Integration

Question 1

What are the 5 main institutions in the EU today and what are their roles?

Answer 1

European Commission:
- Policy Initiator + manager
European Council:
- Heads of governments meet to set broad political guidelines by which the EU should be ran
- Usually over large crisis e.g. Euro crisis
European Parliament:
- Upholds the views of the European citizens
Council of Ministers:
- Ministers of certain area’s e.g. finance, economy, environment
Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU)
- The European Court

Question 2

What does the EU of today do?

Answer 2

Make policies through joint decisions, which can be:

• Regulatory policies (helps create level playing field for competition e.g. regulating quality of food
• Expenditure policies (Low budget but tries to have expenditure in farming/agriculture
• Macroeconomic policies (The Euro)
• Citizens policies (Rights for EU citizens
• Foreign policies (CSDP CFSP = very intergovernmental)

Question 3

What have been the treaties overtime?

Answer 3

• Paris 1952 (ECSC)
• Rome 1958 (EEC + Euratom)
• Single European Act 1987 (Single market introduced)
• Treaty on European Union 1993 (Maastricht, Euro introduced)
• Amsterdam 1998
• Nice 2000 (Enlargement)
• Lisbon 2007 (Reform of EU Institutions)

Question 4

Why did the original six choose to integrate?

Answer 4

• Hoped for federal Europe to prevent nationalist fascism which breeds war
• Economic devastation hit post-World war 2

Question 5

Why did the US involve themselves with EU integration?

Answer 5

• Geopolitics and Truman doctrine through Marshall Plan: East Germany on brink of iron curtain, US funded European recovery to secure west Europe from communist USSR
• Potential fruitful trading future

Question 6

What was Haas’ idea of neofunctionalism?

Answer 6

• Predicted European integration must begin with Economic integration e.g. ECSC
• Haas then argued that this would cause a political spillover, as it did, with the creation of the EEC and then more political sectors but still intergovernmental

Question 7

What was Alan Milward’s and Moravcisk’s realist perspective?

Answer 7

• In self-help system = pool resources to save nation states, not create supranational
• Focuses less on integration and more on economic interdependence post WW2

Question 8

What was the idea of Jean Monnet and the Schuman Declaration?

Answer 8

• The pooling together of resources in Coal and steel through Paris 1952 treaty
• Monnet shared Haas’s ideology of there most certainly being a spillover to political matters
• Attempted a EDC but was shutdown as many believed it was too early to re-arm Germany post-World War 2
• Bounced back with introduction of EEC with Rome treaty (1958), involved: free movement of goods, citizens and common agricultural policy (ONLY AMONGST THE SIX)
• Economic crisis in 1970 led to EEC failing to take off
• Revised 1987 as the single European act and single market

Question 9

How did EU integration begin?

Answer 9

• Benelux created by Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg to trade
• Fear of German rearmament meant Britain and France joined through Treaty of Brussels, a defense alliance which Benelux merged with
• Not all warmed to the idea of federal United Europe (Britain, Scandinavians)
• Germany was interested but this was ruled out due to Iron Curtain West/East divide (capitalist democracy west vs. Soviet Union East

Question 10

When was the Council of Europe created and what was its function?
Who did it disappoint?

Answer 10

• Created 1950
• First sign of HR acknowledgement and normative power Europe
• First step toward political and institutionalisation co operation
• The 6 (West Germany, France, Britain, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Italy) led the way
• All states had a veto
• Disappointed federalists as V. intergovernmental

Question 11

What happened in the 1960’s

Answer 11

• Empty Chair Crisis prevented enlargement: French President De Gualle attempted to boycott Britain joining the EEC as it threatened French ‘Leadership’, especially with the introduction of QMV
• With de Gualle’s retirement, Ireland, UK and Denmark joined

Question 12

What happened in 1970’s?

Answer 12

• Plans for monetary union
• Further integration
• Enlarged community entered recession as less economically developed states joined

Question 13

What happened 1980-90s?

Answer 13

• Single European Act and Single market -> to improve market and form the idea of relationships through a ‘European Union’

Question 14

What happened during the Maastricht Treaty, 1993?

Answer 14

• 3 Pillar system introduced which lacked uniformed structure, having 2 intergovernmental pillars and 1 supranational
• TEU formed

Question 15

What happened during the Amsterdam Treaty, 1998?

Answer 15

• Schengen Cooperaton incorporated to give EU greater coherence to EU activity and better movement of people through introduction of passport-free movement
• Closer cooperation for MS willing + interested, as some did some didn’t and this way states not to be held back
• Treaty failed to prepare next enlargement

Question 16

What would the implementation of the European constitution meant?

Answer 16

• Would have have in itself created a foreign policy maker, giving the High Representative this ‘Foreign Minister’ role.
• This would have created a double-hatted official with the ability to exercise as both the High Representative and the Commissioner for External Relations. In short, the EU would have created a position that had the power to shape foreign policy through its own initiative.

Question 17

What happened during Lisbon?

Answer 17

• HR/VP gained much larger amounts of control which increase coherence of EU
• Resembles slightly that of a federal state
• EP gained a much higher position
• Stands to see the EU as it should be – however still stands as a complex moulding of supranationalism and intergovernmentalism