Notes on the lectures from the course (2022) Politics of the European Union. INCLUDES live sessions
and weblecture recording notes from weeks 1-6 (Total: 25 pages).
1
Politics of the European Union Live Sessions and Lecture Recording
Notes (Weeks 1-6)
Table of Contents
Live Session 1: Introduction to the Course 2
Weblecture 2: A History of European Integration 2
Weblecture 3: The European Commission (EC) 7
Weblecture 4: The Council 10
Weblecture 5: The European Council 13
Weblecture 6: The European Parliament 14
Weblecture 7: Decision-Making 16
Weblecture 8: Theories and European Integration 19
Weblecture 9: Theories and European Integration 21
, 2
Live Session 1: Introduction to the Course
The European Union (EU)
What is the EU?
● Two points of comparison = state vs. an International Organisation (IO).
● The EU is an ‘unidentified political object’:
○ Less than a state.
➔ The EU has common borders/territories and citizens, HOWEVER, the EU
does NOT have a monopoly on the use of force
○ But, more than an IO.
➔ It has a secretariat, with many discussions between state members. In some
discussions, there exists a transfer of extraordinary powers from member
states to the EU.
➔ The EU is very powerful (nearly 80% of legislation comes from the EU), with
EU law having precedence over national law (certain standards discussed in
Brussels > than those in national law).
Why study the EU?
● The EU is a complex organisation that is more than a typical IO (there is a lot of ignorance
behind it).
Three levels of politics → these lines are blurred:
1. Domestic Politics: In the member states (e.g.
environmental regulations).
2. EU Politics: Mainly in Brussels (e.g. decision-making
machinery, institutional actors), where lobbying is
more common and has a greater effect than at the
national level.
3. International Politics: The role in the international
sphere (e.g. EU in the UN, EU-Japan strategic
partnership).
Weblecture 2: A History of European Integration
Why study history?
Importance of history = understanding context/theories, solving historically-rooted problems.
Approaches to EU integration:
1. International Organisation: Institutions with little/NO autonomy, decisions through
government negotiations (theories of International Relations - IR).
2. Regional Integration Association: Comparable with other regional blocs, using IR
approaches (e.g. African Union).
3. Unique (sui generis): Emerged from unique circumstances with unique qualities/goals.
, 3
4. Political System: A European superstate (similar state structure/operating principles). Best
understood using comparative politics approaches (federalism, confederalism).
5. Hybrid: Mix of the above.
Early Ideas on European Integration
Richard von Couden-Kalergi’s PanEuropa (1923):
● A union of European peoples.
● Total cooperation of five global power fields (the Americas, the Soviet Union, Eastern Asia,
PanEuropa + colonies and the British Empire).
● Four stage process for the achievement of the EU (failed to generate a mass following):
1. Conference of representatives from 26 European states.
2. Agreement of dispute-settlement treaties.
3. Development of custom unions.
4. Drafting a federal European constitution.
Aristide Briand:
● A European federation = the creation of a “common market” + “European Union”.
Édouard Herriot (1924) and Winston Churchill’s Zürich Speech (1946):
● A “United States of Europe” (France + Germany, excluding the United Kingdom - UK).
The Road to Rome (1945-1957)
Challenges of post-war Europe:
1. Rebuilding destroyed economies.
➔ Organisation for European Economic Cooperation = Marshall Plan, OEEC (1961
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development - OECD).
2. Ensure security.
➔ Foundation of NATO (1949).
➔ West Germany → Western community, allowing rearmament under
supranational supervision (Schuman Plan).
3. Limit the dangers of nationalism responsible for European wars.
➔ 1948 European Movement.
➔ 1949 Council of Europe (European Convention on Human Rights).
The Schuman Plan (9 May 1950): Built around crucial Franco-German relations and United States’
(US) pressures to solve them. Cooperation (economic, political, social objectives) under a common
High Authority in coal and steel production ensuring control over production of weapons and
breaking up German industries (war = ‘impossible’).
➔ Proposed by Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet.
➔ Led to the 1951 Treaty of Paris’ European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) signed by
France, West Germany, Italy, and three Benelux countries (to ensure security).
➔ Countries that did NOT join:
and weblecture recording notes from weeks 1-6 (Total: 25 pages).
1
Politics of the European Union Live Sessions and Lecture Recording
Notes (Weeks 1-6)
Table of Contents
Live Session 1: Introduction to the Course 2
Weblecture 2: A History of European Integration 2
Weblecture 3: The European Commission (EC) 7
Weblecture 4: The Council 10
Weblecture 5: The European Council 13
Weblecture 6: The European Parliament 14
Weblecture 7: Decision-Making 16
Weblecture 8: Theories and European Integration 19
Weblecture 9: Theories and European Integration 21
, 2
Live Session 1: Introduction to the Course
The European Union (EU)
What is the EU?
● Two points of comparison = state vs. an International Organisation (IO).
● The EU is an ‘unidentified political object’:
○ Less than a state.
➔ The EU has common borders/territories and citizens, HOWEVER, the EU
does NOT have a monopoly on the use of force
○ But, more than an IO.
➔ It has a secretariat, with many discussions between state members. In some
discussions, there exists a transfer of extraordinary powers from member
states to the EU.
➔ The EU is very powerful (nearly 80% of legislation comes from the EU), with
EU law having precedence over national law (certain standards discussed in
Brussels > than those in national law).
Why study the EU?
● The EU is a complex organisation that is more than a typical IO (there is a lot of ignorance
behind it).
Three levels of politics → these lines are blurred:
1. Domestic Politics: In the member states (e.g.
environmental regulations).
2. EU Politics: Mainly in Brussels (e.g. decision-making
machinery, institutional actors), where lobbying is
more common and has a greater effect than at the
national level.
3. International Politics: The role in the international
sphere (e.g. EU in the UN, EU-Japan strategic
partnership).
Weblecture 2: A History of European Integration
Why study history?
Importance of history = understanding context/theories, solving historically-rooted problems.
Approaches to EU integration:
1. International Organisation: Institutions with little/NO autonomy, decisions through
government negotiations (theories of International Relations - IR).
2. Regional Integration Association: Comparable with other regional blocs, using IR
approaches (e.g. African Union).
3. Unique (sui generis): Emerged from unique circumstances with unique qualities/goals.
, 3
4. Political System: A European superstate (similar state structure/operating principles). Best
understood using comparative politics approaches (federalism, confederalism).
5. Hybrid: Mix of the above.
Early Ideas on European Integration
Richard von Couden-Kalergi’s PanEuropa (1923):
● A union of European peoples.
● Total cooperation of five global power fields (the Americas, the Soviet Union, Eastern Asia,
PanEuropa + colonies and the British Empire).
● Four stage process for the achievement of the EU (failed to generate a mass following):
1. Conference of representatives from 26 European states.
2. Agreement of dispute-settlement treaties.
3. Development of custom unions.
4. Drafting a federal European constitution.
Aristide Briand:
● A European federation = the creation of a “common market” + “European Union”.
Édouard Herriot (1924) and Winston Churchill’s Zürich Speech (1946):
● A “United States of Europe” (France + Germany, excluding the United Kingdom - UK).
The Road to Rome (1945-1957)
Challenges of post-war Europe:
1. Rebuilding destroyed economies.
➔ Organisation for European Economic Cooperation = Marshall Plan, OEEC (1961
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development - OECD).
2. Ensure security.
➔ Foundation of NATO (1949).
➔ West Germany → Western community, allowing rearmament under
supranational supervision (Schuman Plan).
3. Limit the dangers of nationalism responsible for European wars.
➔ 1948 European Movement.
➔ 1949 Council of Europe (European Convention on Human Rights).
The Schuman Plan (9 May 1950): Built around crucial Franco-German relations and United States’
(US) pressures to solve them. Cooperation (economic, political, social objectives) under a common
High Authority in coal and steel production ensuring control over production of weapons and
breaking up German industries (war = ‘impossible’).
➔ Proposed by Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet.
➔ Led to the 1951 Treaty of Paris’ European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) signed by
France, West Germany, Italy, and three Benelux countries (to ensure security).
➔ Countries that did NOT join:
