Week one - introduction Flashcards
What did the international Paneuropean Union do in 1924
attempted to stop soviet communism and counterweight USA’s growing economic power
why did the first attempt to stop soviet communism and usa’s power fail
- ww2 (lost workforce, infrastructure)
- fall in standard of living
- disruption of trade flows
- fall in economic growth
- Europe split into 2 blocs
what did the UN relief and rehabilitation administration do
- spent nearly $4 billion on emergency food and medical aid
- helped about 7 million displaced people return home
provided camps for about a million refugees
who were the key players in europes architecture early post-war
usa, uk, ussr
what was a driver of European economic integration
the Cold War (came about when the allies vs axis confrontation was replaced by an east-west confrontation)
- US and UK merged occupation zones in Germany in 1947, France added its zone in 1948
- West germany/federal republic of germany was born
- this was to restore german power to stand up to the soviet plans to spread communism to the west
what is the Morgenthau plan
- in 1944, a plan was proposed to avoid future European war by turning Germany into a backward country whose economy is based on agriculture
- this was debated but did not get implemented
what was implemented in order to halt the urss
- accumulate productive capital to regain growth
- convertability and multilateralism
- create a bloc of countries
what is the marshall plan
- in 1948, this US program provided aid to western Europe following ww2
what is the OEEC
1948, Organisation for European economic cooperation - responsible for managing the financial aid and advancing the economic integration, ultimately led to convertability in 1958
what was the OEEC reestablished as in the 1950s
OECD (organisation for economic cooperation and development)
Marshall plan statistics and goals
- transferred over $17 billion in economic recovery programs (operating for 4 years)
Goals:
- rebuild war-torn regions
- remove trade barriers
- modernise industry
- prevent spread of communism
what are the two strands of integration
federalism, intergovernmentalism
what are federalists (centralizers)
those who favour handing power to the new union of countries - supernatural government
what are intergovernmentalists (decentralizers)
those who favour closer cooperation, power remains in the hands of national officials and cooperation has to be agreed unanimously by all participants
what is the EDC?
European defence community - PLAN: create a European army, this required common foreign policy, substantial budget, therefore needing taxation and spending authority
In the end France rejected this policy
what is the EPC?
European political community - ambitious federalist institution, PLAN: similar to United States of Europe, once the EDC failed, so did the EPC
what did the failure of the EDC and EPC lead to
economic integration
when was the signing of the Treaty of Paris and what did it entail?
1951, created the European Coal and Steel community (ECSC)
what is the ECSC and who was involved
France, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and Italy
It created a common market between member countries for steel and coal, i.e. shared market prices, free movement of goods, no custom duties or tariffs, no restrictive practices
what is the ECSC and who was involved
France, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and Italy
It created a common market between member countries for steel and coal, i.e. shared market prices, free movement of goods, no custom duties or tariffs, no restrictive practices
reasons for the ECSC
- a way to prevent war between France and Germany
- avoid market segmentation (by opening up the market)
- improve efficiency and maximising productivity
- unify markets
consequences of the ECSC
- readjusting the market, production and labour adjustments
- supranationalism
- leading to general integration
which institutions oversaw the ECSC
- High authorities (independent appointees)
- Common assembly (national parliamentarians)
- Special council (national ministers)
- Court of Justice
i.e. the blueprint for today’s European Commission, European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Court of Justice
when were the treaties of Rome signed and what did they entail?
1957
- one created the European atomic energy community, i.e. euratom (sectoral integration)
- another created he European economic community (EEC) (general integration)
- free trade of goods and services
- undistorted competition (anticompetitive behaviour, taxes, state aid prohibited etc.)
- labour and capital market integration (free movement of capital and labour)
- exchange rate coordination
- common policy in agriculture
what is the EFTA and when was it formed
European free trade agreement, 1960 (free trade organisation), most efta countries are part of the EU today
difference between EU and EEC
the EU is not a state or a federation or a simple organisation for cooperation, its members pool their sovereignty
what is the Maastricht treaty and when was it signed
1992, it is the treaty on the European Union
what are the three pillars of the Maastricht treaty
1) integration method, ECSC + EEC + Euratom
2,3) policies with an intergovernmental basis, common foreign and security policy (CFSP), Police and Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters
what was the problem before the Maastricht treaty
the European court had the ultimate authority, majority voting on EU laws leading to supranationality, this lead to two problems:
1) division between federalists and intergovernmentalists, the former want more integration, the latter don’t
2) integration that was taking place outside of the EU
how did the Maastricht ease tensions between federalists and intrergovernmentalists
it put member states in control of the second and third pillars
what is the Lisbon treaty and when was it signed
2009, this merged the third pillar with the first, changed from the European community to the European Union
what is a customs union
- common commercial policy
- removing customs duties and quantitive restrictions
what is the empty chair crisis
tensions began to show with France seeking to limit qualified-majority voting
how was the empty chair crisis resolved
Luxemburg compromise: unanimous voting in important questions
what is the SEA and when was it signed
1986, single European act, the first major revision of the treaty of Rome
