Class Notes and Example Exam Questions (17/20) Institutions and Governance of the European Union 2023/2024 (4019979EER)

Week 1 – Introduction


What are the objectives and methods of this course? What kind of entity is the EU? How to analyse
institutions and governance of the EU?
Course objectives:
 Challenges and resilience of the EU integration process
 Theoretical debates on EU integration and governance
 Dynamics of EU-decision-making
 Role of institutions in EU public policy
Key ideas:
 EU crises and resilience to crises
EU Treaties and Competency Milestones:
 1952
o The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)
 Supranational
 First move away from intergovernmentalism previously favoured in
cooperative efforts like OEEC and Council of Europe
 France and Germany led
 With Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg
 Schuman was first big proponent (from Luxembourg)
 Economic and political
 Principle materials for waging war
 Disallow German rearmament, but allow back into European fold against
encroaching Cold War
 Institutions:
 High Authority: Supervisory authority that administers coal and steel
resources
o 9 appointees of the 6 MS governments
o Decision-making power
o Will become what Commission is today
 (Parliamentary) Assembly
o National parliament delegates
o Supervisory/advisory powers
 Almost devoid of authority
o Maintained equilibrium balance between institutions
o Symbolic of European unification
o Formally subjected High Authority/Commission to democratic
control
 Council
o National representatives
o Limited decision-making power
o Consultative role

,  Court of Justice
o 9 judges
o European Defence Community (EDC) and European Political Community (EPC) both
failed at the time
 Included European army, common institutions, and common budget
 Parliamentary
 Roused considerable opposition
 Considerable supranational power and cooperation
 Failed in France
 Setback for integration
 But, encouraged proponents to focus on economic rather than political aspects
 1958
o It would be negative (integration) to say Rome was built in a day, or that it was political,
but we are (four) free(doms) to say that it laid down the foundations for an ever-closer
union
o Treaties of Rome
 European Economic Community (EEC)
 European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM)
 France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Luxembourg
 Signatories were “determined to lay the foundations of an ever closer union
among the peoples of Europe”
 Objective of “Common Market”
 Four freedoms to increase efficiency:
o Goods
o Capital
o Workers
o Services
o Core of EU economic constitution
o To promote harmonious economic development
 Negative integration
 Remove barriers to trade
o E.g. tariffs: things that increase cost of imports; quotas: limits on
number of imports
 Common customs tariff
 Legislative power divided
 Commission (proposed)
 Council of Ministers (voted)
 Assembly (consultation only)
 Executive power divided
 Commission (watchdog enforcement; principal negotiator on behalf of
Community)
 Council (concluded international agreements, policy agenda, Community
budget)
 Assembly (some power over budget, power of censure – never used)
 Institutions
 New: Commission
o Executive authority

, o Members drawn from MS, obliged to act independently to
represent Community
 New: Council of Ministers
o National representatives
o Limited decision-making power
o Consultative role
 New: Economic and Social Committee
o Advisory status
 Continued: (Parliamentary) Assembly
o 1962: Changed name to European Parliament; official in 1986
SEA
o National parliament delegates
o Supervisory/advisory powers
 Continued: Court of Justice
o 9 judges
 1987
o I am positive the Community (method) wanted to work together more in decision-
making and integration, with a single market
o The Single European Act
 Created formally the Single Market
 Still a disappointment to those who advocated sweeping reform in face of
political stagnation before it
 But did pretty good:
 Heralded revival of Community method and momentum towards integration
 Positive integration, as well as negative
 Approximation/harmonisation
 European regulation in place of national regulation
 One set of rules = less costs
 Article 14 TFEU
 Qualified majority voting in Council here, cooperation with Parliament
 Boosted Community Method
 Boosted role of the Commission
 Transformed role of European Parliament
 New legislative procedure = “Cooperation procedure”
o Applied to defined list of Treaty Articles
 European Parliament could block proposals with a bit of
support in the Council
 Community competences:
 Cooperation in economic and monetary union
 Social policy
 Economic and social cohesion
 Research and technology development
 Environmental policy
o Commission would have to take seriously the views of the
European Parliament
 Gave formal recognition to European Council
 Court of First Instance to support ECJ

,  1993
o Maa stricht is a temple. If you spell temple wrong it is spelled TEUmple.
o Maastricht Treaty: Treaty of the European Union (TEU)
 Followed momentum for Community method from SEA
 Introduced CFSP and JHA in temple-structure Treaty framework
 Temple Structure:
 Community Method/Supranational
o First Pillar: European Community
o Commission, Parliament, and ECJ had more power here
 Intergovernmental
o Second Pillar: Common Foreign and Security Policy
 CFSP built on European Political Cooperation
 Established objectives of EU action
 Preservation of peace
 International security
 Respect for human rights
 Development of democracy
 MS had to inform and consult each other on matters of
common foreign/security policy
 To execute efficient, combined influence
 Integrated intergovernmentalism
o Third Pillar: Justice and Home Affairs
 Asylum, immigration, and third country nationals
 International crime issues
 Judicial, customs, and police cooperation, including
establishment of Europol European police office
 MS felt too nationally sensitive
 Decision-making dominated by Council, limited ECJ
powers
 Lisbon Treaty now has brought all of this into the regular
part of the Treaty
 Intergovernmental
o MS in Council and European Council retained reins of power in
these areas