Summary of a chapter of the book, Sintesi del corso di Politiche dell'Unione Europea

Scarica Summary of a chapter of the book e più Sintesi del corso in PDF di Politiche dell'Unione Europea solo su Docsity! EU POLITICS AND POLICIES IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD - B026821 I. The Historical Development of the EU The aftermath of the Second World War provided unusually fertile ground for new ideas for international cooperation. Three different types of organisations emerged: • Military cooperation found its beginnings in initiatives for a common defence such as the Western European Union (WEU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). • Political cooperation emerged via organisations such as the Council of Europe. • Economic cooperation took root via the Organisation for European Economic Co- operation (OEEC), the Benelux and the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). 9th of May 1950 the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Robert Schuman, proposed a plan that laid the foundation for today’s European Union by pro- posing to set up a European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). Historical Background: - Following the post-war settlement, Europe was divided into two spheres of influence. An Eastern zone was dominated by the communist Soviet Union, with countries such as Poland, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria and the eastern part of Germany. The Western part of Europe consisted of liberal democracies that were strongly supported and protected by the USA. Fears that the Soviet Union might try to expand its sphere of influence west- ward necessitated a swift rebuilding of Europe. - The most delicate and pressing issue was the German question. Germany’s size and its economic potential necessitated that it recover as soon as possible. Germany’s large coal resources in the Ruhr area were pivotal for Europe’s recovery and for the French steel industry in particular. At the same time many feared that a resurgence of Germany could make the country belligerent again and cause new military conflict. - Fuelled by the fear of communism the USA decided that Germany needed to be integrated in the Western bloc as soon as possible. In April 1949 the western part of Germany regained its independence and was transformed into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) - French fears were dealt with by putting Germany’s coal industry under the supervision of the International Authority for the Ruhr (IAR) which would manage coal supplies from the Ruhr region. The IAR was in charge of determining the minimum amount of coal, coke and steel Germany should make available for export. Both politically and economically the IAR was not a success: the Germans still felt occupied and the method of rationing coal was not efficient. - It was Jean Monnet, Commissioner-General of the French National Planning Board, who came up with a plan that would pool the coal and steel production of France and Germany and create a common market. On 9 May 1950 Monnet’s scheme was presented by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Robert Schuman in a declaration that is nowadays considered to be the EU’s founding moment. The beginning of the EU: Schuman’s philosophy: - he proposed an institution of an impartial body - the High Authority - which will monitor and execute the agreement between the member states. In this case, the ECSC, would be considered as a supranational organisation aka member states handed over part of their sovereignty to a third, neutral party that would supervise the execution of the terms of the treaty (Supranational organisations: Organisations in which countries pool their sovereignty on certain matters to allow joint decision-making). And in those cases where member states and the High Authority disagreed, they would be able to bring their dispute to a court that would be authorised to issue a binding judgment. The way this organisation was formulated would differentiate it from the rest of the organisations made thus far, which were intergovernmental organisations (Intergovernmental organisations: Organisations in which member states work together on policies of common concern but retain their full sovereignty). - another characteristic was the limited scope. Cooperation would start on a small basis by first trying to manage the common market for coal and steel as the time was not ripe yet for a fully fledged federal state. Schuman’s plan needed to be turned into a treaty between the countries that wanted to take part in this experiment. In addition to France, five countries joined the negotiations. Germany was very happy to accept France’s invitation. It was the first time that it would be treated on an equal footing and it made possible the abolishment of the Ruhr Authority. The countries of the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg) simply had to join because their economies depended very much on those of France and Germany. Italy joined the negotiations for both political and economic reasons. Negotiations on the treaty took almost a year. Opinions differed on the amount of power that should be given to the High Authority and the ways in which it could and should be controlled. On 18 April 1951 the six countries signed the Treaty of Paris which formally established the European Coal and Steel Community. The Community’s four main institutions were: As a result of such a success of the EEC, other states such as the UK, Ireland, Denmark and Norway, became interested in applying for membership. - In 1963 French president Charles de Gaulle vetoed the UK’s application as he considered the British to be too strongly aligned to the United States. He also feared a loss of influence for France as a result of the possible entry of such a large country. As a result negotiations with all four candidates were aborted. De Gaulle would again veto the UK’s application in 1967. Negotiations were resumed only after he had stepped down as president of France and was replaced by Georges Pompidou in 1969. De Gaulle’s vetoes were part of a larger legacy of events that seriously slowed down the pace of integration. The empty chair crisis: - An incident which occurred as a result of De Gaulle’s vetoes. In 1965 the Commission proposed to the Council a different way of financing the Common Agricultural Policy. Because it would give the European Parliamentary Assembly and not the Council the right to decide upon the budget, de Gaulle felt that this undermined the power of member states. Tensions further increased when de Gaulle objected to a scheduled change in decision-making rules in the Council that would introduce a new rule for making decisions, called qualified majority voting (QMV - Decision-making rule in the Council which requires a majority that is substantially larger than a simple majority of (50%+1), but does not require unanimity). This would eliminate the possibility for a member state to veto proposals in some policy areas. - The French president decided to withdraw his ministers from participation in the meetings of the Council. This paralysed decision-making for half a year, because the remaining members did not want to make any drastic decisions until France returned. It did so after the member states agreed on a declaration that came to be known as the Luxembourg Compromise (agreement allowing a member state to block a decision in the Council if it declares the matter a ‘vital national interest’). The declaration provided for a safeguard clause that would give every member state a veto to block decisions considered to be a matter of vital national interest. While the compromise was never formalised into a provision in any of the treaties, it had a real effect on decision-making in the Council. It necessitated finding a consensus even in those instances where the formal rules would allow decisions on the basis of majority voting. The 1970’s: This was a very difficult period as a result of the economic crisis. - Eurosclerosis held the member states in its grip: a relatively inflexible labour market coupled with a system of generous unemployment benefits made their economies inflexible and economic recovery difficult. - The Council had accumulated a backlog of no less than 1,000 Commission proposals that it was unable to decide upon because member states were block- ing decision-making with a reference to the Luxembourg Compromise. Despite this general mood of pessimism, a couple of small developments would provide the foundation for more significant integrative steps in the decades to come: - In 1970 the Treaty of Luxembourg was signed. Its significance lay in granting the Community its own resources and giving the European Parliament the right to approve part of the budget (its powers were extended in 1975 through a second budgetary treaty). The position of the Parliament was further strengthened by the decision to directly elect its members from 1979 on. - Negotiations with the aspiring four members were also concluded in the early 1970s. In 1973 the UK, Ireland and Denmark finally joined. Norway, however, stayed out after its citizens rejected membership in a referendum. - The rise of EU’s most important institution, The European Council. From 1969 on the political leaders of the member states – the so- called Heads of State and Government – had started meeting informally to discuss the most urgent problems. In 1974 these meetings were formalised through the establishment of the European Council. The first role of the European Council would be to provide political guidance to the activities of the Community. It did so by identifying new areas of cooperation and surveying the possibilities for developing policies in these domains. Example: the Werner report recommended measures to coordinate economic and monetary policies. This provided the basis for several agreements to dampen currency fluctuations in the early 1970s. In 1978 the European Council made the decision to set up the European Monetary System (EMS), which fixed exchange rates between the participating countries. A second important role of the European Council would be to discuss and tackle the major problems the Community faced. Example: the UK’s problem with the budget. In 1979 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher complained about the UK’s status as a net contributor. Five years later the EC finally agreed on a formula that would give the UK a substantial rebate on its contribution. - In the second half of the 1970s Greece, Portugal and Spain applied for membership. The three countries had each suffered under dictatorships. The end of their autocratic regimes provided an opportunity for these countries to consolidate democracy and boost their economic development by joining the Community. - A major impediment to the further development of the Community had been the continued existence of all kinds of non-tariff barriers to trade. Even if on paper enterprises were allowed to import and export goods without any restrictions, in practice national laws and regulations often prevented this. Firms very often brought cases to court to address such barriers. Example: a German importer that was not allowed to sell a French liqueur in Germany because the alcohol percentage was below what German law pre- scribed. In the 1979 Cassis de Dijon ruling the Court of Justice qualified the German law as an illegal barrier to trade. The ruling established the principle of mutual recognition. - In 1979 the first direct elections for the members of the European Parliament (EP) – the new name for what was originally known as the Common Assembly – were held. While at this stage the EP’s powers were still limited, its direct mandate would make it more assertive in the years to come. The 1980’s: The Court’s Cassis ruling made clear that there was a wide gulf between the principles and the practice of the Community’s free trade area. Customs duties might have been abolished, but there were so many other barriers that a truly single market did not exist yet. - In 1985 a new Commission took office under the leadership of Jacques Delors, who made the completion of the single market one of its key ambitions. Therefore, to remove all barriers it was necessary to facilitate decision-making in all policy areas relating to the single market. This necessitated a revision of the treaties, which was achieved via the Single European Act (SEA). - In 1986 the SEA was signed. It: 1. Had measures to advance the single market project and further broadened the EU’s sphere of activity by including environmental policies, social policy and measures to increase economic and social cohesion between the member states. 2. Formalised some forms of cooperation which had already been developed outside of the treaties: Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). 3. It contained a number of significant institutional changes: Decision-making on the single market was facilitated; The EP was granted new powers through the introduction of two new decision-making procedures aka it was given the right of assent for - Also immigration policies and related topics such as procedures on issuing visas were moved to the first, Community pillar. - In 1998 the European Central Bank started operations - In 1999 the third and final stage of EMU was reached. The 2000’s: - From 1 January 2000 exchange rates were fixed and national currencies were replaced by the Euro. Two years later Euro coins and notes were brought into circulation and replaced the national coins and notes within half a year. The UK and Denmark negotiated opt-outs and hence did not enter the Eurozone. (Opt-outs: Specific exceptions that are granted to a member state when it is unwilling or unable to fully accept all provisions of a treaty or a law). - Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2007, bringing the total number of EU member states to 27. - Treaty of Nice in 2001: It reassigned the voting weights of the member states in the Council and the number of seats for the members of the EP. - How could the EU be made more democratic, transparent and effective? Instead of calling for a new Intergovernmental Conference (IGC), in which member states would debate these issues, they agreed on establishing a convention – with a much broader membership than an ordinary IGC – that would examine these questions. Its recommendations would then provide input to the IGC. (Intergovernmental Conference: meeting of the member states to discuss and decide a revision of treaties. on its contents. As its name indicates an IGC is a purely intergovernmental affair that only involves representatives of the member state governments). The Convention: - It consisted of 207 delegates drawn from national parliaments, the European Parliament, the Commission and the governments of member states. - The Draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe would do away with the patchwork of amending treaties that had made for such a complex institutional set-up of the EU. The Convention delegates dared to characterise the Treaty as a constitutional document. - The Constitutional Treaty streamlined decision-making further by bringing almost all decisions under the ordinary legislative procedure thus making the EP a co-legislator in almost all policy areas. It also introduced a semi-permanent President for the European Council and a High Representative for CFSP who would represent the EU in foreign policy matters. - It also introduced a semi-permanent President for the European Council and a High Representative for CFSP who would represent the EU in foreign policy matters. “Many member states felt that this major revision of the EU’s treaty base necessitated the consent of their citizens. As a result, several member states decided to hold a consultative referendum, even if they were not required to do so. Fuelled by the prospect of these referendums public debates surfaced on the pros and cons of European integration. Signs were hopeful when Spanish voters kicked off the referendum practice and approved the treaty with an overwhelming majority of 76%. Only three months later, however, on 29 May and 1 June 2005 respectively, French and Dutch voters rejected the treaty. Although the outcomes of both referendums were only consultative and could have been ignored by their governments, the EU member states decided to take the signals seriously and suspend the ratification process.” - The European Council decided to redraft the treaty into an ordinary amending treaty. Although much of the content of the treaty survived, some changes were made to accommodate the worries that had surfaced through the outcomes of the referendums. At the request of the Dutch government, references to the constitutional character and official symbols and anthem of the EU were removed. The French successfully pleaded for removing the phrase ‘free and undistorted competition’ as one of the objectives of the Union. - In December 2007 the Treaty of Lisbon was signed. “Wary about the possibility of new no’s in referendums all member states decided to ratify this treaty by parliamentary approval and not call referen- dums. The Irish, however, were constitutionally obliged to submit the treaty to a referendum. The Irish voted no, causing a great deal of frustration among all the member states. The European Council made additional guarantees to the Irish. The most important concession was to refrain from reducing the size of the European Commission, in order to enable every member state to appoint its own commissioner. The guarantees and the impending economic crisis successfully turned around public opinion and in a second referendum the Irish voters approved the Treaty.” - The Treaty of Lisbon came into effect on 1 December 2009. What history teaches us about EU politics today: - politicians very often disagree on what they want to achieve. Member states have diverging opinions on the pace and scope of integration: the UK, for example, has traditionally been a Eurosceptic member state (Term used for people, member states or political parties that have been highly critical of European integration), whilst the Netherlands has always been a staunch supporter of further integration. - Decision-making has also been difficult because it required the cooperation and approval of many different actors – each of them with their own preferences and ideas: the Council, Commission, European Council, European Parliament, the member states and – in the case of referendums – their citizens. - Second, while major steps have been made via the drafting and amend- ing of formal treaties, other decisions have been as significant for integration as these formal steps like that of the court and the council. The prior has accelerated the integration steps through to a large extent of its judgments. The latter may not have many formal powers, however it exerts an enormous influence because it brings together the political leaders of the member states. In the chapters to come we therefore pay as much attention to the formal side of decision-making as to the informal parts of it. - Decision-making on policies, institutions and members are very often related. Every debate about a new policy is accompanied by discus- sions on the role of different institutions and the rules that are used to make decisions. In the EU a major point of debate concerns the relative role of the intergovernmental institutions – the European Council and Council – and supranational institutions – the Commission, Court and European Parliament. For example: Should legislative decisions only be made by the Council, rep- resenting the member states, or should the EP as the representative of the citizens have a say as well? Is it sufficient to have a majority of the member states in favour of a proposal, or should unanimity be required? SUMMARY: • The aftermath of the Second World War led to several initiatives for European cooperation on the military, political and economic fronts. The major challenge facing Europe was how to rebuild Europe and ensure a peaceful recovery of Germany as an independent country. • While most of the organisations that were set up were intergovernmental in nature, France proposed an innovative scheme by introducing a plan for a supranational community in which a High Authority would be authorised to manage the common market of coal and steel.