Relations Between the Branches- The EU Flashcards
What is integration?
The process of coordinating the activities of different states through common institutions and policies.
What does supranational mean?
Having authority independent of national governments.
What is a tariff?
A tax on goods and services imported from another country.
What is enlargement?
The expansion of the EU to include new member states.
What is unamity?
A voting arrangement in which all states must be in agreement for a proposal to be passed.
What is qualified majority voting?
A voting arrangement in which proposals must win a set number of votes (over 50%) to be approved.
What is Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)?
The creation of a single currency, central bank and common monetary policy.
When was the European Coal and Steel Community established with details and what was it?
1952
Supranational organisation founded by France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg where decision-making authority was independent of its member states.
Goods
When was the European Economic Community (EEC) created with details and what was it?
1958
6 founding members from 1952 formed EEC under the Treaty of Rome (1957). The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) began in 1962 and a customs union followed in 1968 when internal tariffs were removed and a common external tariff was created.
When did enlargement occur and how with the expansion of the EU?
1973- the UK, Ireland and Denmark joined the EEC
1981- Greece joined
1986- Spain and Portugal also joined
When was the Single European Act agreed with details?
1985
It came into force in 1987. It created the single European market and prompted a greater community role in social and regional policy. Unanimity was replaced by qualified majority voting on single market legislation.
When was the Maastricht Treaty agreed with details?
1991
It came into force in 1993. It created the EU and set a timetable for EMU. IT also increased intergovernmental cooperation in foreign and security policy, and in justice and home affairs.
Current Italy PM Malone doesn’t like EMU
EMU creates euro
When was the Amsterdam Treaty agreed with details?
It came into force in 1999 and established an ‘era of freedom, security and justice’
When was an economic and monetary union established with details?
1999
11 states abolished their national currencies and adopted the Euro. 19 states by 2015 (eurozone)
When was the Nice Treaty agreed with details?
It came into force in 2003, created a European security and defence policy and introduced institutional reforms ahead of enlargement
When did 10 states join because of enlargement with details?
2004
Cyprus, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland and others joined. Bulgaria and Romania (2007) and Croatia (2013) also joined.
When was the Lisbon Treaty agreed with details?
It followed the rejection of EU Constitutional Treaty in referendums in France and Netherlands. Came into force in 2009.
When did a sovereign debt crisis begin with details?
Greece, Spain and others were bailed out by the EU and International Monetary Fund. These states had to introduce austerity measures.
When did the migrant crisis begin with details?
2015
Migrants crossed Mediterranean. EU implemented measures to tackle people smuggling and relocate asylum seekers.
What are the EU’s values?
Human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the right of persons belonging to minorities. Form part of accession criteria.
What does Eurosceptic mean?
Someone who is critical of the extension of supranational authority in the EU and hostile to further integration.
What are the four freedoms?
Goods, services, people and capital
What are the 4 freedoms of goods?
Member states cannot impose duties or taxes on goods from another EU state, or directly discriminate against them. Goods that must meet minimum standards in one EU member state can be freely traded in others. Physical and technical barriers, eg. border checks and restrictive national regulations, have been removed.
This founded the EU with coal and steel
What is the freedom of services?
Professionals, businesses and self-employed people can establish or offer their services across the EU. Qualifications from one EU member state are recognised in others.
What is the freedom of people?
Any national of an EU member state has the right to seek employment in another EU member state without discrimination on the grounds of nationality. They have the same rights as national workers in recruitment, pay, social security and housing.
Free movement of people is a core principle of the EU, which has risen in importance in 2016 as migration from EU countries to the UK fell since the 2016 Brexit referendum as Brexit ended the freedom of movement to and from the EU.
What is the freedom of capital?
Many restrictions on capital movements (eg. on buying currency and foreign investment) between EU member states have been removed.
What is economic, social and territorial cohesion?
Creation of the single market prompted a greater EU role in social, employment and regional policy. Objective to lower disparities between and within member states. Much social policy was made at a national level, but the EU promotes employment, social protection and workers’ rights. Poorer regions receive more money from EU structural funds. Criticised by right for imposing costs on businesses, criticised by left for public spending cuts.
What is the Economic and Monetary Union?
States that met the Maastricht Treaty’s ‘correspondence criteria’ replaced their national currencies with the euro. 11 states joined the EMU in 1999. By 2021, 10 EU states joined (27 total). Greece joined in 2001 and Lithuania joined in 2015, which shows differentiated integration. The benefits of the EMU are no exchange rate uncertainty or transaction costs on cross-border trade. But there’s a loss of sovereignty , the European Central Bank’s ‘one size fits all’ policy on interest rates may not suit all states, there’s no budgetary discipline which led to the sovereign debt crisis. This is where the EU bailed out 5 member states (had to cut public spending)
2012 Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in EMU means stricter rules on budget deficits which leads to further economic integration
What is an area of freedom, security and justice?
In the border-free single market, EU citizens enjoy freedom of movement. This requires common measures on issues like external border controls, asylum and immigration.criminal justice, policing and judicial cooperation. Cross-border cooperation mechanisms include the European Arrest Warrant and Europol. Critics argue that this ‘Fodress Europe’ prevents refugees from entering the EU.
What is combating discrimination and promoting equality?
The EU created new rights for citizens. EU citizenship applies to citizens of member states. Rights to vote in European Parliament and local elections, right to move to another member state to work/reside. Acquire right to permanent residence in another EU country if they’ve lived there legally for 5 years. Increased workers’ rights by limiting working hours and increasing health and safety. The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights was proclaimed in 2000 and became legally binding in the Lisbon Treaty. Entrenches rights established by case law of ECJ and ECHR.
Who has opted out of the EMU?
UK and Denmark