocks of industry and economy
 * Conflict over Alsace-Lorraine meant this would contain German power
 * Integration with Europe would promote German dependency as well as growth
 * Italy, the Benelux, Germany and France signed Treaty of Paris 1951
 * Created a High Authority, Special Council of Ministers, Common Assembly, Court
 * Able to reduce tariffs, fix prices for iron and steel, raise money by levy
 * This was a hint of supra-nationalism…
 * Didn’t see need for fundamental restructuring of its own economy
 * Wanted to maintain special ties to Empire, US
 * Still seen as a global power; didn’t want to sacrifice independence
 * Euro Political Community
 * Euro Defence Community

March 1957: Treaties of Rome:
· Purpose: to break down economic barriers within E, and to speak with one voice in international trade negotiations · Included the original six: France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg · Produced the European Economic Community · Similar structure to the old ECSC, which remained functioning · 9 member Commission · Council of Ministers · 7 member Court of Justice · 142 member Parliamentary Assembly to cover the EEC, ECSC, and Euratom · Set deadline of 12 years for removal of barriers, creating an ‘internal market’ with free movement of goods, services, people, and capital · Note: not achieved until 1993 · EURATOM: cooperation and control in the nuclear area…

A theoretical note: functionalism and the EU
A theoretical explanation for expanding integration: **__functionalism__**—the idea that by cooperating on particular sectoral areas of policy (eg: coal and steel), a ‘logic of spillover’ will drive integration across the board… that starting with the ‘low’ politics of economic integration (steel and coal pricing) the IO will become increasingly responsible for policy creation and implementation in other areas, including social and political integration…this identifies a kind of ‘invisible hand’ which promotes peace, stability, and even unity in the end…

Examples of this logic:
 * Functional spillover (can’t isolate one economic sector from another, will have to integrate other sectors)
 * Political spillover (interest groups will increasingly focus on the IO level rather than the national level… and the politicians at that level will encourage it)

Integration Takes Root ‘58-70

 * 1958-65 trade //within// the EC grew at 3 times faster than with third countries
 * GNP grew at a good annual average rate of 5.7%
 * Standards harmonization began, tho’ slowly at first and not a concerted, committed effort until the Single European Act (SEA, in 1986)
 * Progress on other goals steady but slow
 * Common Agric Policy was a central plank: aimed to establish a single market and guarantee (higher than market) prices for farm goods
 * April 1965 Treaty Establishing a Single Council and a Single Commission of the EC (merger treaty) streamlined decision making
 * 1966: Luxembourg Compromise ends six months of non-participation by France over de Gaulle’s objection to majority voting in Council of Ministers
 * de Gaulle opposed introduction of majority voting
 * compromise was to retain unanimity in Council decisions of ‘vital interest’
 * 1979 direct elections to the Euro Parliament

First rounds of Enlargement ’73-86

 * EFTA created by Britain and the non-EC countries in 1960 as a looser alternative
 * But by 1961 the UK position had changed—and they wanted to join
 * Charles de Gaulle opposed UK entry and vetoed it, since he felt that:
 * Franco-German alliance was to be the heart of EC
 * De Gaulle resented treatment by Allies during WWII
 * And Britain’s early resistance to integration
 * UK too close to US
 * Britain vetoed in 1962 and again in 1967
 * 1969 reapplied again—after De Gaulle’s resignation—and was accepted
 * Denmark, Ireland Britain finally join in 1973 à 9 members in all
 * Norway accepted but voters in Norwegian referendum reject EC membership
 * Other new members:
 * Greece 1981 (after military government 1967-1974)
 * Spain 1986 (negotiations began after death of Franco 1975)
 * Portugal 1986 (negotiations began after overthrow of Ceatano in 1973)

Economic Union and the Single Market (1979-1992)

 * Thatcher brought renewed British skepticism
 * Obtained a reduction in British contribution to EC on basis that it subsidized inefficient agriculture on the Continent…
 * Later in 1989 Thatcher refused to countenance the ‘Social Chapter’ to protect workers’ rights and obtained an ‘opt-out’ for Britain
 * EMU—economic and monetary union agreed in principle at 1969 summit, __but__ economic and currency crisis of early 1970s led to postponing of idea…
 * EMS—European Monetary System launched 1979 to stabilize exchange rates by agreeing to keep national currencies within 2.25% of the ‘ecu’ (European Currency Unit)
 * Delors as president of Commission pushed greater authority for the Commission, and European Parliament members (now elected) were more aggressive in pursuing federalism
 * 1989 Delors Plan wants to take EMS further, but system collapses 1992-3 with Britain and Italy out and Spain, Portugal and Ireland having to devalue
 * View of Europe at this time:
 * Europessimism
 * Eurosclerosis…problems meeting challenges from abroad
 * Increasing sense of a Europe in trouble led to renewed calls for the completion of the original project—the single market and a large economic bloc to compete with the US and Asia
 * Stuttgart summit in 1983 and the Cockfield Report in 1985 laid out the goals and actions
 * Single European Act Feb 1986: all preparations to be complete by Dec 31 1992.
 * Created biggest market and trading unit in world
 * Gave EC responsibility for new policy areas: environment, research, regional policy
 * Gave legal status to meetings of ministers: European Council
 * New powers to the Court of Justice, including creating Court of First Instance
 * Gave legal status to European Political Cooperation—a foreign policy coordination mechanism
 * Promoted economic, monetary union, and also promoted ‘cohesion’
 * Introduced qualified majority voting procedure on Council consideration of internal market, research and development, economic and social cohesion, and working conditions
 * France, Germany, Italy, and UK had 10 votes
 * Spain had 8
 * Belgium, Greece, Netherlands, Portugal each had 5
 * Denmark and Ireland 3
 * Luxembourg 2
 * Introduced ‘cooperation procedure’ in which Parliament has role in Council decisions that are subject to the qmv

Political integration and monetary union

 * False starts (European Political Community, etc) and later difficulties
 * 1970 Davignon Report: proposed closer ties, liason, common foreign policy, building on European Political Cooperation
 * Mitterand pushed political union to reassert French leadership at Fontainebleu European Council in 1984.
 * These moves led to the Maastricht European Council summit Dec. 1991 when the Treaty on European Union was agreed (formally signed in 1992 and ratified by countries over coming year): this is the Maastricht Treaty
 * Goal was “an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe, in which decisions are taken as closely as possible to the citizen” (changed from the goal of a federal union, which UK objected to)
 * European Union label adopted to cover three pillars:
 * A revitalized EC
 * The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)
 * New cooperation on home affairs and justice
 * Single currency to be adopted by 1999—completing the Delors plan
 * New areas of responsibility (Britain opts out of the social policy)
 * Initiatives on immigration, asylum, police
 * EU citizenship
 * Greater powers for parliament, including codecision on some policies
 * Problems with ratification:
 * Denmark only narrowly passed it in referendum
 * Fears of Irish defeat
 * France //‘petit oui’// in 1992
 * During 1990s more members joined:
 * Austria, Sweden, Finland joined in January 1995
 * Norway was accepted but membership rejected by referendum in 1994

Treaty of Amsterdam and the Single Currency
=The Failed European Constitution=
 * 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam fails to agree on political union or institutional reform, but agreed to instituting Euro by 1999, with circulation of notes and coins beginning Jan 2002
 * Euro:
 * Politically correct name, images
 * Provides a reason for political unity
 * Forced nations to make politically difficult decisions on economy
 * Straight-jackets the nations…meaning their political economies are structurally transformed
 * See interactive explanation at BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/quick_guides/05/europe_european_union_constitution/html/1.stm
 * Initiative taken at Laeken summit in 2001…in part in response to difficulties reaching agreement on voting reform in Nice 2000 and in light of expanded European Union
 * Much hyperbole initially when Convention convened under Giscard d’Estaing in 2002 …comparisons to Philadelphia
 * But it’s a jumble…highly criticized by the Economist on Right and others on Left
 * Democratic accountability remains at the national level for now
 * It’s still a treaty…and has to be ratified by all member states to take effect…so analogy to a national constitution cannot be taken too far
 * Certainly more complicated than the US constitution…
 * Note that it was abandoned in the end in favor of the Lisbon Treaty

Content

 * Result of agonizing compromise--can view it as informed by a ‘brake and accelerator’ principle
 * The final document was a simplified EU treaty….and gives EU formal status as an entity for diplomatic purposes.
 * Creates post of president of European Council, which would replace rotating 6-month EU presidency (by country)
 * Creates post of EU foreign minister to head new EU diplomatic service
 * Greater scope for defense cooperation
 * New powers to EU Parliament over legislation and budget
 * Raises minimum number of Parl seats from 4 to 6….maximum for large states is 96
 * Reduces size of Commission from 2014, with only 2/3 sending members
 * New decision procedures
 * Abolishes national veto in some areas, including immigration and asylum policy
 * Retains national veto in tax, defence, and foreign policy, and EU budget financing
 * Introduces new ‘double majority voting’ system for council of ministers…yes vote requires 15 member states comprising at leat 65% of EU population
 * Introduces mechanism for leaving EU
 * Increases power of Eurogroup to coordinated own policies
 * Incorporates EU charter of fundamental rights

Majority voting

 * Draft called for ‘majority voting’ with majority of countries and representing 60% of population for those issues subject to majority votes…France and Germany supported this
 * But this would have reduced power of Poland and Spain who won considerably more voting strength at Nice
 * French were particularly intransigent on this front because they appear to sense loss of influence in expanded Europe

Reducing size of the Commission

 * draft suggested 15 voting members only…this would have excluded some countries

European presidency

 * lengthening the term of the presidency would reduce participation by countries since now rotates every 6 months

Core Europe versus single track

 * Co-operation might go forward for some and in some areas, while others sit it out…example is the euro area with 12 countries
 * Under Nice Treaty to go forward in this way the ‘core’ countries must number at least 8 and they require agreement of all other countries before formally going on

National vetoes on tax, foreign policy, social security and finances…Britain plus allies

 * Britain traded its support on institutional questions

On social issues

 * Brits opposed scope of the charter of fundamental rights and obtained an explanatory note restricting its interpretation to EU law

Defense

 * Britain watered down proposals…supported by neutral countries incl Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Austria

Justice and home affairs

 * Criminal law: Britain, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark opposed greater integration including prosecutor

Stability pact

 * Dutch v unhappy at Germany and France’s flouting of the pact

Ratification

 * By parliamentary vote in most states, but by referendum in as many as 10
 * Always likely to be difficult…EU reached new lows of popularity with 2004 elections…turnout only 45% overall and 28% in the new states…and they installed populist and Eurosceptic parties
 * Treaty was rejected by referendum in France and the Netherlands; the Left in France and elsewhere see it as too (neo-) liberal and lacking ambition on the social front; the Right saw it as threatening national sovereignty and increasing bureaucracy
 * UK referendum delayed until after Lisbon, and then abandoned after all; Right in UK oppose its charter of rights and overall increase in EU scope on social front
 * As of 2007 status: See BBC map here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3954327.stm

=The Lisbon Treaty= Text is here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/11_12_07treatya.pdf Comments from Irish voters here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/europe_irish_referendum/html/1.stm …