National sovereignty

Question 1

How does the Commission threaten sovereignty?

Answer 1

The Commission has the exclusive power to propose new laws to the European Parliament and the Council.

Question 2

What effect does the European Communities Act of 1972 have?

Answer 2

The European Communities Act 1972 enabled the UK to join the European Economic Community.

Question 3

Why does the European Communities Act 1972 erode sovereignty?

Answer 3

Because it is requiring courts in the member states to apply EU laws.

Question 4

How does a European regulation erode sovereignty?

Answer 4

Member states would have to amend their national laws in order to avoid conflicting with the regulation.

Question 5

What is subsidiarity?

Answer 5

The Union only acts where action will be more effective at EU level than at national level.

Question 6

How does subsidiarity protect sovereignty?

Answer 6

National parliaments remain competent to monitor the correct application of this principle in EU decision-making.

Question 7

How does the ECJ erode sovereignty

Answer 7

Member states are required to comply with the court’s rulings, and may be fined if they do not do so.

Question 8

How could member states resist the ECJ

Answer 8

Member states retain the ability to resist any unreasonable request from treaties that they think would ultimately affects their constitutions.

Question 9

Examples of member states bringing a case against the ECJ itself

Answer 9

Slovakia and Hungary took legal action against EU Commission over migrant quota plan for 120,000 asylum seekers.

Question 10

How is the Commission eroding sovereignty

Answer 10

Professional politicians from all 27 are above national politics and would have to act on the basis of European interest rather than national interest.

Question 11

The Commission’s power on deficit targets

Answer 11

The Commission has gained greater powers to ensure members meet deficit targets.

Question 12

Example of Commission’s power on deficit targets

Answer 12

Spain and Portugal were fined for running an excessive budget deficit.

Question 13

How is the EU eroding sovereignty on deficit

Answer 13

All EU countries are required to set out policies to bring their budget deficits below 3% of GDP. The EU has bought stricter public finance rules following the debt crisis in Eurozone countries.

Question 14

Sovereignty protected

• language

Answer 14

There are no plans to impose a common language across Europe

Question 15

Sovereignty protected

• Meeting among PMs and presidents

Answer 15

Eu summits are attended by presidents, prime ministers and chancellors who lead countries with very different legal system

Question 16

Sovereignty protected

• Aim

Answer 16

All the EU can do is to ensure that its members meet common standards of justice and democracy

Question 17

Maastricht Treaty Protocol 25

Answer 17

Protocol 25 of the Maastricht treaty exempts the UK from using the Euro, this means monetary policy remains a domestic issue

Question 18

The role of member states has declined!

Answer 18

The role of the member states has declined as the competence of the EU institutions has grown, but their powers vary from one set of policies to another

Question 19

Environmental policy making

Answer 19

Environmental policy may be listed as a shared responsibility, but in practice it is almost entirely made at the EU level

Question 20

EU on human health

Answer 20

While human health is listed as a shared responsibility, healthcare is almost entirely a responsibility of the member states

Question 21

Lisbon Treaty and JHA

Answer 21

Britain secured opt-outs from justice and home affairs legislation from the Lisbon Treaty

Question 22

Direct effect of EU law

Answer 22

The principle of direct effect reinforces that EU member states lost sovereignty

Question 23

The use of QMV and the UK

• How much influence

Answer 23

The UK has 13% of the EU population, so gets a 13% vote share

Question 24

The use of QMV and the UK

• Winning rate

Answer 24

The UK was on the winning side 87% of the time between 2009-2015

Question 25

Erode by QMV

Answer 25

The British government does have to accept some EU decisions it did not vote for

Question 26

The EU failed to be democratic

• Disant

Answer 26

The EU appears too distant from its citizens

Question 27

The EU failed to be democratic

• too complicated

Answer 27

The EU is considered too complicated for the citizens to be sufficiently involved in its decision-making

Question 28

The EU failed to be democratic

• lack of transparency

Answer 28

There is a lack of transparency and education prevents citizens from understanding the nature of the EU and how they can influence it