Other Flashcards
Directive vs Rule
Directive: Frame for national legislation
Rule: Direct Application=Law
Direct Effect
EU citizens have a legal right to expect their governments to adhere to EU obligations
Supremacy of EU Law
If a domestic law contradicts a EU obligation, EU law prevails
Principle of Mutual Recognition
product made and sold in one MS must be allowed to be sold in another
Why do the inst. matter?
Experimentation and Change: Can change Informal powers within institutions instead of making treaty changes
Power-sharing and consensus: EU can switch between Intergovernmental solutions and supranational solutions
Scope and Capacity: EU can avoid decision-making gridlock and can expand policy cooperation without expanding powers of institutions
How Enlargements Effects Institutional Power
Parliament: deals with difficult legislation, and their power is growing
Commission: Was once more cooperative and one whole body, and now resembles Intergovernmental Body (more individual)
Council: bigger the EU, the harder it is for decisions to be made, especially when unanimity is required
Neo-Functionalism:
accumulation of power at supranational level by applying spillover
(More integrated a policy created at supranational level is, more people will ask for integration)
SUPRANATIONAL> MS
GOOD FOR ANALYSIS OF TRANSLATIONAL INTEREST AND SUPRANATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Functional Spillover
Functional Spillover: Economic Interdependencies
Example: Move from ECSC to EEC and Euratom (coal and steel made them realize an economic community might be a good idea)
Political Spillover
olitical Spillover: Create and strengthen supranational institutions, promotes further integration
Example: Pressure to set up common market from industrialists
Cultivated Spillover:
Supranational actors promote integration beyond what would naturally occur
Intergovernmentalism
Intergovernmentalism: MS are the center of the bargaining. The EU is seen as cooperation amongst states, which are the rational actors. Pooled sovereignty doesn’t diminish the role of the state.
MS> SUPRANATIONAL
GOOD FOR ANALYSIS OF NEGOTIATIONS
Problems: neglects domestic policies
Rational Choice Institutionalism:
Rational Choice Institutionalism: supranational institutions are agents created by MS; MS want to be part of supranational institutions because of the benefits and because of their own agency (similar to intergovernmentalism)
Sociological Institutionalism
Sociological Institutionalism: if you are part of the EU, you must have shared values with the others
Historical Institutionalism:
Historical Institutionalism: Focuses on the role of time, policies are seen as path dependent, and can’t be predicted
Governance Approach:
Governance Approach: governing is interactions of many actors with no clear divide between private and public sectors
EU can be seen as a governance model because EU politics are influenced by the institutions, regions, and interest groups
Private spheres can be even more powerful in policymaking
European Integration and Europeanization:
European integration focuses on how politics change things at supranational level
Europeanization focuses on how policies change things at a domestic level
Can derive from different stages of the policy process
More than formal policy; also focuses on beliefs, values, and norms
Is about the impact on MS
Vertical:
Downloading: domestic adjustment of MS
Uploading: MS gives EU their demands
Horizontal: MS chat amongst themselves
Democratic Deficit in the EU:
Loss of democratic accountability when legislative power was given to ministers in the council
This transfer of power was compensated by giving the Parliament right to approve legislation
Now it is the distance between EU institutions and voters
Competencies of the EU:
Competencies of the EU: (Established by the Lisbon treaty)
Exclusive: only the EU can act in these areas
Shared: MS can act only if EU has chosen not to
Member State: EU can support, coordinate or supplement MS actions
Principle of Subsidiarity:
Principle of Subsidiarity: decision can be taken at the lower level if possible
Market building policies and examples
Creating a single market
Competition Policy
Encouraging competition amongst forms and battling monopolies
Commission is the main player
Trade Policy
Treaty of Rome: creates common market single external tariff to non-EU countries with commission as the negotiator
Treaty of Nice: Commission is negotiator but Council of the EU has to approve
EMU (Economic and Monetary Union)
Created as outcome of maastricht treaty
Common currency and centralized responsibility for monetary policies
National governments can no longer control interest rates
Market Cushioning
Limit the harmful effect of market on human beings and environment
Environmental regulation
Food Safety Agency: source of scientific advice and risks associated with food chain
Social regulation
Market Correcting
Market- correcting
Compensate for the cost to groups imposed by building of a single market
CAP
Initial aim: Increase agricultural production and ensuring food security in cold war era
Current aim: protect agriculture by controlling prices and level of production and subsiding rural life
Protect European agricultural products from cheaper imports
Cohesion Policy:
Reducing inequality among regions and compensating governments of poorer countries for economic integration
First introduced by Italy for the south as it was one of the poorest regions in the EU at the time, but sine easter expansion the Eastern countries are getting most of the funding
Ordinary Legislative Process
European Commission Initiates Proposal (they can amend at any time, and want to avoid reaching the 3rd reading)
First reading:
European Parliament votes (majority voting)
Council of the EU (qualified majority)
National Parliaments
Second Reading:
European Parliament votes or amends
Council of the EU votes or amends
Third Reading:
Sent to a committee to say yes or no
Intergovernmental Method
Council of the EU-> 27 say “yes”
European Parliament can give opinion but can’t vote
Initial Goals of the Cap
boost production of food after the war
Launched in 1962 and wants to:
Support farmers and improve agricultural productivity
Safeguard farmers to make reasonable living
Tackle climate change
Maintain rural area
Keep rural economy alive by promoting jobs in farmers and associated sectors
Three pillars of the CAP
Income Support: direct payments (most of money goes here)
Market measures
Rural development measures
