INTRODUCTION
Origins and motives behind European integration:
- frustration about war and conflict
- first toughts about a voluntary union after WW1
- concept matured after WW2
European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)
- april 1951, Treaty of Paris
- set up to prove the advantages of regional integration
- France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg
European Economic Community (EEC)
- expansion of members
- Treaty of Rome
- more ambitious goal of integration
European Union (EU)
- 27 member states
- common currency
- integration vs unification
Founding treaties:
- Single European Act (1987) --> elimination of the barriers
- Maastricht Treaty (1993) --> single currency, common citizenship,
founding of EU
- Treaties of Amsterdam & Nice (1998 & 2003) --> finetuning of
institutions and preparation for new member states
- 2002-2004 --> attempt of a European constitution, failed because of F &
N
- Treaty of Lisbon (2007) --> reform of institutions and more coherent
Union policies
Main institutions:
- European Commission: BXL, executive and administrative body (new
laws & overseeing implementation
- Council of the EU (= Council of the Ministers): BXL, decision-making,
voting commission’s proposals into laws (together with EP)
- European Council: leaders of every member state, broad decisions (4x a
year)
- European Parliament: Strasbourg, Luxembourg & BXL, directly elected for
5 years
- Court of Justice: Luxembourg, interprets EU law
,C1: WHAT IS THE EUROPEAN
UNION?
1.1 Chapter Overview
2 broad categories:
1. how the EU has evolved
2. what the EU has become
--> lacks a clear definition
1.2 The role of the state
Ben Rosamond --> 5 ways to conceptualize the EU:
1. as an international organization
2. as a regional integration association
3. as a political system in its own right
4. as a unique entity
5. as something that exhibits and combines all four of these
State = a legal and physical entity that:
- operates within a fixed and populated territory
- has authority over that territory
- is legally and politically independent
- is recognized by its people and by other states
1648 --> Peace of Westphalia: origin of internation state system
--> gave new meaning to borders and sovereignty
--> end to two European wars
Nationalism --> belief that every state should be founded on a nation and that
national identity should be promoted through political action
(most European states don’t coincide with ‘nations’)
International organizations (IO) --> bodies that promote voluntary
cooperation and coordination between or among their members but have neither
autonomous power nor the authority to impose their ruling on their members.
Intergovernmental organizations (IGO’s) --> consist of representatives of
national governments and promote voluntary cooperation among these
governments.
--> example: United Nations
International nongovernmental organizations (INGO’s) --> consist of
individuals or the representatives of private associations rather than states.
--> example: Oxfam
,Sovereignty --> rights of jurisdiction that states have over their people and
territory and that cannot legally be challenged by any other authority.
Regional institutions --> authorized to coordinate the making of new rules
restricted to policy areas in which the member states have agreed that they
should work together.
--> member states have final say on adoption
1.3 How did the EU evolve?
After WWII --> federalism: Europe needs total political transformation
--> considered too radical
1949 --> Council of Europe: promote cooperation without political unification
1.3.1 theories of integration
Realism --> 3 characteristics:
1. states are the most important actors in international relations
2. domestic policies could be seperated from foreign policies
3. rational self-interest and conflicting national objectives encourage states
to protect their interests relative to other states
Functionalism (David Mitrany):
- focused on achieving peace through international cooperation rather
than European unification
- believed nationalism caused conflicts and states should be connected by
international agencies handling specific functions
- thought that economic and technical ties would lead to political unity
over time
- problem: states were unwilling to give up major powers to international
organizations
Neofunctionalism (Haas & Lindberg):
- focused on how and why states integrate with their neighbours
- introduced spillover effect, meaning integration in one area would lead
to further integration in others
--> types of spillover:
1. functional spillover: economic sectors are interconnected;
integrating one leads to integrating others
2. technical spillover: countries align their regulations with EU
standards
3. political spillover: interest groups switch from lobbying national
governments to influencing EU institutions, pushing for deeper
integration
4. geographical spillover: how integration expands in geographical
terms
, Joseph Nye:
- added another dimension, looking at nonwestern experiences
- regional integration involved a integrative potential
--> depends on several conditions:
a. economic similarity among member states
b. shared values and priorities among political and economic elites
c. strong interest group activity, encouraging EU-level lobbying
d. government stability and responsiveness to public demands
--> EU had high ‘integrative potential’
1.3.2 challenges and alternative theories
Decline of neofunctionalism (1970s)
- European integration stalled due to political/economic crises + failure of
European Commission
- critics argued it was too linear and didn’t account for external pressures or
state resistance
- theory of spillover needed more elaboration
Intergovernmentalism (Stanley Hoffmann):
- states still in control
- legal sovereignty & democratic legitimacy ensure states remain the
primary actors
- cooperation happens only when it serves national interest
Liberal intergovernmentalism (Andrew Moravcsik):
- integration as a series of rational choices made by national leaders
- 3 stages:
Origins and motives behind European integration:
- frustration about war and conflict
- first toughts about a voluntary union after WW1
- concept matured after WW2
European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)
- april 1951, Treaty of Paris
- set up to prove the advantages of regional integration
- France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg
European Economic Community (EEC)
- expansion of members
- Treaty of Rome
- more ambitious goal of integration
European Union (EU)
- 27 member states
- common currency
- integration vs unification
Founding treaties:
- Single European Act (1987) --> elimination of the barriers
- Maastricht Treaty (1993) --> single currency, common citizenship,
founding of EU
- Treaties of Amsterdam & Nice (1998 & 2003) --> finetuning of
institutions and preparation for new member states
- 2002-2004 --> attempt of a European constitution, failed because of F &
N
- Treaty of Lisbon (2007) --> reform of institutions and more coherent
Union policies
Main institutions:
- European Commission: BXL, executive and administrative body (new
laws & overseeing implementation
- Council of the EU (= Council of the Ministers): BXL, decision-making,
voting commission’s proposals into laws (together with EP)
- European Council: leaders of every member state, broad decisions (4x a
year)
- European Parliament: Strasbourg, Luxembourg & BXL, directly elected for
5 years
- Court of Justice: Luxembourg, interprets EU law
,C1: WHAT IS THE EUROPEAN
UNION?
1.1 Chapter Overview
2 broad categories:
1. how the EU has evolved
2. what the EU has become
--> lacks a clear definition
1.2 The role of the state
Ben Rosamond --> 5 ways to conceptualize the EU:
1. as an international organization
2. as a regional integration association
3. as a political system in its own right
4. as a unique entity
5. as something that exhibits and combines all four of these
State = a legal and physical entity that:
- operates within a fixed and populated territory
- has authority over that territory
- is legally and politically independent
- is recognized by its people and by other states
1648 --> Peace of Westphalia: origin of internation state system
--> gave new meaning to borders and sovereignty
--> end to two European wars
Nationalism --> belief that every state should be founded on a nation and that
national identity should be promoted through political action
(most European states don’t coincide with ‘nations’)
International organizations (IO) --> bodies that promote voluntary
cooperation and coordination between or among their members but have neither
autonomous power nor the authority to impose their ruling on their members.
Intergovernmental organizations (IGO’s) --> consist of representatives of
national governments and promote voluntary cooperation among these
governments.
--> example: United Nations
International nongovernmental organizations (INGO’s) --> consist of
individuals or the representatives of private associations rather than states.
--> example: Oxfam
,Sovereignty --> rights of jurisdiction that states have over their people and
territory and that cannot legally be challenged by any other authority.
Regional institutions --> authorized to coordinate the making of new rules
restricted to policy areas in which the member states have agreed that they
should work together.
--> member states have final say on adoption
1.3 How did the EU evolve?
After WWII --> federalism: Europe needs total political transformation
--> considered too radical
1949 --> Council of Europe: promote cooperation without political unification
1.3.1 theories of integration
Realism --> 3 characteristics:
1. states are the most important actors in international relations
2. domestic policies could be seperated from foreign policies
3. rational self-interest and conflicting national objectives encourage states
to protect their interests relative to other states
Functionalism (David Mitrany):
- focused on achieving peace through international cooperation rather
than European unification
- believed nationalism caused conflicts and states should be connected by
international agencies handling specific functions
- thought that economic and technical ties would lead to political unity
over time
- problem: states were unwilling to give up major powers to international
organizations
Neofunctionalism (Haas & Lindberg):
- focused on how and why states integrate with their neighbours
- introduced spillover effect, meaning integration in one area would lead
to further integration in others
--> types of spillover:
1. functional spillover: economic sectors are interconnected;
integrating one leads to integrating others
2. technical spillover: countries align their regulations with EU
standards
3. political spillover: interest groups switch from lobbying national
governments to influencing EU institutions, pushing for deeper
integration
4. geographical spillover: how integration expands in geographical
terms
, Joseph Nye:
- added another dimension, looking at nonwestern experiences
- regional integration involved a integrative potential
--> depends on several conditions:
a. economic similarity among member states
b. shared values and priorities among political and economic elites
c. strong interest group activity, encouraging EU-level lobbying
d. government stability and responsiveness to public demands
--> EU had high ‘integrative potential’
1.3.2 challenges and alternative theories
Decline of neofunctionalism (1970s)
- European integration stalled due to political/economic crises + failure of
European Commission
- critics argued it was too linear and didn’t account for external pressures or
state resistance
- theory of spillover needed more elaboration
Intergovernmentalism (Stanley Hoffmann):
- states still in control
- legal sovereignty & democratic legitimacy ensure states remain the
primary actors
- cooperation happens only when it serves national interest
Liberal intergovernmentalism (Andrew Moravcsik):
- integration as a series of rational choices made by national leaders
- 3 stages:
