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www.eyp.de THE EUROPEAN UNION functions | competences | developments European Y

www.eyp.de THE EUROPEAN UNION functions | competences | developments European Youth Parliament Content History | 3 How Does the EU Work? | 4 Does the EU Pass Laws? | 5 Important Areas of Activity – What Does the EU Do? | 6 Mixed Responsibilities: What Is the EU Allowed to Do? | 6 Future Development? | 7 People and Places | 10 Important Terms and Abbreviations | 10 Links for Further Research | 11 EYP Germany I 2 I. History "We must build a kind of United States of Europe. In this way only will hundreds of millions of toilers be able to regain the simple joys and hopes which make life worth living.“ (Winston Churchill, Prime Minister United Kingdom, 19 September, 1946) Since the beginning of the 20th century visions for a uniﬁed Europe have increasingly been shared and communicated. Especially in the aftermath of the Second World War, different scenarios and ideas about how a European integration process could look like were discussed. In the end six central European states agreed to set up an organisation focussing on the pursuit of common economic goals to ensure a future in peace, prosperity and security after two world wars and centuries of rivalry. THE BEGINNINGS1 • 1951: Establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) initiated by the Schuman Declaration è Common market for the production of coal and steel between Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands è Starting point of the integration process; Generated hopes for a strong political and military union; • 1957: Treaty of Rome è Creation of the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC) and the European Economic Community (EEC). The EAEC and EEC shared certain institutions with the ECSC and cooperated within the construction of the “European Communities” while having separate executive structures. Focus on economic cooperation after the failure of the European Defence Community; EUROPEAN INTEGRATION: GOING BACK AND FORTH • 1965 Merger Treaty (Brussels Treaty) è Combination of the judicial, legislative and administrative bodies of the three communities (ECSC, EAEC and EEC) and thus creation of a stronger political framework; • Controversies in the 60s and 70s about voting procedures, the inﬂuence of certain countries and the future integration process („empty chair crisis“, „Luxembourg compromise”). Additional obstacles for the integration process were the oil and economic crises in the 1970s; • 1973 Accession of Denmark, the United Kingdom and Ireland (EU-9); • 1981 Accession of Greece (EU-10); • 1985 Schengen Agreement (however not with all Member States; in the beginning only between DE, FR, BE, LU, NL); • 1986 Accession of Spain and Portugal (EU-12); • 1987 Single European Act (SEA) è profound reform of existing treaties and extension of the community’s competences.2 EYP Germany I 3 KEY DATA EU • 27 Member States • 4 million km² • 500 million citizens • Europe Day 9th of May • Biggest internal market in the world • Common currency „Euro“ for over 300 million people • Anthem: Ode to Joy (Beethoven) • Operating principles: supranational and intergovernmental • Goals: Peace, security, wealth and stability for all EU citizens; facing the challenges of globalisation; promoting a cultural understanding and solidarity between the states; ensuring basic values as human rights, sustainability and a social market economy 1Until 1990 the term Germany in the text equals West Germany. East Germany was integrated into the EU during the German uniﬁcation process. 2 Competence: the authority to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a deﬁned area of responsibility. RESTRUCTURING AND TREATIES • 1991 Treaty of Maastricht è Transformation of the communities to the “European Union” and introduction of the pillar structure: Firstly, the European Community (EC) pillar including e.g. the economic and agricultural sector organised in a supranational way; secondly, the intergovernmental Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) pillar and thirdly, the intergovernmental Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) pillar3. The initial goal of an extensive reform in order to strengthen the union for the eastward enlargement was not fully achieved. In addition the Economic and Monetary Union was created (EMU); • 1995 Accession of Austria, Sweden and Finland (EU-15); • 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam è Generally perceived as an attempt to solve the remaining problems after the Maastricht Treaty. Next to a reform of the institutions in the run-up to the next enlargement the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) obtained its own ofﬁce; • 2001 Treaty of Nice è Second attempt to solve remaining problems of Maastricht and Amsterdam; • 2004 Eastern enlargement: Accession of the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta and Cyprus (EU-25). AFTER THE EASTERN ENLARGEMENT • 2005 Failed “European Constitution” because of two referenda in FR and NL; • 2007 Treaty of Lisbon (in force since 2009, ratiﬁcation process temporarily blocked by Ireland and Poland) è It merges the former treaties into the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). It furthermore makes the Charter of Fundamental Rights legally binding; • 2007 Accession of Romania and Bulgaria (EU-27); • Since 2008 the worldwide economic and ﬁnancial crisis made several ﬁnancial aid packages necessary and led to a sovereign debt crisis in a number of eurozone countries; • 2009 Proclamation of the current commission strategy paper „Europe 2020“; • 2011/12 Negotiation process for the European Fiscal Compact, the establishment of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), also known as „bailout fund“, and a banking union because of the growing instability in the eurozone. Ratiﬁcation process of the Fiscal Compact not ﬁnished (not signed by the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic) II. How Does the EU Work? The institutional structure of the EU cannot be compared to any other international organisation (e.g. NATO or the UN). It is neither a centralised unity like a nation state, nor does it imitate a relatively loose structure, such as the commonwealth of nations or a confederation like the United States of America => it is an organisation sui generis. The structure is unique and continuously developed. The Treaty of Lisbon marks the last big step in this process. MAIN POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS IN BRUSSELS AND STRASBOURG • European Council (since 1974) Regular meetings (aka summits, at least four times per year) of the Heads of State/Government + Commission President + President of the European Council + High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union. Provides political guidelines, sets general goals and incentives to the further development of the EU and common strategies concerning the CFSP . EYP Germany I 4 3 Levels in politics: local – regional – national – international. Possible ways of interaction: intergovernmental encompasses the interaction between governments of single states; supranational describes the cooperation between states in organisations like the EU wherein power is transferred or delegated to a higher authority. • European Commission (EC) „Executive“4 power of the EU (1 Commissioner per Member State, with one being the President of the Commission). Commissioners are appointed by their nation state, approved by the European Parliament and responsible for one issue area (e.g. Connie Hedegaard as Commissioner for Climate Action). The Commission monitors the adherence to the EU aquis communautaire, represents the Union in foreign relations and has the exclusive Right to Initiative.5 • European Parliament (EP) The ﬁrst part of the EU´s legislative branch6 consists of 754 Members of Parliament elected for 5 years by all EU-citizens (over 18 years old, in Austria over 16). The ﬁrst direct election of the EP was held in 1979, the latest in 2009. The parliament is divided into seven big fractions plus several independent Members of Parliament (the biggest three fractions are ﬁrstly the European People‘s Party pooling Christian Democrats, secondly the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats for the left and the social democratic political spectrum, and thirdly the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats). It is working either in a big plenary or in its 20 different committees, each responsible for speciﬁc issue areas. The Parliament shares its legislative competences with the “Council”. • Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers) Also known as “the Council”, structured in issue-speciﬁc councils with the respective ministers of the Member States (e.g. Council Justice and Home Affairs with all ministers of the interior). The presidency of the council changes every six months. The “president” in ofﬁce supplies the different councils with a chairperson except the council on Foreign Affairs, which is presided by the High Representative (Catherine Ashton since 2009). The issue division in the councils is mirrored in the parliamentary committees (e.g. environment, education, economy, budget). The council shares its legislative competences with the EP and holds executive powers, too. Denmark holds the current presidency until June 2012 when Cyprus will take over. Important non-political institutions are the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the Court of Auditors. III. Does the EU Pass Laws? Not exactly! The European Union can issue several legal acts, however, uploads/Management/ eu-guide.pdf