Institutions of the EU Summary

Institutions
of
the
EU
Summary

2019/2020

European
Studies





Introduction
(Chapter
4
&
8)

The
history
of
war
in
Europe
dates
back
centuries
and
went
from
concerning

land
to
religion
to
nationalism
and
empires.
Since
the
Second
World
War,
in

which
70
million
people
died,
ended
in
1945
peace
has
prevailed.

Emmanuel
Kant
paved
the
idea
of
nation-­‐states
that
in
turn
inhibited
empires

but
after
the
1919
treaty
of
Versailles,
which
punished
Germany,
the
foundations

for
new
conflict
were
laid.



Cold
War
A
war
of
words,
ideas
and
ideologies
between
the
US
and
its

surrogates,
on
the
one
hand,
and
the
Soviet
Union
and
its

surrogates
on
the
other.
It
lasted
from
the
late
1940s
to
the
late

1980s.

In
post
war
Europe
there
were
three
urgent
priorities:

1. Economic
reconstruction

2. The
danger
of
nuclear
annihilation

3. Combat
nationalism
to
prevent
another
war





Rebuilding
Economies:

• The
Bretton
woods
system
(1944)
-­‐
A
new
post-­‐war
international

economic
system,
which
used
gold
and
the
US
dollar
as
a
reference
point

for
exchange
rate
stability,
free
convertibility
of
currencies
(based
on
the

dollar)
and
free
trade.

• The
Marshall
Plan
(1947)
-­‐
Countries
in
Europe
received
$12.5
billion

dollars
in
humanitarian
aid
from
the
US
to
encourage
post-­‐war
recovery.





The
European
Coal
and
Steel
Community
(1952)

The
first
organisation
in
Europe
set
up
to
encourage
regional
integration.
At
first

only
France,
West
Germany,
Italy
and
the
Benelux
countries
joined.

• The
Schuman
declaration
(1950)
was
seen
as
the
start
of
the
community

of
Europe.

• Treaty
of
Paris
(1951)
brought

together
the
coal
and
steel

community
in
Europe
with
the

incentive
that
coal
and
steel
are

the
main
resources
for
war.
It

was
also
charged
with

eliminating
discriminatory

measures
among
producers

and
consumers.


,The
Treaties

Treaties
were
an
important
part
of
the
development
of
peace
in
Europe
and

formed
the
basis
of
the
written
laws.
The
treaties
form
the
basis
of
a
European

constitution.

• Constitution
-­‐
A
document,
usually
codified,
that
spells
out
the
principles

and
powers
of
government,
limits
on
the
powers
of
government
and
the

rights
of
citizens.

• Treaty
-­‐
An
agreement
under
international
law
entered
into
between

sovereign
states
and/or
international
organisations,
committing
all

parties
to
shared
obligations,
with
any
failure
to
meet
them
being

considered
a
breach
of
the
agreement.

• Thin
and
thick
constitutions
-­‐
Constitutions
that
differ
in
their
intent
and

character,
the
latter
being
more
detailed,
consistent
and
permanent
than

the
former








































































, Key
ideas
of
the
EU:

• The
EU
is
not
a
state
but
does

have
a
structure

• The
EU
has
treaties
which
it
acts

upon
which
were
all
voluntarily

signed
by
member
states

• The
EU
deals
with
the
national

interests
of
member
states
versus

the
common
interest
of
the
EU


















Chapter
10

The
European
Commission



Evolution
of
the
commission

The
Benelux
governments
were
concerned
that
West
Germany
and
France
would

overpower
the
other
countries
in
the
ECSC
so
a
Special
Council
of
Ministers
was

appointed.
In
1967
the
European
Commission
was
formed
from
the
three

different
commissions
of
the
first
three
treaties.
Each
member
state
was
given

one
commissioner.
The
European
Commission
is
part
of
the
European

institutional
triangle.
The
other
two
points
are
the
Council
of
Ministers
and
the

European
Parliament.
The
European
Commission
is
the
executive
of
the
EU.



Structure
of
the
commission

The
commission
has
five
main
components.
It
is
headquartered
in
Brussels.