What is the European Union? 1/29/12 4:01 PM What is the European Union? The supra- or transnational institutions governing (regulating) the economy and politics of 27 countries in Europe • This is the European Union • Supra- Above the country • Transnational- across countries • Definition broken down all semester • Countries not in the Union o Norway- like fish a lot o Iceland o Russia o Switzerland • Economics and Politics that are governed (elements of the EU) Elements of the EU • Single Market o Attempt to remove borders, boundaries, so that goods, people, etc, promote the movement across boarders o Example ! US has a Single market, where GA stuff can be sold in FL, etc ! Canada has a single market, thus being a separate market from the US • Economic and Monetary Union o The currency o Economic Policies ! Amount of debt you are allowed to have ! The deficits you are allowed to have ! Not all of the countries have the Euro • Common Foreign and Security Policy o An area of freedom, security and justice • “Freedom, Security, and Justice” o Arrests, law enforcement, etc o Hicks- Box 1.2- Policy Architecture in the EU • Institutions of the EU o Three main Institutions ! Counsel" Executive Branch (US) ! Parliament " House of Representatives (US) ! Court of Justice- ECJ (European Court of Justice) " Supreme Court (US) Evolution of the EU • European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)- 1951 o Single market economy in Coal and Steel • European Economic Community (EEC)- 1957 o Established more political power and moved on to EC • European Community (EC)- 1986 • European Union (EU)- 1992 o Officially became the EU o Each change applies with another major treaty But what exactly is the EU? • A political system but not a state (Hix) o State- Sovereignty, defined borders, population, recognized as a state by other states o Sovereignty- Weber (German guy) ! Monopoly on the legitimate use of force o Is the EU sovereign, is it recognized as a State? ! EU is a member of many international organizations ! Has state-like characteristics • Unitary state? o No time- EU is not a state • Federation? o No time- EU is not a state o United States is a federal system ! Supremacy Clause in Constitution- Federal government has final say o Final authority rests at the national level • Confederation? o No time- EU is not a state o Power is shared between the state, regional level and the national level. Final authority lies at the regional levelo Individuals pay taxes to state level, and states give money to national level • International organization? o In many international organizations- EU • Where does final authority lie? o Which level does power lie o Mixed, final authority lies at EU and some lies at domestic level • Intergovernmentalism vs. supranationalism? o Intergovernmentalism- State level ! EU is in agreement between governments ! Diplomacy ! Final authority rests at state level, all states are equal ! Any one country can stop an agreement o Supranationalism- Individual level ! EU is something above the countries ! Creating a power with actual power and responsibilities ! “Competence”- EU gets to make decisions in this area ! Individuals are equal, not states. " Individuals will have representation which votes on laws Theories of EU integration • Neo-functionalism o Broad theory ! Things exist because they fill particular functions ! Demands for integration ! Integration starts small, then rise over time ! Popular theory in early years of integration, in early 70s it stagnated • Intergovernmentalism o Different from the approach o The theory said that the intergovernmentalism approach is all that exists, not supranationalism o EU as a supranational body is all fiction o We should expect very little integration because states are sovereign • Liberal Intergovernmentalism o “Liberal”- democratic, preferences of individuals matter, freedom o Combo of A and B o Might be demands for integration, flexible theory• Historical and rational choice institutionalism • (Preferences x Institutions) = Outcomes o Fundamental equation of politics ! Need to know who actors are and who their preference are " States generally actors " Preferences • What do the actors prefer, and what rules govern that decision ! Need to know the institutions- rules of the game Types of regional economic blocs • Free Trade Area (FTA) • Customs Union (CU) • Single (Common) Market Homework • Chapter 1-2 DinanHistory of the EU (1945-1957) 1/29/12 4:01 PM The Legacy of the World Wars • The need for economic reconstruction o Everything was destroyed during WWII o Workers died in war, factories destroyed, farms destroyed, etc • The memory of the Treaty of Versailles o Ended WWI- Germany must pay for everything, accept blame, etc o Germany had to pay massive funds to France, Britain, US- Sent Germany economy to the floor • Franco-German mistrust o After the war, wanted to rebuild Germany instead of tearing them down again o France recognized that they needed to do something different that the previous Treaty o France was afraid that if Germany was to be rebuilt, they would turn their armies back on France…AGAIN o Controlled rebuilding- France wanted to control this Early influence of the Cold War • The need to rebuild Germany militarily and unite against common threat o Best way to defend against a strong USSR attack was to build up a strong Germany • The Marshall Plan o Foreign Aid program designed to rebuild Western Europe, wanted to use this money as an attempt to get everyone to work together o Create an organization to distribute the money out to the countries- non profit organization Early attempts at European Integration • Federalists v. Unionists o Federalists ! Based off of US history ! Form one strong Federal union, weaker state governments o Unionists ! Weaker position- Churchill ! “United States of Europe” ! Cooperative body where leaders could get together and talk, but have no actual power" Voluntary cooperation • The Congress (Council) of Europe o Similar to the Continental Congress o Create a constitution for Europe, create a federal country o Brought in people from every country o Became a unionist situation where