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The readings this week apply different theoretical perspectives to analyze the European Union as a regional IO. For example, in the articles, we read about rationalism, social constructivism, multi-level governance, enforcement and management theory, and more. In addition, the lesson notes discuss intergovernmentalism, supranationalism, and veto player theory. Which theoretical perspective(s) do you find the most persuasive and why when it comes to analyzing EU policymaking? Which is the least persuasive and why? Please incorporate specific examples to support your arguments.
Reading and references:
Lesson 7 | Regional Organizations: The European Union
In this lesson, we will turn our attention to regional organizations, taking the European Union (EU) as our case study. We examine and assess several theories that explain how EU policy-making works. At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
- Examine the institutions of the EU
- Assess important issues in EU policymaking
- Apply concepts and theories about IOs to the operation of the EU
The European Union (EU): An Overview
The purpose of this lesson is not to master the history of European integration; rather, we focus here on setting up the framework for the study of the European Union (EU) as a regional organization. It makes sense to approach the complex processes of economic enlargement and political integration by first providing a brief overview of the different key stages of enlargement.
View the interactive map of the current EU member states. This is worth taking 10 minutes to explore. You can filter by states using the euro currency, by prospective member states, and more.
EU Website
1951
Six states enter into the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC): Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany.
1957
The six states enter into the Treaty of Rome. This treaty extended the European Coal and Steel Community, established a customs union through the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), and created the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) for cooperation in developing nuclear energy.
1973
The first enlargement occurs with the membership of Denmark, Ireland, and the UK (for a total of 9 total members).
1979
This year marks the first direct, democratic elections to the European Parliament.
1981
Greece enters into full membership, in part to “lock in” democracy after a period of military dictatorship. With Greece’s membership, the total stands at 10 members.
1986
Spain and Portugal become members, bringing the total to 12.
1990
East Germany was folded in by way of its unification with West Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
1993
The Maastricht Treaty formally establishes the European Union (EU).
1995
Austria, Finland, and Sweden join the EU, bringing the total to 15 members.
2002
The Euro is introduced as the common currency of the Eurozone. Only 12 member states adopted the Euro at first (today there are 18).
2004
This year marks the biggest round of enlargement to date, as the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia join. This round brings the total to 25 member states.
2007
Romania and Bulgaria join, bringing the total to 27.
2013
Croatia joins the EU. This brings us to the current total of 28 member states.
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(Source: “European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations,”
www.europa.eu
)
The Institutions of the European Union
Much like the United States, the EU has three branches of government that characterize the supranational level:
Legislative
The legislative branch is composed of the European Parliament (which can be thought of as the “lower house”) and the Council of Ministers (the “upper house”).
Executive
The executive branch consists of the European Commission and the European Council.
Judicial
The judicial branch consists of the European Court of Justice.
In the following sections, we consider the functions of each of these institutions in turn. The goal is to gain a working understanding of the role and functions of each institution within the three branches, which will help prior to reading the theoretical articles and applying the different theoretical perspectives to the workings of the EU.
The European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is a legislative institution of the EU, and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are directly elected by citizens of the EU member states. MEP elections take place every five years. There are currently over 700 MEPs in the European Parliament (“EU Institutions and Other Bodies,” n.d.).
In terms of its functions, the EP is responsible for passing laws jointly with the Council of Ministers (the other legislative institution, which we discuss below), in what is known as “co-decision.” Although the EP can approve, reject, or amend legislation, it does not have the power of legislative initiative (that is, it cannot propose legislation – that’s the job of the European Commission). In addition to voting on legislation, the EP supervises the European Commission (the executive body of the EU). It has the power to approve or reject the nomination of commissioners, and it elects the President of the Commission (“European Parliament,” n.d.). The EP also has authority over the EU budget. Overall, we can think of the EP as the body of the EU responsible for passing legislation.
The Council of Ministers
This legislative body of the EU is composed of 28 national ministers (one for each member state). The Council Presidency rotates every six months, with a new EU member government taking the Presidency with each rotation. Decisions in the Council are made by qualified majority voting in most areas, but in other areas unanimity is required (“Council of the European Union,” n.d.).
In those areas in which it makes decisions based on unanimity, it consults the European Parliament, but the EP has no say on Council decisions. However, in most policy areas, both the Council and the EP share decision-making powers equally (known as the ordinary legislative procedure); both bodies have to agree in order for a proposal to pass.
Two concepts are important in understanding the tensions that often arise between the Council and the EP:
Intergovernmentalism
Intergovernmentalism refers to the priority of the interests of national member states in EU decision-making.
Supranationalism
Supranationalism refers to a preponderance of power and authority in institutions above the state level.
The Council is often noted for its intergovernmentalist approach in which national interests are prioritized above supranational considerations, whereas the EP makes decisions based on principles of supranationalism, which favor the interests of the EU as a supranational system (Wallace and Wallace, 2000).
The European Commission
The European Commission is the executive branch of the EU. The Commission operates on the principle of supranationalism – that is, it is independent of national member-state governments and, as such, represents and upholds the interests of the EU as a whole. The key responsibility of the European Commission is proposing legislation. It drafts proposals for legislation that the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers then vote on. In addition to proposing legislation, the Commission manages EU policies as well as the budget. It also enforces EU law together with the European Court of Justice. Every five years a new Commission is appointed (“European Commission,” n.d.).
As an institution, the European Commission is composed of 1 President, 7 Vice-Presidents, and 20 Commissioners (“European Commission,” n.d.). Any candidate for the President of the Commission is proposed to the European Parliament. The European Parliament then elects the Commission President by a majority of its members. After the election, the President-elect then chooses the 27 other members of the Commission. Member states make suggestions about whom to select, and one person is selected from each member state.
Veto Player Theory and EU Policymaking
Veto player theory is a helpful way to understand the process of EU policymaking. At its most general level, it posits that the more actors that are required to agree in order for change to occur (i.e., veto players), the less likely policy change becomes, and the more stability results (Tsebelis, 2002).
We can take the logic of veto player theory and apply it to the institutions of the EU. When it comes to legislation, we know that the European Commission’s job is to propose it, and the European Parliament and Council of Ministers must approve it through co-decision (in most policy areas). Based on the number of actors required to agree, veto player theory would predict that policy stability in the EU should be high. Although new policies are difficult to adopt, those that are adopted are difficult to repeal.
Overall, there is a great deal of veto power in the process of EU policymaking. The result is a policy environment characterized by a slow but stable deepening of economic and political integration.
The Objectives of the EU
It’s interesting to note that the objectives of the EU are not only economic, although we tend to think of the EU primarily as an economic union. From its inception, two primary objectives of the EU have been to ensure peace and prosperity on the European continent after having experienced the devastation of two world wars. More specifically, the stated objectives of the EU include:
- Ending the division on the European continent
- Promoting the principles of liberty and democracy, and respecting human rights, fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law
- Deepening the solidarity among European citizens
- Building an ever-closer union through decisions based on transparency
- Promoting economic and social progress for the people of Europe
Overall, Article 3 of the European Union Treaty states that the aim of the EU is to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples. It is based on the values of freedom, democracy, equality, law enforcement and respect for human rights and dignity.
The Democratic Deficit
The process by which the EU achieves its objectives has often been criticized by scholars for its “democratic deficit.” The way the EU is designed, its institutions are rather far away from the individual EU citizen (Follesdal and Hix, 2006). The EU is thus perceived by many as elitist. Despite the number and extent of interest groups involved in the EU policy process, there is no effective link between EU citizens and EU policymaking. That is, EU citizens only elect the members of the European Parliament; they can neither elect the Council nor the Commission, which are very influential institutions within the EU.
Additionally, the EU has been criticized for not providing direct democratic rights for its citizens (Follesdal and Hix, 2006). There is neither a system in which the citizens can petition for an EU-wide referendum nor there is a system that allows the EU citizens to petition for an initiative. In other words, the EU institutions have been critiqued for not being very democratically accountable. For these reasons, there is a growing concern about a democratic deficit in the EU. Although scholars debate the extent of the democratic deficit, as well as it most salient features, the common thread is the notion that governance processes in the EU in some form lack democratic legitimacy.
Conclusion
In this lesson, we examined the EU as an example of a prominent and important regional IO. We examined several different theories to help us grasp how policymaking in the EU works. Next, we’ll evaluate the role of the United Nations and regional organizations in peacekeeping initiatives and conflicts.
References
“Council of the European Union,” n.d. Website of the European Union.
https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/institutions-bodies/council-eu_en.
“EU Institutions and Other Bodies,” n.d. Website of the European Union.
https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/institutions-bodies_en
.
“European Commission,” n.d. Website of the European Union.
https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/institutions-bodies/european-commission_en
.
“European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations,” n.d. Website of the European Union.
https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/policy/from-6-to-28-members_en
.
“European Parliament,” n.d. Website of the European Union.
https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/institutions-bodies/european-parliament_en
.
Follesdal, Andreas and Simon Hix. 2006. “Why There is a Democratic Deficit in the EU: A Response to Majone and Moravcsik.” Journal of Common Market Studies 44(3): 533-562.
Tsebelis, George. 2002. Veto Players: How Political Institutions Work. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
Wallace, Helen and William Wallace. 2000. Policy-Making in the European Union: Fourth Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.