Summary European Institutions
Introduction
A supranational organization: is a type of multinational political union where negotiated power is
delegated to an authority by governments of member states.
The members have transferred decision making power (parts of the sovereignty) to the
organization.
Is above the nation/state
Can make binding decisions even if some members states don’t agree.
o Decision making is done by majority voting but then is binding for all members even
if they have voted against
o Decisions can also be made by experts. In that case the state or not really involved.
An interngovernmental organization:
Members states remain fully in control, there’s no transfer of sovereignty.
Everybody has to agree. If one state votes against, the decision will not be made.
The EU is to a large supranational organisation but for some aspects it can still be seen as an
interngovernmental organization.
Most international organizations are predominantly interngovernmental.
Collective self-defense: If one member state is attacked it will be regarded as an attacked towards all
members and then all members are entitled to use force to repell the attack. (started in the fifties)
Read pdf for all history of founding EU…
Early beginnings: After World War II: initial steps to co-operation:
Organization for European Economic Co-operation (1948): Established to co-ordinate
economic recovery of Europe and in particular to distribute aid granted under the Marshall
Plan
Council of Europe (1949): Established to achieve greater unity and cooperation amongst
European states on the basis of a number of fundamental principles: respect for the rule of
law and human rights. Members maintained their full sovereignty
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949): Military alliance: established as a collective self-defence
organization. Members maintained their full sovereignty
1
,Fifties: first steps in integration process:
European Coal and Steel Community (Treaty of Paris, 1951): Member states agreed to
transfer the administration of their coal and steel industry to an independent supranational
institution
European Defence Community (1952): Integration of forces, placed under a supranational
command: France refuses to ratify
Western European Union (1954): Alternative for EDC: based on the concept of collective self-
defence
European Economic Community and European Atomic Energy Community (Treaties of
Rome, 1957):Promote economic integration through the establishment of a common market
and a common competition, agricultural, commercial and transport policy Based on the
principles of the ECSC but with some adjustments
(Not much happened in the 60s and 70s)
Eighties: a new impetus for European integration:
Single European Act (1986):
o First real revision of the Treaty of Rome
o Institutionalization of the European Political Co-Operation
o New impulses for economic integration: Achievement by December 31, 1992 of an
internal market
o Increased involvement of the European Parliament in decision-making (cooperation
procedure)
o Decision-making by qualified majority voting in the Council
Nineties: establishment of the European Union
Treaty on the Establishment of the European Union (Treaty of Maastricht (1992)):
Two integration tracks were brought together: three pillars:
1. First Pillar:
European Community (ECSC, EEC, EURATOM)
+ Enlargement and strengthening of competences: Economic and Monetary Union, social
policy, education, culture, ...
Further extension of the scope of qualified majority voting in the Council and further
enlargement of the powers of the European Parliament in the legislative process (co-
decision procedure)
1. Second Pillar:
Common Foreign and Security Policy
2
, 1. Third Pillar:
Co-operation in the field of Justice and Home Affairs
Beginning of a new millennium: paving the way for theenlargement of the EU:
Treaty of Nice (2001): With a view to the enlargement, institutions of the EU were partially
reformed
Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe (2004): Was rejected in France and the
Netherlands
Treaty of Lisbon (Reform Treaty 2007)
Keeps most institutional innovations that were agreed upon in the European Constitution
Brexit (2020)
Chapter 1: The institutions of the EU
Enlargements and withdrawals
Who can join?
Any European State which respects the values referred to in Article 2 and is committed to
promoting them may apply to become a member of the Union (Art.49 TEU)
Copenhagen criteria:
3
, o free-market economy,
o a stable democracy and the rule of law, and
o acceptance of all EU legislation, including of the eu
Procedure for membership:
1. The European Parliament and national Parliaments shall be notified of this application.
2. The applicant State shall address its application to the Council
3. The Council shall act unanimously after consulting the Commission and after receiving the
consent of the European Parliament, which shall act by a majority of its component
members. The conditions of eligibility agreed upon by the European Council shall be taken
into account.
4. The conditions of admission and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the Union is
founded, which such admission entails, shall be the subject of an agreement between the
Member States and the applicant State. This agreement shall be submitted for ratification by
all the contracting States in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements (Art
49 TEU)
The applicants, current member states and the European parliament have to approve!
Any member state can block the accession treaty as ever single member has to agree.
The growth of the EU
Withdrawal
Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own
constitutional requirements.
A Member State which decides to withdraw shall notify the European Council of its intention.
In the light of the guidelines provided by the European Council, the Union shall negotiate and
conclude an agreement with that State, setting out the arrangements for its withdrawal,
taking account of the framework for its future relationship with the Union.
4
Introduction
A supranational organization: is a type of multinational political union where negotiated power is
delegated to an authority by governments of member states.
The members have transferred decision making power (parts of the sovereignty) to the
organization.
Is above the nation/state
Can make binding decisions even if some members states don’t agree.
o Decision making is done by majority voting but then is binding for all members even
if they have voted against
o Decisions can also be made by experts. In that case the state or not really involved.
An interngovernmental organization:
Members states remain fully in control, there’s no transfer of sovereignty.
Everybody has to agree. If one state votes against, the decision will not be made.
The EU is to a large supranational organisation but for some aspects it can still be seen as an
interngovernmental organization.
Most international organizations are predominantly interngovernmental.
Collective self-defense: If one member state is attacked it will be regarded as an attacked towards all
members and then all members are entitled to use force to repell the attack. (started in the fifties)
Read pdf for all history of founding EU…
Early beginnings: After World War II: initial steps to co-operation:
Organization for European Economic Co-operation (1948): Established to co-ordinate
economic recovery of Europe and in particular to distribute aid granted under the Marshall
Plan
Council of Europe (1949): Established to achieve greater unity and cooperation amongst
European states on the basis of a number of fundamental principles: respect for the rule of
law and human rights. Members maintained their full sovereignty
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949): Military alliance: established as a collective self-defence
organization. Members maintained their full sovereignty
1
,Fifties: first steps in integration process:
European Coal and Steel Community (Treaty of Paris, 1951): Member states agreed to
transfer the administration of their coal and steel industry to an independent supranational
institution
European Defence Community (1952): Integration of forces, placed under a supranational
command: France refuses to ratify
Western European Union (1954): Alternative for EDC: based on the concept of collective self-
defence
European Economic Community and European Atomic Energy Community (Treaties of
Rome, 1957):Promote economic integration through the establishment of a common market
and a common competition, agricultural, commercial and transport policy Based on the
principles of the ECSC but with some adjustments
(Not much happened in the 60s and 70s)
Eighties: a new impetus for European integration:
Single European Act (1986):
o First real revision of the Treaty of Rome
o Institutionalization of the European Political Co-Operation
o New impulses for economic integration: Achievement by December 31, 1992 of an
internal market
o Increased involvement of the European Parliament in decision-making (cooperation
procedure)
o Decision-making by qualified majority voting in the Council
Nineties: establishment of the European Union
Treaty on the Establishment of the European Union (Treaty of Maastricht (1992)):
Two integration tracks were brought together: three pillars:
1. First Pillar:
European Community (ECSC, EEC, EURATOM)
+ Enlargement and strengthening of competences: Economic and Monetary Union, social
policy, education, culture, ...
Further extension of the scope of qualified majority voting in the Council and further
enlargement of the powers of the European Parliament in the legislative process (co-
decision procedure)
1. Second Pillar:
Common Foreign and Security Policy
2
, 1. Third Pillar:
Co-operation in the field of Justice and Home Affairs
Beginning of a new millennium: paving the way for theenlargement of the EU:
Treaty of Nice (2001): With a view to the enlargement, institutions of the EU were partially
reformed
Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe (2004): Was rejected in France and the
Netherlands
Treaty of Lisbon (Reform Treaty 2007)
Keeps most institutional innovations that were agreed upon in the European Constitution
Brexit (2020)
Chapter 1: The institutions of the EU
Enlargements and withdrawals
Who can join?
Any European State which respects the values referred to in Article 2 and is committed to
promoting them may apply to become a member of the Union (Art.49 TEU)
Copenhagen criteria:
3
, o free-market economy,
o a stable democracy and the rule of law, and
o acceptance of all EU legislation, including of the eu
Procedure for membership:
1. The European Parliament and national Parliaments shall be notified of this application.
2. The applicant State shall address its application to the Council
3. The Council shall act unanimously after consulting the Commission and after receiving the
consent of the European Parliament, which shall act by a majority of its component
members. The conditions of eligibility agreed upon by the European Council shall be taken
into account.
4. The conditions of admission and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the Union is
founded, which such admission entails, shall be the subject of an agreement between the
Member States and the applicant State. This agreement shall be submitted for ratification by
all the contracting States in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements (Art
49 TEU)
The applicants, current member states and the European parliament have to approve!
Any member state can block the accession treaty as ever single member has to agree.
The growth of the EU
Withdrawal
Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own
constitutional requirements.
A Member State which decides to withdraw shall notify the European Council of its intention.
In the light of the guidelines provided by the European Council, the Union shall negotiate and
conclude an agreement with that State, setting out the arrangements for its withdrawal,
taking account of the framework for its future relationship with the Union.
4
