Ways of Considering EC/EU Political History

A Movement – Driven and Shaped by European Nations – Inspired and initiated by Key Personalities and their supporters and constituencies Landmark Actions and Achievements – Examples: Treaty of Rome, SEA, Maastricht – Examples: CAP, Internal Market, EURO, Enlargement Landmark Crises – Examples: “Empty Chair,” the Budget, Maastricht Referendum Building New/New Kind of Institutions – Their Powers and Relationships with one another – Their Role, as “Community Actors,” in shaping EC/EU

Ways of Considering EC/EU Political History (cont’d)

Political parties, popular reactions at home Multiple contexts – Cold War/ end of Cold War politics and diplomacy – Foreign policy of individual countries, both towards Europe and beyond Europe – Dramatic internal political transformations Democratic regimes in Southern Europe (Greece, Spain, Portugal) Germany Eastern Europe – New political issues within established EC/EU countries Immigration Challenges to welfare state policy National identity: emergence of populist extreme right parties

Political History of European Integration

Issues – Nation-State

Sovereignty and Its Abdication

– Enlargement – “Democratic Deficit” – Institutions – Community Budget, “own resources” National Interests and Deal-Making Dynamics of Institutions

The Three Pillars

The Story of Politics

Pre-Treaty of Rome – European Defense Community (1952-1954) First Stage of Cooperation (1958-68) – The Issue of Sovereignty Charles de Gaulle, the “Empty Chair,” the Luxembourg Compromise (1965-66) Unanimity (the Veto) vs. Qualified Majority – The Issue of Britain – The First Major “Deal”: CAP

The Story of Politics (cont’d-1)

Politics Amidst “Eurosclerosis” (1973-84) – Enlargements Britain, Ireland, Denmark (1973) Greece (1981) – Democratic Deficit European Parliament Direct Election (1979) – Crisis over the Budget (1979-84) Margaret Thatcher: aggressive, abrasive approach Renegotiating the British contribution, the “rebate”

The Story of Politics (cont’d-2)

Renewal (1985-1992) – The Commissions of Jacques Delors 1985-88, 1989-92, 1993-94 – Breakthrough: White Paper on “Completing the Internal Market” (1985) Lord Arthur Cockfield, Commissioner for Internal Market and Financial Institutions (DG3) 279 concrete measures Deadline of 31 December 1992 – Single European Act (1986) Amend Treaty of Rome Qualified Majority Voting (QMV)

The Story of Politics (cont’d-3)

Renewal (1985 1992) [cont’d] – Delors Committee/ Delors Report (1989) Committee of Central Bank governors Monetary Union – Two Intergovernmental Conferences (IGCs) in 1990-91 (parallel, at the same time) First IGC: Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) Second IGC: Political Union – Reform of Institutions – Treaty of Maastricht (signed 1992)

The Story of Politics (cont’d-4)

Context of Renewal – Margaret Thatcher rallies to Single Market Europe – Enlargement: Spain and Portugal (1986) – Fall of Berlin Wall (1989) – Mitterrand and Kohl: German re-unification Drama of Maastricht Referendums (1992 1993)

The Story of Politics (cont’d-5)

Big Steps Towards Unified Europe – Economic and Monetary Union 3 stages of 1990’s European Central Bank (Frankfurt) EURO by March 2002 – Enlargement (1995) Scandinavia: Sweden and Finland, not Norway Austria

The Story of Politics (cont’d-6)

Big Steps (cont’d) – IGCs and Treaties to Strengthen Maastricht Treaty of Amsterdam (IGC 1996-97, treaty signed 1997, treaty ratified by 1999) Treaty of Nice (IGC 1999-2000, signed 2000) – European citizenship – Living within the “Three Pillars” Growing importance of Justice and Home Affairs

The Story of Politics (cont’d-7)

– History in the Making Today Massive Enlargement: Copenhagen Summit (2002) European Convention (December 2001-) – A Constitution for Europe?

– A European presidency? – Intergovernmentals vs. Federalists – National Interests and Deals France and Germany Big Countries, Small Countries – Valery Giscard d’Estaing (former president of France) is president/chair of the Convention – Decision in hands of IGC

The Story of Institutions

Key Original Institutions: What are they?

– The Council (Council of Ministers) of the EU – The Commission and its President – The European Parliament – The European Court of Justice Key Innovations – The European Council (of Heads of State) Unofficial origins (in 1974) and status Presidency overlaps with that of the Council – Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) – European Central Bank – European Court of Auditors

The Story of Institutions (cont’d-1)

Institutions on a Lesser yet Important Scale – Economic and Social Committee – Committee of the Regions (innovation)

The Story of Institutions (cont’d-2)

Actions – High level Treaties and treaty amendments – Prepared and negotiated by IGC Major initiative and direction – European Council, summits – Regular (legislation) Regulation, directive, decision Recommendation, opinion – Testing, refinement, innovation of legislation Court of Justice

The Story of Institutions (cont’d-3)

The Commission – Membership and selection – President: Walter Hallstein, Jacques Delors – Location: Brussels (Belgium) – Subunits: DGs – Role: EC/EU as “one” Trade negotiations within GATT/ WTO Example: Delegation of the European Commission to the United States

The Story of Institutions (cont’d-4)

The Council – Member States – Rotating presidency (every 6 months) – COREPER – QMV and “federalism”

The Story of Institutions (cont’d-5)

The Parliament – Growing importance and role since 1979 – Locus of “democratic deficit” concerns – Organization by party rather than country – Key powers: Budget Approval of the Commission Co-decision (theory and reality) Commission and Parliament – Terms of Office coincide – EU image to the public: two “extremes”

The Three Pillars

First Pillar : “the European Community” – Economics at the core – Extensive federalism (eg, QMV for Internal Market) Second Pillar : “Common Foreign and Security Policy” – “Pure” intergovernmental Third Pillar : “Justice and Home Affairs” – Key growth area (immigration, drugs, terrorism) – Intergovernmental but spreading federalism

The Continuing Debate

Supranationalism: the “Federalism” Ideal – Progressive transference of sovereignty from national to “Community” level – Key supranational developments: QMV Economic and Monetary Union – Issue: control of national economic policy, especially in recession economy – Focus today: the interest rate, rules on budget deficits and national debt Court decisions on internal market matters – Institutional embodiments Commission Parliament Court of Justice

The Continuing Debate (cont’d)

Intergovernmentalism: “Europe of Nations” Ideal – Focus of Member State independence – Key domains: Foreign policy, security and defense Criminal law and related legal “home affairs” National budget (fiscal policy) Welfare state institutions and policies – Institutional embodiments The two Councils (Ministers, Heads of State) IGC concept Subsidiarity: a Theoretical Compromise