Political Structures and Processes of the European Union
Hochschule
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Political Structures and Processes of the European Union - Summary (slides, recordings, and own notes)
This course was given by professor Alexander Mattelaer.
political structures and processes of the european union
short history european integration
european council and council of ministers
european commission and european parliament
Schule, Studium & Fach
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Communication Studies: New Media and Society in Europe
Political Structures and Processes of the European Union
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POLITICAL STRUCTURES AND
PROCESSES EU
Professor Alexander Mattelaer
New Media and Society in Europe
2019-2020
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
,Table of Contents
Political structures and processes of the EU – Why study European integration? ............................................................... 5
Why study European integration? 3 main reasons ............................................................................................................... 5
Why PSPEU? .......................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Political structures and processes of the EU – A short history of European integration ...................................................... 7
History of European integration: ........................................................................................................................................... 7
Some founding fathers:...................................................................................................................................................... 7
Uniting the continent, step by step (6- 9- 10- 12- 15- 25- 27- 28 (-27?): ............................................................................. 11
On coal and steel… .............................................................................................................................................................. 12
ECSC Institutions .................................................................................................................................................................. 12
EEC policies .......................................................................................................................................................................... 13
The 1986 Single European Act ............................................................................................................................................. 13
European Union: three pillars .............................................................................................................................................. 14
The deep politics of integration ........................................................................................................................................... 15
What can we learn from this? ............................................................................................................................................. 15
Political structures and processes EU – European Council and Council of Ministers ......................................................... 16
Institutions: the European Council and the Council of Ministers ......................................................................................... 16
TEU Art 1: .......................................................................................................................................................................... 16
TEU Art. 13: ....................................................................................................................................................................... 16
European Council:................................................................................................................................................................ 17
10 Council configurations .................................................................................................................................................... 18
Council Support Structures: ................................................................................................................................................. 19
Intergovernmental Bargaining (ties the system together) .................................................................................................. 20
Qualified majority voting..................................................................................................................................................... 21
Ordinary legislative procedure ............................................................................................................................................ 22
Treaty change:..................................................................................................................................................................... 22
Towards economic Union .................................................................................................................................................... 22
Conclusion: .......................................................................................................................................................................... 23
EUCO Agenda 17-18 October 2019 ..................................................................................................................................... 23
Political structures and processes EU – European Commission and European Parliament ................................................ 24
TEU Art. 13 .......................................................................................................................................................................... 24
European Commission: ........................................................................................................................................................ 24
Appointing the Commission................................................................................................................................................. 25
European Commission Functions:........................................................................................................................................ 26
What Commission?.............................................................................................................................................................. 26
EP composition: ................................................................................................................................................................... 26
EU elections 2019 ................................................................................................................................................................ 27
European Parliament Roles ................................................................................................................................................. 27
, Types of Decision-making .................................................................................................................................................... 28
EP Leadership ...................................................................................................................................................................... 28
How does an EP Committee work?...................................................................................................................................... 28
Political structures and processes EU – Legislative procedure and Treaty change ............................................................ 29
EU institutional architecture ............................................................................................................................................... 29
EU law ................................................................................................................................................................................. 29
The CJEU ensures ‘the law is observed’ ............................................................................................................................... 31
Primary law: assign competences through EU institutions ................................................................................................. 33
EU exclusive competences ................................................................................................................................................... 33
EU/MS shared competences................................................................................................................................................ 34
Supplemental EU action ...................................................................................................................................................... 34
Legislative procedures ......................................................................................................................................................... 34
Delegated and implementing acts ...................................................................................................................................... 35
Open method of coordination ............................................................................................................................................. 36
Treaty changes .................................................................................................................................................................... 37
Political structures and processes in EU – EU budget ....................................................................................................... 38
Function or utility of (having) money? ................................................................................................................................ 38
For all budgets whether in private or public sector, it is a balance: .................................................................................... 38
Magna Carta, 1215 ............................................................................................................................................................. 39
Facts and figures about EU budget ..................................................................................................................................... 39
For comparison .................................................................................................................................................................... 40
The EU budget ..................................................................................................................................................................... 44
The budget and the policy agenda ...................................................................................................................................... 51
Next MFF ongoing negotiate on .......................................................................................................................................... 52
Political structures and processes of the EU – Single market and the CAP ........................................................................ 53
Single market and Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).......................................................................................................... 53
Concept of spillover ............................................................................................................................................................. 53
Political integration ............................................................................................................................................................. 53
The European single market ................................................................................................................................................ 54
Single European Act (1986): ................................................................................................................................................ 54
One single market: Four pillars............................................................................................................................................ 55
Starting form Customs Union .............................................................................................................................................. 57
Bolkestein Directive on Services .......................................................................................................................................... 58
Approximation of laws ........................................................................................................................................................ 58
Competition policy............................................................................................................................................................... 58
2015 Digital single market strategy .................................................................................................................................... 58
Ongoing work ...................................................................................................................................................................... 58
The spillover problem .......................................................................................................................................................... 59
CAP (Common Agriculture Policy) ....................................................................................................................................... 59
The politics of the CAP ......................................................................................................................................................... 59
2
, Cap objectives...................................................................................................................................................................... 60
CAP mechanisms ................................................................................................................................................................. 60
Britain and the CAP ............................................................................................................................................................. 61
Why is EU agriculture policy controversial in the UK? ......................................................................................................... 61
How might the UK’s agriculture policy change after Brexit? ............................................................................................... 62
CAP and developing countries ............................................................................................................................................. 62
Political structures and processes of the EU – Brexit: state of play................................................................................... 63
EU and UK in the world........................................................................................................................................................ 63
Timeline ............................................................................................................................................................................... 63
Revised withdrawal agreement and political declaration ................................................................................................... 63
Protocol on Northern Ireland............................................................................................................................................... 64
Economic impact UK ............................................................................................................................................................ 65
Preparedness/contingency EU............................................................................................................................................. 66
Preparedness/contingency Belgium .................................................................................................................................... 66
Negotiations future relationship and extension transition period ...................................................................................... 67
Political situation UK ........................................................................................................................................................... 67
Key messages ...................................................................................................................................................................... 68
Political structures and processes of the EU– Economic governance and monetary union ............................................... 69
The Werner Plan .................................................................................................................................................................. 69
Early steps ........................................................................................................................................................................... 70
The Delors Report ................................................................................................................................................................ 71
The EMU Roadmap.............................................................................................................................................................. 72
EMU convergence criteria: .................................................................................................................................................. 73
Stability and growth pact (SGP) .......................................................................................................................................... 73
European central bank ........................................................................................................................................................ 74
European bailouts ............................................................................................................................................................... 75
EMU fiscal governance ........................................................................................................................................................ 75
Towards Banking Union ...................................................................................................................................................... 76
Eurozone crisis ..................................................................................................................................................................... 77
Where are we now? ............................................................................................................................................................ 79
Political structures and processes of EU – Trade policy vs. Justice and Home Affairs ........................................................ 80
Both serve as example of series of question of competences; ............................................................................................ 80
Traded policy basics ............................................................................................................................................................ 80
Trade negotiations (Art 207): .............................................................................................................................................. 83
What about TTIP?................................................................................................................................................................ 83
The US – EU – China trade triangle ..................................................................................................................................... 84
AA (Association Agreement) /DCFTA (Deep anc Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement) with Ukraine ............................. 84
What future framework for UK-EU trade? .......................................................................................................................... 85
Schengen area ..................................................................................................................................................................... 85
Visa and passport politics .................................................................................................................................................... 86
3
, JHA politics .......................................................................................................................................................................... 87
Principal JHA institutions ..................................................................................................................................................... 87
What migration crisis? ........................................................................................................................................................ 88
Is Schengen dead? ............................................................................................................................................................... 89
Terrorism and intelligence ................................................................................................................................................... 90
Political structures and processes of the EU – Enlargement ............................................................................................. 91
The founding six .................................................................................................................................................................. 91
Functions of enlargement.................................................................................................................................................... 97
Art 49 TFEU.......................................................................................................................................................................... 98
Copenhagen criteria ( .......................................................................................................................................................... 99
What if the rule of law is at risk?....................................................................................................................................... 100
Quo vadis enlargement? ................................................................................................................................................... 101
Beyond enlargement ......................................................................................................................................................... 101
The other side of the coin? ................................................................................................................................................ 102
Back in the Cold War ......................................................................................................................................................... 103
London declaration 4 December 2019............................................................................................................................... 104
Brexit as enlargement in reverse? ..................................................................................................................................... 104
Political structures and process of the EU – Europe as a global actor ............................................................................. 105
Quote:................................................................................................................................................................................ 105
The EU as Global actor? .................................................................................................................................................... 105
European consensus on humanitarian aid ........................................................................................................................ 108
MFF 2014-2020 overview .................................................................................................................................................. 108
The CFSP in short ............................................................................................................................................................... 109
What about MS? ............................................................................................................................................................... 110
Europe’s southern flank ..................................................................................................................................................... 110
Europe’s eastern flank ....................................................................................................................................................... 110
The wider world ................................................................................................................................................................. 111
More abstract challenges .................................................................................................................................................. 111
Political structures – Guest lecture: Negotiating the next MFF....................................................................................... 112
EU budget negotiations ..................................................................................................................................................... 112
4
,Political structures and processes of the EU – Why study European integration?
Why study European integration? 3 main reasons
- Reason 1:
• THE historical phenomenon of post-war Europe (one cannot try and make sense of
EU politics by making abstraction of European integration) -> fact that French and
Germans decided to bury hatches came in specific context in which other states also
played mayor role (ex. Division of Germany (DDR and BRD): certain states played role
in making them one country again)
ð understand where we come from (and not forget!)
• Network portrayed: high degree of density of connections of dataflows in EU-continent
compared to wider world (it wasn’t always like this)
• Soldiers (WWI: mud -> Australian soldiers of Ieper salient 1917)
• Bombing of Antwerp -> picture WWII (contrast of mud in WWI) => bombings happened
on both sides
ð Both pictures create a contrast
• François Mitterrand (President of France) and Helmut (Bundeskanzler Deutschland):
Commemoration of Battle of Verdun (1984) = one of mayor battles WWI (together they
suffered +- 800,000 casualties)
ð Handholding= symbolic
• Angela Merkel and François Hollande: picture from 2016
ð Contrast between first two pictures and these pictures: no handholding, no big
public, big picture contrast= history where European continent was characterized
by wars, post 1945: two of previous rivals are now allies
• Brandenburgertor Berlin: commemoration of 25th anniversary of Berlin Wall coming
down
- Reason 2: European-level policymaking = dealing with BIG problems
ð much more political than technocracy
• European Central Bank (Frankfurt): renovation of symbol of Euro -> highly symbolical:
can Greece stay in EU bank zone?
• Ukraine: Russian tank (Summer 2015: Referendum where they voted to become part
of Russia)
• Refugees and migrants -> they try to get into Hungary => nowadays there is a fence
• Temperature anomalies (1880-2010)
ð themes in common: issues requiring international cooperation => what happens
in certain parts in the world affect other parts, cause instability that cannot be
solved at international level
5
,- Reason 3
• European decision-making = sometimes pretty controversial
ð Need for informed debate
• Athens: Greek parliament => Greece forced to cut public spending
• Austria: debate migration
• Migration (Lampedusa)
• Kiev
• Brexit
ð In some respects, some people unhappy on how EU works
Why PSPEU?
- The ‘big picture’ introduction to European politics today
6
, Political structures and processes of the EU – A short history of European integration
History of European integration:
- What we do know is that now only two years ago, the outgoing Donald Tusk was very
proud to have a bunch of signatures on a paper because it was the 60th anniversary of the
treaty of Rome (1957). The 27 remaining governments agreed to carry on with the
integration of the EU. We need to look at the chronology of the different treaties.
- Treaty of Rome is considered to be the foundation of the founding of the European Union
- European history of 20th century
• First half is bloody, the second pretty tense, but there is still a bit of violence (compared
to the first half, this a completely different story)
- Security cooperation -> ultimately about high politics
Economic integration (this has much to do with all the treaties): on both categories all
the seeds have to do with one another; they are trying to escape the dynamic of the
first half of the 20th century -> early seeds, treaties and bargaining
ð The switch from the first to the second half is important
Some founding fathers:
1. Jean Monnet (France)
• Most important founding fathers
• Working behind the scenes, did not get political presence
2. George Marshall
• Architect of what became the Marshall-plan (=economic reconstruction of Europe,
post-war)
• When he thought about this plan, he was the key-military leader in Washington during
the second world war
7
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