EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
LECTURE 1
THE THREE WORLDS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
Impact of the European Union on member states
Integration of states (International Relations)
Functioning of the European Union / EU Governance (Comparative Politics)
Why do states integrate? (Comparative Politics) If states use the European institutions to produce policies
What are their motives? what are their interests? How does it work? and positons, how does ths effect the member states?
Why do EU member states choose voluntarily to pool their How can we understand what comes out of it? How do states implement the european policies?
sovereignty within the european union? And how do they
What are the power relations? … Does EU membership do something with our democracy
use the EU to make policies?
(with the power relations within states?)
This course is about european union politics, not about the idea, values, cultural history … of europe
From political perspective
Circlar movement: states integrate they work together there is output it comes back to the level of
the states.
THREE GENERATIONS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION STUDIES
‘within’: theories from Comparative
‘bottom up’: theories from International ‘top down’: theories from Comparative
Politics aim to understand the
Relations aim to explain why sovereign Politics aim to explain how and to what
functioning and the output (governance)
states integrate extent the EU integration process has got
of the European Union as a political
impact on the member states
system
(Neo-)Functionalism, (Liberal)
intergovernmentalism, … Institutionalism, Policy evaluation, …
Policy Analysis, Institutionalism
To understand these kinds of integrations, you need different theories
First one is an IR problem: specifically designed to explain integration, but derived from the general IR theories
to understand why states integrate.
INTEGRATION VERSUS FUNCTIONING OF THE EU
HISTORY OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION:
Questions: - what is the degree of integration?
- why do sovereign states integrate?
Theory: - theories from International Relations / European integration
(functionalism, liberal intergovernmentalism, …)
,FUNCTIONING OF THE EU / EU AS A POLITICAL SYSTEM / EU GOVERNANCE
Questions: - how does EU decision-making work?
- who determines policy contents?
Theory: - theories from comparative politics
(institutionalism, policy networks, multi-level governance, …)
MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE EU
- Open borders related to free movement.
- Peace and stability (no armed conflicts between the member of the EU)
- Economic achievement: single market and common currency
- The EU invests a lot in research (because of its resources)
- Policy fields
- The brussels effect: “a fascinating and thorough account of the ways in which EU rules are
transformed into global standards through market mechanisms.”
- Area based on the rule of law (human rights)
- Erasmus
MOST PRESSING CHALLENGES FOR THE EU
- Policy fields such as climate change
- Identity issues
- Power balance between member states
- Economic development
- Cooperation between member states
- Conflicts in the backyard of Europe
- How can one single currency work, when economies are so divergent?
- Self-interests vs. common interests
- Enlargement
- Covid
- Migration
- Brexit
WHERE DOES THE NAME EUROPE COME FROM?
The name "Europe" is believed to have originated from
Greek mythology. In Greek mythology, Europa was a
Phoenician princess and the daughter of King Agenor. The
most famous story involving Europa is the myth of Zeus, the
king of the Greek gods, who fell in love with her.
According to the myth, Zeus transformed himself into a
beautiful white bull and enticed Europa to climb onto his
back. Once she did, the bull carried her away to the island of
Crete. There, Zeus revealed his true identity and seduced
, Europa. She later gave birth to three children, one of whom,
Minos, became a legendary king of Crete.
The name "Europe" eventually became associated with the
continent where this mythological event was said to have
occurred, and it has been used to refer to the continent of
Europe ever since. The connection between the myth and
the continent's name is symbolic and historical, and it has
had a lasting influence on European culture and identity.
COURSE OUTLINE
Theories of European Integration
History of European Integration
Enlargement
Theories of European Governance
Institutional Architecture of the EU
Budget and Redistributive Policies
EMU and Economic Governance
Single Market and Competition Policy
External Policies
Justice and Home Affairs Policies
Guest Lectures (Lise Witteman, Hans Brunyinckx)
FIRST DEBATE: BREXIT HAS MORE ADVANTAGES THAN DISADVANTAGES FOR THE EU
more advantages for EU
- 1 less veto power in the EU
- Britain didn’t want to pool sovereignty for ex. the euro (monetary policy) = awkward partner –>
the EU can now integrate further with less resistance
- With the UK leaving single market –> EU can tax products higher – customs duties for EU
- Decreased the exit appetite (for ex. Eurosceptics in France)
more disadvantages for EU
- Trade impediments – trade will decrease
- Unstable exchange rate
- EU’s economy is smaller
- Loss of legitimacy of the EU to not keep partner
THEORIES OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
THE INTELLECTUAL BACKGROUND
These are NOT IR theories, these are intellectuals/thinkers/bureaucrats, who started to think about (from a
very practical point of view) how can we prevent another war (find peace after WO I)
, David Mitrany – ‘A Working Peace System’ (1943): academic
- legacy of the failed League of Nations: nationalism as the core cause of war
- prevent war = eliminate nationalism (as an excessive use/aim by nations to pursue their interests)
by making states work together
- better of by working together than working alone (collaboration pays off)
- how? establishment of a series of international functional (sectoral) agencies
- expectation that states will discover the benefits of cooperation and that increasing cooperation
will refrain states from acting independently
- cannot be done by politicians (need to appeal to voters)
- needs to be done in a technocratic/bureaucratic way
- political elites and eventually citizens will be socialized in an international environment
- depoliticization of the power transfer, bureaucratic process
- no aim to build regional or worldwide federations but sectoral
Altiero Spinelli and the European Union of Federalists: political
- legacy of the Resistance Movements of WW II
- Ventotene Manifesto (1941): call for a European Federation
- Opposite to mittrany: technocratic way is not democratic
- But nationalism is also the enemy
- Process should be in acceptance and support of the citizens, need for accountability
- explicit aim of a transfer of political authority: abolishment of the sovereign nation-states and
creation of a European federation, political project
- European Congress (The Hague 1948) failed to establish the expected federation
Jean Monnet - Functional Federalism: political/bureaucratic
founding father of European Union: Developed the idea of how to make states work together
- Was not a politician, but a technocrat (civil servant) and planner could not make own decisions
but brought the idea to those in power
- context:
o economic reconstruction of France
o the need to control German economic reconstruction
- establishment of supranational institutions to make states mutually dependent (need for
international organizations, but they need to be more than intergovernmental)
- supranational institutions need to govern/manage different policy fields
- start with strategic sectors (coal and steel needed to make weapons) and add other sectors
later: spill over (step by step integration)
- ultimate aim is a political union by starting with economic integration
IR THEORIES OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
Competing theories on European Integration: To understand how the EU evolved, how and why member
states were willing to pool their sovereignty in such a deep way voluntarily.
Realism:
Key Assumptions:
LECTURE 1
THE THREE WORLDS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
Impact of the European Union on member states
Integration of states (International Relations)
Functioning of the European Union / EU Governance (Comparative Politics)
Why do states integrate? (Comparative Politics) If states use the European institutions to produce policies
What are their motives? what are their interests? How does it work? and positons, how does ths effect the member states?
Why do EU member states choose voluntarily to pool their How can we understand what comes out of it? How do states implement the european policies?
sovereignty within the european union? And how do they
What are the power relations? … Does EU membership do something with our democracy
use the EU to make policies?
(with the power relations within states?)
This course is about european union politics, not about the idea, values, cultural history … of europe
From political perspective
Circlar movement: states integrate they work together there is output it comes back to the level of
the states.
THREE GENERATIONS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION STUDIES
‘within’: theories from Comparative
‘bottom up’: theories from International ‘top down’: theories from Comparative
Politics aim to understand the
Relations aim to explain why sovereign Politics aim to explain how and to what
functioning and the output (governance)
states integrate extent the EU integration process has got
of the European Union as a political
impact on the member states
system
(Neo-)Functionalism, (Liberal)
intergovernmentalism, … Institutionalism, Policy evaluation, …
Policy Analysis, Institutionalism
To understand these kinds of integrations, you need different theories
First one is an IR problem: specifically designed to explain integration, but derived from the general IR theories
to understand why states integrate.
INTEGRATION VERSUS FUNCTIONING OF THE EU
HISTORY OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION:
Questions: - what is the degree of integration?
- why do sovereign states integrate?
Theory: - theories from International Relations / European integration
(functionalism, liberal intergovernmentalism, …)
,FUNCTIONING OF THE EU / EU AS A POLITICAL SYSTEM / EU GOVERNANCE
Questions: - how does EU decision-making work?
- who determines policy contents?
Theory: - theories from comparative politics
(institutionalism, policy networks, multi-level governance, …)
MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE EU
- Open borders related to free movement.
- Peace and stability (no armed conflicts between the member of the EU)
- Economic achievement: single market and common currency
- The EU invests a lot in research (because of its resources)
- Policy fields
- The brussels effect: “a fascinating and thorough account of the ways in which EU rules are
transformed into global standards through market mechanisms.”
- Area based on the rule of law (human rights)
- Erasmus
MOST PRESSING CHALLENGES FOR THE EU
- Policy fields such as climate change
- Identity issues
- Power balance between member states
- Economic development
- Cooperation between member states
- Conflicts in the backyard of Europe
- How can one single currency work, when economies are so divergent?
- Self-interests vs. common interests
- Enlargement
- Covid
- Migration
- Brexit
WHERE DOES THE NAME EUROPE COME FROM?
The name "Europe" is believed to have originated from
Greek mythology. In Greek mythology, Europa was a
Phoenician princess and the daughter of King Agenor. The
most famous story involving Europa is the myth of Zeus, the
king of the Greek gods, who fell in love with her.
According to the myth, Zeus transformed himself into a
beautiful white bull and enticed Europa to climb onto his
back. Once she did, the bull carried her away to the island of
Crete. There, Zeus revealed his true identity and seduced
, Europa. She later gave birth to three children, one of whom,
Minos, became a legendary king of Crete.
The name "Europe" eventually became associated with the
continent where this mythological event was said to have
occurred, and it has been used to refer to the continent of
Europe ever since. The connection between the myth and
the continent's name is symbolic and historical, and it has
had a lasting influence on European culture and identity.
COURSE OUTLINE
Theories of European Integration
History of European Integration
Enlargement
Theories of European Governance
Institutional Architecture of the EU
Budget and Redistributive Policies
EMU and Economic Governance
Single Market and Competition Policy
External Policies
Justice and Home Affairs Policies
Guest Lectures (Lise Witteman, Hans Brunyinckx)
FIRST DEBATE: BREXIT HAS MORE ADVANTAGES THAN DISADVANTAGES FOR THE EU
more advantages for EU
- 1 less veto power in the EU
- Britain didn’t want to pool sovereignty for ex. the euro (monetary policy) = awkward partner –>
the EU can now integrate further with less resistance
- With the UK leaving single market –> EU can tax products higher – customs duties for EU
- Decreased the exit appetite (for ex. Eurosceptics in France)
more disadvantages for EU
- Trade impediments – trade will decrease
- Unstable exchange rate
- EU’s economy is smaller
- Loss of legitimacy of the EU to not keep partner
THEORIES OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
THE INTELLECTUAL BACKGROUND
These are NOT IR theories, these are intellectuals/thinkers/bureaucrats, who started to think about (from a
very practical point of view) how can we prevent another war (find peace after WO I)
, David Mitrany – ‘A Working Peace System’ (1943): academic
- legacy of the failed League of Nations: nationalism as the core cause of war
- prevent war = eliminate nationalism (as an excessive use/aim by nations to pursue their interests)
by making states work together
- better of by working together than working alone (collaboration pays off)
- how? establishment of a series of international functional (sectoral) agencies
- expectation that states will discover the benefits of cooperation and that increasing cooperation
will refrain states from acting independently
- cannot be done by politicians (need to appeal to voters)
- needs to be done in a technocratic/bureaucratic way
- political elites and eventually citizens will be socialized in an international environment
- depoliticization of the power transfer, bureaucratic process
- no aim to build regional or worldwide federations but sectoral
Altiero Spinelli and the European Union of Federalists: political
- legacy of the Resistance Movements of WW II
- Ventotene Manifesto (1941): call for a European Federation
- Opposite to mittrany: technocratic way is not democratic
- But nationalism is also the enemy
- Process should be in acceptance and support of the citizens, need for accountability
- explicit aim of a transfer of political authority: abolishment of the sovereign nation-states and
creation of a European federation, political project
- European Congress (The Hague 1948) failed to establish the expected federation
Jean Monnet - Functional Federalism: political/bureaucratic
founding father of European Union: Developed the idea of how to make states work together
- Was not a politician, but a technocrat (civil servant) and planner could not make own decisions
but brought the idea to those in power
- context:
o economic reconstruction of France
o the need to control German economic reconstruction
- establishment of supranational institutions to make states mutually dependent (need for
international organizations, but they need to be more than intergovernmental)
- supranational institutions need to govern/manage different policy fields
- start with strategic sectors (coal and steel needed to make weapons) and add other sectors
later: spill over (step by step integration)
- ultimate aim is a political union by starting with economic integration
IR THEORIES OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
Competing theories on European Integration: To understand how the EU evolved, how and why member
states were willing to pool their sovereignty in such a deep way voluntarily.
Realism:
Key Assumptions:
