Unit 8. The European Union Key terms

European Commission - A 20-member commission that serves as the bureaucratic organ of the European Union

European Community (EC)- Established in 1967, the EC was a single unit whose plural name (communities) reflect the fact that it united the Euro­pean Coal and Steel Community, the European Atomic Energy Community, and the European Economic Com­munity. The EC evolved into the European Union beginning in 1993.

European Court of Justice (ECJ) - A court created by the Eu­ropean Union and given jurisdiction by it to settle dis­putes between EU members.

European Economic Community (EEC) - The regional trade and economic organization established in West­ern Europe by the Treaty of Rome in 1958, also known as the Common Market

European Parliament - The 626-member legislative branch of the European Union Representation is de­termined by population of member-countries, and is based on five-year terms

European Political Cooperation (EPC) - The ongoing effort of European Union members to devise a common posi­tion on foreign policy issues through regular meetings among EU foreign ministers.

European Union (EU) - The Western European regional organization established in 1983 when the Maastricht Treaty went into effect. The EU encompasses the still legally existing European Community (EC). When the EC was formed in 1967, it in turn encompassed three still legally existing regional organizations formed in the 1950s the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Economic Community (EEC), and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM)

Integration – The processes and activities by which the pop­ulations of two or more states transfer their loyalties to a merged political and economic unit.

Political integration – The process or the product of efforts to build new political communities and supranational institutions that transcend the state.

Text 1 Focus on the European Union

The growth of regional IGOs has been striking. Prior to World War II there were no prominent regional IGOs. Now there are many. Most of these are relatively specialized, with regional economic IGOs, such as the Arab Cooperation Council, the most numerous. Other regional IGOs are general purpose and deal with а range of issues. These include, for example, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the Organization of American States (OAS). Another noteworthy development regarding regional IGOs is that some of them are transitioning from specialized to general purpose organizations. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was founded in 1967 to promote regional economic cooperation. More recently, though, ASEAN has begun to take on а greater political tinge, and, in particular, may serve as а political and defensive counter­weight to China in the region. А more obvious change in role is evident for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It was established in 1975 to facilitate economic interchange, but in the 1990s ECOWAS took on а very different function when it intervened in the civil wars raging in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Beyond any of these examples of regional IGOs, the best example of what is possible is the regionalism in Europe. There, the European Union, with its 27 member-countries, has moved toward full economic integration. It has also traveled in the direction of considerable political cooperation.

European Integration

There is no easy definition of "integration". The word is used frequently by politicians, academics and journalists alike, and is usually used as а synonym for what goes on within the European Union. Political scientists should be more interested in establishing а general definition of integration. This would allow judgements to be made about the extent to which "Europe" has undergone а process of integration and it would be а basic requirement for the meaningful comparison of instances of integration in different times and/or places.

When political scientists speak of international integration, they have in mind something along the lines suggested by Reginald Harrison: “Integration is evidently а process of political, but also far-reaching, social transformation. The integration process . . . may be. . . defined . . . as the attainment within an area of the bonds of political community: of central institutions with binding decision making powers and methods of control determining the allocation of values at the regional level and also of adequate complementary consensus-formation mechanisms.”

Integration, in this sense, appears to be about the manufacture of the attributes of а political system from two or more previously separate systems. This involves both the creation of common institutions and the development of adequate levels of public support to ensure that the new system is endowed with legitimacy. It might be argued, then, that inter­national integration is analogous to the process of nation-building, but on а much grander scale.

However, such definitions presuppose а particular destination for а successfully "integrated" European Union. Is it really the case that an integrated Europe will be onе which possesses а set of institutions which give it the attributes of statehood? Other scholars have different views on what integration entails. Economists tend to understand integration as а five-stage process whereby separate economies gradually gather the characteristics of а single economy (Table 2). Others prefer to see integration as а cultural phenomenon: the development of intensive patterns of interaction amongst previously separate peoples through forms of communication (e.g. computer technologies, tourism). This has led some to offer yet mоrе generic definitions of integration. William Wallace describes it as “the creation and maintenance of intense and diversified patterns of interaction among previously autonomous units”.

Wallace goes on to make an important distinction between formal and informal integration. Formal integration is the deliberate creation by governments in concert of institutions, norms and procedures via treaties, regulations and decisions, whereas informal integration consists in the growth of networks of interaction without the conscious intervention of governments.

In any case, we need to be cautious about whether we understand integration as а process (or а set of processes) or as а particular outcome or end-point. Again, different perspectives emphasize different key variables involved in the processes of integration and depict very different integration outcomes. When we examine an organization like the ЕU, it is as well to be conversant with the various alternative accounts of what drives it and where it might be going.

The origins and evolution of the European Union

The European Union (EU) has evolved through several stages. One way to keep track of the changes in the structure and purpose of the EU described in the following paragraphs is to note the changes in the names of the successive organizations. "What's in а name?" you might ask, echoing Shakespeare's heroine in Romeo and Juliet. As she discovered, the names Capulet and Montague proved important. So too, the name changes leading up to the current EU are important in the tale they tell.

Economic Integration

The organizational genesis of the EU dates back to 1952 when Belgium, France, (West) Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands joined together to create а common market for coal, iron, and steel products called the European Coal and Steel Community (ЕСSС). The idea of a coal and steel community was proposed by the Schuman Plan in 1950 and was formally established by the Treaty of Paris. It proved so successful that in 1957 the six countries signed the Treaties of Rome that created the European Economic Community (ЕЕС) to facilitate trade in many additional areas and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) to coordinate matters in that realm. Both new communities came into being on January 1, 1958.

Interchange among the 6 countries expanded rapidly, and they soon felt that they should coordinate their activities even further. Therefore, the 6 created the European Communities (ЕС), which went into operation in 1967. Each of the three preexisting organizations became subordinate parts of the ЕС. Success brought new members, as detailed in Table 3.

The eventual, if not quite stated, goal of the EU is to encompass all the region's countries. Jacques Santer, president of the European Commission (1995-1999), insisted that no country that met the EU economic and political standards should be kept out. 'There will be no such things as "in countries" and "out countries"; rather there will be "ins" and "pre-ins", he said. Не might have added that within а decade or two, all the countries of Europe may well be "ins."

For about 30 years, the integrative process in Europe focused on economics. Members of the ЕС grew ever more interdependent as economic barriers were elimi­nated. In 1968 the members of the ЕС abolished the last tariffs on manufactured goods among themselves and established а common ЕС external tariff. The ЕС also began to bargain as а whole with other countries in trade negotiations. On another economic front, members agreed in 1970 to fund the ЕС with а virtually inde­pendent revenue source by giving it а share of each country's value-added tax (VAT, similar to а sales tax) and all customs duties collected on imports from non-ЕС countries. The last major step in the pre-EU evolution toward economic integration was the Single European Act (SЕА) of 1987. The SЕА amended the basic ЕС agreement and committed the ЕС to becoming а fully integrated economic unit.

Political integration

There comes а point in economic integration when pressure builds to take steps toward political integration. Onе reason this occurs is that it is impossible to reach full economic integration among sovereign states whose domestic and foreign political policies are sometimes in conflict. Moreover, as the people unite economically, it is easier to think of becoming onе politically.

Europe entered а new, more political phase of integrative evolution in 1993 when the far-reaching Treaty on European Union (known as the Maastricht Treaty) went into effect. The treaty had important provisions to increase the EU's economic integration even further. Of greater importance were the political changes that began under the treaty. The concept of European citizenship was expanded. Citizens of EU countries can now travel on either an EU or а national passport, and citizens of any EU country can vote in local and European Parliament elections in another EU country in which they live. In addition, the EU acts increasingly as а political unit. The Maastricht Treaty called for the eventual cre­ation of а common foreign and defense policy and common policy relating to such issues as crime, terrorism, and immigration. Gradually, such ideas have begun to become reality. The EU and the United States exchange ambassadors.

Since the adoption of the Maastricht Treaty, EU integration and expansion has moved forward through other treaties including the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) and the Treaty of Nice. The Amsterdam treaty creates yet stronger political integration of the EU and strengthens the powers of the president of the EU Commission and the European Parliament (ЕР). The Treaty of Nice is primarily devoted to easing the way for the further expansion of the EU's membership by detailing political arrangements-such as the distribution of seats or votes in the ЕР, the Commission, and the Council of Ministers

The government of Europe: а prototype

The EU's organizational structure is extremely complex, but а brief look at it is important to illustrate the extent to which а regional government has been created. As with all governments, the structure and the authority of the various EU units play an important part in determining how policy is made and which policies are adopted. Table 4 gives а brief overview of this structure. The EU's government can be divided for analysis into the political leadership, the bureaucracy, the legislature, and the judiciary.

Political leadership

Political decision making occurs within the Council of the European Union, usually called the Council of Ministers. The council meets twice а year as а gathering of the prime ministers and other heads of government and decides on the most important policy directions for the EU. The council meets more often with lesser ministers (often finance ministers) in attendance to supplement the prime ministerial meetings. Most sessions are held in Brussels, Belgium, which is the principal site of the EU administrative element. Decisions are made by а weighted-vote plan (termed "qualified majority voting"). Under this plan the larger EU countries have more votes on some matters. There are а total of 87 votes, with each country's allocation ranging from 10 votes for France, Germany, Great Britain, and Italy to 2 votes for Luxembourg. Unanimity is often required, but 62 of the 87 votes are sometimes suf­ficient to make policy.

Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy in the EU is organized within the European Commission. The 20­member commission administers policy adopted by the council. Individual commis­sioners are selected from the member-states on the basis of two each from France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and Spain and one commissioner from each of the other members. The commissioners are not, however, supposed to represent the viewpoint of their country. They serve five-year terms and act as а cabinet for the EU with each commissioner overseeing an area of administrative activity. One of the commissioners is selected by the Council of Europe to be the commission president. This official serves as the EU's administrative head and is the overall director of the EU bureaucracy headquartered in Brussels.

The post of President of the Commission has evolved into one of the most sig­nificant in the EU, arguably something like а president of the European Union. А great deal of that evolution can also be attributed to Jacques Delors, а French national who served as president from 1985 through 1994 and who became known as "Мr.Europe" because of his strong advocacy of European integration. Delors and his staff created а core structure, informally referred to as "Eurocracy," which has а European point of view, rather than а national orientation.

Delors's aggressive stance caused а negative reaction in some countries, and when he stepped down the British and some others pressed for the election of а pres­ident who would be more restrained. This led the Council of Europe to choose Lux­embourg's prime minister, Jacques Santer, who took а lower profile than did Delors. Santer's successor, Romano Prodi of Italy, has followed suit. Nevertheless, the size and power of the EU bureaucracy mean that anyone serving as its president will be а person of significant influence.

Yet another indication of the importance of the commission, as well as the political integration of Europe, is the emergence of an ever larger, тоге active, and тоге powerful EU infrastructure. The EU's administrative staff has almost quintupled since 1970 to about 29,000 today. The number of EU regulations, decisions, and directives from onе or the other EU body has risen from an annual 345 in 1970 to over 600. The EU's 2002 budget is about $86 billion, raised from tariff revenues, from contributions based on each member's gross domestic product, and from part of each member's VAT .

Legislative Branch

The European Parliament (ЕР) serves as the EU's legislative branch and meets in Strasbourg, France. It has 626 members, apportioned among the EU countries on а modified population basis and elected to five-year terms. The most populous country (Germany) has 99 seats; the least populous country (Luxembourg) has 6 seats. Unlike most international congresses, such as the UN General Assembly, the EP's members are elected by voters in their respective countries. Furthermore, instead of organizing themselves within the ЕР by country, the representatives have tended to group themselves by political persuasion. The 1999 elections, for example, resulted in the moderately conservative coalition, called the European People's Party (ЕРР), winning 223 seats and the moderately liberal coalition, the Socialist Party of Europe (SPE), winning 179 seats. 1t was the first time in the EU's history that the ЕРР had gained more seats than the SPE. The remaining seats were scattered among seven identifiable groupings of legislators and а few dozen unaffiliated members.

The ЕР has had mostly advisory authority, but it is struggling to carve out а more authoritative role. That goal was advanced under the Treaty of Amsterdam, which extends the EP's "co-decision" authority with the Council of Min­isters to а greater number of matters. The ЕР can also veto some regulations issued by the commission and it confirms the President of the Commission. А key power, albeit one that is so far little used, is the EP's ability to accept or reject the EU budget proposed by the commission.

Judicial Branch

The Court of justice is the main element of the judicial branch of the EU. The 15-member court hears cases brought to it by member-states or other EU institutions and sometimes acts as а court of appeals for decisions of lower EU courts. The combined treaties of the EU are often considered its "constitution." Like the EU's other institutions, the courts have gained authority over time. In onе illustrative case, the Court of Justice ruled that certain VАТ exemptions in Great Britain violated EU treaties and would have to be eliminated. The ruling prompted some members of the British Parliament to grumble that it was the first time since Charles I's reign (1625-1649) that the House of Commons had been compelled to raise taxes. Another bit of evidence of the mounting inf1uence of the court is that its workload become so heavy that the EU created а new, lower court, the Court of First Instance, which hears cases related to the EU brought by corporations and individuals.

Table 2 Stages of economic integration

Stage	Title	Attributes
1	Free-Trade Area	Removal of tariffs between two or more economies
2	Custom Union	Imposition of common external tariff by all members of the free trade area
3	Common Market	Removal of all barriers to the free movement of goods, services and persons amongst member states
4	Economic and Monetary Union	Development of а single currency and а common monetary authority
5	Total Economic Integration	Single economic policies; attributes of а single economy

Table 3 Current EU statistics

Existing members of the EU-27
Country	Year joined	GDP in billions of USD
Belgium	1958	298.2
France	1958	1645
Germany	1958	2271
Italy	1958	1552
Luxembourg	1958	25.0
Netherlands	1958	461.4
Denmark	1973	197.7
Ireland	1973	117.0
United Kingdom	1973	1994
Greece	1981	212.2
Portugal	1986	182.3
Spain	1986	885.5
Austria	1995	245.5
Finland	1995	141.7
Sweden	1995	238.1
Cyprus	2004	160.5
Czech Republic	2004	160.5
Estonia	2004	139.7
Hungary	2004	139.7
Latvia	2004	23.8
Lithuania	2004	7.1
Malta	2004	426.7
Slovakia	2004	72.3
Slovenia	2004	36.9
Bulgaria	2007	n/a
Romania	2007	n/a

Table 4

The European Union
Executive	Legislature	Judicial
Council of Ministers Council of Europe European Central Bank European Investment Bank	European Parliament	Court of Justice Court of First Instance Court of Auditors

Comprehension