The Institutions of the European Union

Question 1

Who is the current President of the European Central Bank?

Answer 1

Mario Draghi.

Question 2

Who is the current High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy? What does this role entail?

Answer 2

Fredericka Mogherini.

She acts like the EU’s ‘foreign secretary’ and represents the EU in matters of foreign policy at diplomatic meetings and organisations like the UN.

She meets each month with all of the foreign secretaries of each of the EU’s 28 member states.

She is also Vice President of the European Commission.

Question 3

Is the European Council Supranational or intergovernmental?

Answer 3

Intergovernmental.

It allows the 28 members states to raise their domestic interests, re-affirming national sovereignty

Question 4

Why is the European Council so powerful?

Answer 4

*It is the only body which can initiate a treaty change through an ICG

• It appoints 4 key figures:
  1. It’s own president (Donald Tusk)

2. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (Frederica Mogherini)
3. The President of the European Central Bank (Mario Draghi)
4. It nominates the President of the European Commission, pending approval by the European Parliament (Jean Claude Junker)

Question 5

Who is the current President of the European Council?

Answer 5

Donald Tusk.

Question 6

Give an example of the European Union’s Common Foreign Policy acting successfully to resolve an international conflict.

Answer 6

The European Union was the leading player in devolving international negotiations with Iran. At one point, the EU’s Javier Solana was the only foreign diplomat even engaging with Iran.
The EU’s subtle approach under Catherine Ashton countered hardline American policy and paved the way for an agreement between Iran and the international community.
20% of Iran’s oil was going to the EU, but in 2012 they agreed to an embargo- despite the fact that Greece was heavily dependent on Iranian oil: an example of the EU acting successfully as a whole towards foreign policy,

Question 7

Which two countries rejected the Constitutional Treaty via a referendum?

Answer 7

France and Holland in 2004

Question 8

What are the two highest forms of EU law?

Answer 8

1. A regulation- Which is a binding legislative act

2. A directive- It sets out a goal all EU countries must achieve: although it is up to them HOW.

Question 9

Who controls the EU’s €140 billion p/a budget?

Answer 9

The commission

Question 10

How many EU commissioners are there? Who is ours?

Answer 10

28- one for each member state. Ours is Lord Jonathan Hill. David Cameron pushed for a minister with a financial portfolio despite the fact Britain is not a member of the Eurozone to appease backbenchers and protect city of London interests

Question 11

How long are commissioners appointed for?

Answer 11

A 5 year cycle: the current college is the Junker college from 2014-2019

Question 12

What previous political experience does Jean Claude Junker have?

Answer 12

Prime Minister of Luxembourg

Question 13

Does the commission have a democratic defecit?

Answer 13

YES- It is unelected
- It’s meetings are not minuted

NO

• Tony Blair held his meetings without minutes
• The Parliament holds a 3 hour hearing to scrutinize potential commissioners and holds a majority vote at the end.

Question 14

When did the European council come into existence?

Answer 14

1974

Question 15

What is the European councils’ permanent bureaucracy called?

Answer 15

The secretariat

Question 16

“The council cannot ignore the EU parliament.” True or false?

Answer 16

FALSE- It can.

Question 17

Give an example of the European council acting swiftly in response to crisis?

Answer 17

Deal with Turkey in March 2016

Question 18

Identify 4 positive aspects to the European council.

Answer 18

1. 28 Elected heads of state- very democratic
2. It acts in an intergovernmental way, pleasing Eurosceptics
3. It provides quick and decisive leadership in the face of the EU’s slow bureaucracy

Question 19

What was the turnout for the 2014 EU elections?

Answer 19

42.5%

Question 20

Is there a democratic deficit in the EU?

Answer 20

YES-

1. The Parliament is merely ‘a toothless talking shop’: elections in 2014 were only 42.5%
2. The commission is arguably the most powerful institution and it is un-elected
3. ALTHOUGH the Council of Ministers is elected- the real power lies with CORPER, the permanent secretariat who are not elected
4. The ‘Troika’ (of the Commission, the ECB and the IMF) enforced measures following the Eurozone crisis which forced democratically elected governments to enforce austerity measures, despite fierce opposition.
5. Only unelected politicians are able to deal with the EU pragmatically as a supranational whole rather than bringing national interests to the table.

NO-

1. The EU Parliament is the 2nd largest legislature in the world, after the Indian Parliament, with 751 MEPS
2. The Council and the Parliament ARE elected
3. Although the comission is unelected, the Parliament can reject comissioners
4. It’s hypocritical of the UK to criticize the EU .. EU elections use a regional party list system, whereas the UK uses First Past The Post… in 2015, UKIP got 12% of the votes, but just one seat!

Question 21

What is the Council of Ministers permanent secretariat called?

Answer 21

CORPER

Question 22

When was Frederica Mogherini appointed to the role of high representative for foreign affairs? Who was her predecessor?

Answer 22

2014. Catherine Ashton was in the post from 2010-2014.

Question 23

How significant is the role of high representative for foreign affairs?

Answer 23

YES, IT IS SIGNIFICANT:
1. The European Union was the leading player in devolving international negotiations with Iran.
The EU’s subtle approach under Catherine Ashton countered hardline American policy and paved the way for an agreement between Iran and the international community.
20% of Iran’s oil was going to the EU, but in 2012 they agreed to an embargo- despite the fact that Greece was heavily dependent on Iranian oil.
2. NAVFOR in Somalia with 1500 personnel and peace keeping in Bosnia: both important missions which the high representative has control over
3. It gives EU foreign policy ‘a face’- which can be held accountable

NO IT ISN’T

1. How important really are Somali pirates in the grand scheme of things?
2. The EU’s defence strategy is limited- unlike NATO it cannot stipulate 2% spending
3. Member states sorted out Libya for themselves without the help of Catherine Ashton- Sarkosy and Cameron were for air strikes: Merkel was not.

Question 24

How does UKIP wield an influence over EU politics?

Answer 24

They pressure other parties to adopt a more eurosceptic stance, the Tories are particularly worried after Douglas Carswell and Mark Reckless defected in 2014. The trend continues as they got 12% of the vote in 2015

Question 25

When was the EU formed?

Answer 25

In 1953 with the European Coal and Steel Community

Question 26

Are EU commissioners biased?

Answer 26

A recent study by the Royal Economic Society found that when a commissioner is appointed to a particular policy area, their country’s share of the budget rises by 1% point: equating to around €500million a year on average!

Question 27

What was the Factortame case?

Answer 27

In 1988 it set a precedent that EU law was superior to UK law

Question 28

What does Linda McAvan say about the EU’s institutions?

Answer 28

That “The European council is the most powerful of all the EU instutions”

Question 29

Identify 4 reasons why intergration has stalled in recent years.

Answer 29

1. Eurozone crisis
2. Emergence of anti EU movements like UKIP, The Front National and Syriza
3. Enlargement: “too far too fast”
4. Rejection of the entire Santer comission in 1999- fraud and corruption.

Question 30

Give an example of spillback and retrenchment.

Answer 30

The collapse of the Schengen agreement

Question 31

“To what extent is the EU an example of supranational governance” [-45 Marks]

Answer 31

YES:

1. The role of the comission (although comissioners can be biased) is supranational
2. European Courts of Justice are supranational
3. Neofunctionalism engenders more supranationalism

NO

1. The council is intergovernmental: Linda McAvan says it’s the most important institution
2. Intergration has stalled- multifaceted crises
3. “Two speed Europe”

Question 32

To what extent is the Conservative party united in it’s approach to Europe?

Answer 32

*Since Ted Heath led us into the EEC in 1972 it has been the driving issue for Tory party. The leadership was largely pro EU, until Thatcher’s Bruges speech in 1988, which legitimised Eurosceptic views.
There are now broadly 3 groups, europhiles, eurosceptics and europhobes

1. EUROPHILES- Ken Clarke, chairman of the Conservative Europe group. This view is declining amongst grassroots Tories.
2. EUROSCEPTICS- Current view amongst the leadership. They challenge the EU’s limitations- like beurocracy and loss of sovreignty, but overall wish to remain. Main view of the leadership, 23 cabinet members want to vote IN. Like Cameron and Theresa May. Cameron champions cross border copperation on issues like crime and climate change- he loves the European Arrest Warrant for instance. However he does not wish to see further intergration: he vetoed Juncker’s appointment and proposed a package of reform in February 2016
3. EUROSCEPTICS, like Gove and Boris Johnson.
   Partly in reaction to UKIP and leadership bids

Question 33

When did Britain join the EEC?

Answer 33

1972 under Ted Heath

Question 34

What did John Major call his own cabinet members during the 1992 Maastricht negotiations?

Answer 34

‘Bastards’

Question 35

Which pro EU group is Ken Clarke the chairman of?

Answer 35

Conservative Europe

Question 36

How many current cabinet members will vote to stay IN the EU?

Answer 36

23.