History Or Eu Integration Flashcards
In which ways do historical visions of Europe differ?
Finalite: confederation (intergovernmentalism)/ federation (supranationalism)
Method: incrementalism / revolution
Dynamic: external pressure (external federator) / internally driven process
Scope: small (Western Europe) / large / potentially global (Kant, cf)
Direction: bottom up (grassroots movement) / top down (elite driven)
Function: peace, wealth, others
Unification of Europe is an old vision!
Walter Hallstein 1969: Europe is not something new!
Pax Romana (27BC) rom. Emperor Augustus: inner peace and protection of borders
Charlemagne (768-814): revival of Roman Empire: inner peace and protection of borders
Dante Alighieri: universalis civilitas: headed by the German emperor
Pierre Dubois: in order to conquer Jerusalem, European territories should build a federation
Duc de Sully, after the 30 years war: Republique chretienne as a federation of 15 European territories
Abbé Castel de Saint-Pierre: memoire pour rendre la paix perpetuelle: federation of European states in order to prevent war in Europe
Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi: Pan European-union against soviet influences, still exists today
CSCE, council of Europe, ECCS, EEC, euratom (EU)
The situation after world war 2 and what the leading politicians in Europe wanted to do against it
“There will be no peace in Europe, if states are reconstituted on the basis of nation sovereignty.. The countries of Europe are too small to guarantee their peoples their necessary prosperity and social development. The European states must constitute themselves into a federation” Jean Monnet
“Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity” Robert Schuman
“Europe must be created” Konrad Adenauer
“Europe of tomorrow must be a supranational Europe!” Paul-Henri Spaak
Reasons for and aims of the European integration
Why was the Eu originally founded and what does the EU aim at?
Why was the EU originally founded?
Problem: to prevent war in Europe (especially between Germany and France)
Idea: to communitarize the coal and steel production in Germany, France, Italy and the Benelux countries
-> why coal and steel?
“The pooling of coal and steel production.. Will change the destinies of those regions which have long been devoted to the manufacture of munitions of war, of which they have been the most constant victims” (Schuman declaration)
Vision of founding fathers: a federation of European states
What does the EU aim at?
First all: peace and security
And also: powerful position (especially between the two emerging superpowers after WWII ), wealth, a single European market, European standards, the four freedoms (free movement of goods, freedom of movement for workers, right of establishment and freedom to provide services, free movement of capital ) , and many others..
There were two different ways how to reach these goals
Guiding principle 1 intergovernmentality
Finalite: European confederation of sovereign states
Dominant actors: governments of member states
Decision making: unanimity (with national veto power)
Scope of EU influence: limited (most powers in foreign and security policy remains on national level)
Function of EU: service agency for national governments
Guiding principle 2: supranationality
Finalite: European federation (with most sovereignty transferred to the EU level)
Dominant actors: common institutions
Decision making: one man one vote (and democratic legitimation of EU institutions)
Scope of EU influence: broad (also in foreign and security policy)
Function of EU: common government
-> both guiding principles can be found in the history (and the treaties) of European integration
The positions of the major players in Europe after WWII
France: driving force , supranational vision/ integration to prevent further attacks from Germany
Germany: supportive / interest in re-integration into international community
Benelux: supportive / economic interests/ rather intergovernmental vision
Italy: confused / primarily internal politic agenda
Uk: ambivalent/ undecided between orientation towards US or towards continent, rather intergovernmental vision
A first step- the OEEC
Situation in Europe 1947: bad harvest in 1947 -> rising food prices -> accurate shortage of foreign reserves
Proposed of Marshall plan: US general George Marshall proposed a programmer to aid Europe
Conditions for aid: dismantling barriers to trade among European nations, co-operation in the creation if a European organization to administer the aid program, limited to Western European countries due to USSR
OEEC : creation of organization for European economic co-operation , France wanted OEEC to be supranational, UK wanted OEEC to be intergovernmental ( UK view prevailed)
1961: OECD : transformed to Paris- based OECD (org for economic co-operation and development)
Potentially global forum for countries with very high HDI committed to democracy and the market economy (fighting corruption, PISA, economic development)
OEEC did not become nucleus for European integration (intergovernmental, global)
A second step: the council of Europe
Pro-European statesmen rallied and called for an economic and political union in Europe
Congress in The Hague in 1948: 800 delegates (chairman Winston Churchill )
Council of Europe created on 1949
Britain and Scandinavian countries prevented it from becoming a supranational union
Very limited powers (consultative assembly) 1950: European convention on human rights
First president Paul- Henri Spaak resigned
Still exists today in Strasbourg with focus on human rights, rule of law and democracy
A third and most effective step:
The foundation of the ECSC
Failure of federalist attempts in both OEEC and CoE made necessary a change in tactics
Start small and hope for a spill-over
Large share of Europeans energy needs met by coal, but allied control of coal and steel production in the Ruhrgebiet could not continue indefinitely
Solution: Schuman Plan ( elaborated by Jean Monnet- French official in the Commissariat du Plan (remember planification)
Peace through banning mutual perception of danger and aggression between France and Germany by placing control of coal and steel production in all member states under one c’mon supranational “high authority”
Goal: to make war in Europe not only unthinkable, but materially impossible
Establishment of ECSC in1951 ( treaty of Paris )
Success if ECSC leads to new wave of supranational hopes for a European superstate
Success of ECSC / emerging Cold War
- > US and UK wanted Germany re-armament, but France opposed it
- > European defense community (EDC) with a combined European army, a single uniform, flag, budget
- > necessity to control European army
->
European political community (EPC)
- > 1952 EDC Treaty signed but in 1954 French parliament refused to ratify the Treaty (all other five parliaments had ratified the Treaty)
- > WEU was founded as a traditional intergovernmental organization
The foundation of the EEC - the treaties of Rome
After the failure of EDC and EPC: continuation of the functionalist method of integration
Scandinavia and UK remained critical towards supranational integration
ECSC members wanted further deepening
Benelux- memorandum in1955: • work for the establishment of a United Europe by the development of common institutions, the progressive fusion of national economies, the creation of a common market and the progressive harmonization of social policies”
Messina conference : foreign ministers established an intergovernmental committee under Belgian foreign minister Paul- Henri Spaak, to work out respective treaties (Spaak conference)
Finally, EEC and Euratom were founded in Rome (Treaties of Rome) in 1957 (entered into force in January 1958)
As a reaction/ the intergovernmentally-minded European states founded their own free trade area (EFTA) in 1960
Objectives of the EEC and of the EU today
Art. 2, EEC treaty (Rome) Harmonious development Continuous and balanced expansion Increased stability Even more tapia growth in living standards Closer links between the member states
-> difficulties to reconcile equality (harmonious development, balanced expansion) with efficiency (rapid growth)
Art 3 TEU (Lisbon)
Peace and well being
Area of freedom, security and justice without frontiers
Internal market
Sustainable development
Balanced economic growth and price stability
Highly competitive social market economy
Full employment and social progress
Protection if the environment
Scientific and technology advance
Social justice and protection
Equality between women and men
Economic, social and territorial cohesion
Solidarity among member states
Cultural and linguistic diversity
Economic and monetary union /euro
Peace, security , and the sustainable development of the earth
Implementation measures in the Treaties of Rome
Measures to reach this goal were defined (implementation period until 1969)
Abolition of tariffs
Abolition of quantitative and qualitative restrictions in intra-EEC trade
Creation of a common external tariff
Elimination of obstacles to the free movement of people, capital, goods and services
Common agricultural policy
Co-ordination of the economic policies of the member states to avoid balance-of-payments disequilibria
Creation of the European social fund (ESF) to improve employment opportunities
Special trade and development arrangements for colonies and former colonies (ACP-countries, cf banana market directive)
The evolution of the treaties
1952: the European coal and steel community (the treaty of Paris)
1958: the treaties of Rome: the European economic community
The European atomic energy community
1987: the European single act: the single market
1993: the treaty of Maastricht
1999: the treaty of Amsterdam
2003: the treaty of nice
2009: the treaty of Lisbon
The years of eurosclerosis (1960- 1980)
Economic policies in the 1970s: new protectionism. Application of non-tariff barriers within Europe
Empty chair crisis in 1965: de Gaulle opposed further deepening of the union and a shift from unanimity to qualified majority voting. The French government did not participate in council meetings for six months, thereby blocking all decisions
Andrew moravcski: in internal discussions, de Gaulle mentioned that his fundamental goals were to strip the commission of it’s unique power of proposal, to block the transition to majority voting and to fire the current commission.
Luxembourg compromise: institutional deadlock through: Luxembourg compromise: the Luxembourg compromise, signed on 1966:
Where, in the case of decisions which may be taken by majority vote on a proposal if the commission, very important interests of one or more partners are at stake, the members of the council will endeavor, within a reasonable time, to reach solutions which can be adopted by all members of the council while respecting their mutual interests and those of the community.
- dominance of member states as key actors (EU rather forum than actor itself)
- Dominance of unanimity (instead of qmv)
- dominance of imperative mandates (instead if interactive political representation)
-> dominance of intergovernmentalism
