Oefenvragen HC3

• The EU is a distinct political system described as an Unidentified Political Object (UPO), or sui generis, meaning unique in itself.

Key Questions

• What concepts help us categorize our knowledge about the EU?
• Is there solidarity among European nation-states, and should it be studied?
• How is power shared among political institutions in a multi-level system?
• The EU's goal is to make war practically impossible and is a center of global power.

Relationship Between the EU and Member States

• The EU draws from historical forms of governance like confederations, nation-states, empires, and colonies, while remaining unique.
• Statehood (Gellner): Modernity shaped nation-states and the EU builds upon and diverges from these forms.
• Imagined Community (Anderson): The EU is a construct representing collective identity beyond physical borders, similar to nations.
• Symbiosis vs. Rivalry (Taylor): The EU exists in cooperation with member states, with mutual benefit, influenced by historical governance forms like confederations and empires.
• Sovereignty (Milward): The EU redefines sovereignty as shared and enhanced by integration, blending historical models with modern realities, contrasting the centralized power seen in historical governance.
• 1992: Maastricht Treaty marked the formal start of the EU, establishing symbols like the flag and reinforcing the constructivist idea of shared symbols fostering identity and unity.
• European nation-states, whose economies were too small to compete globally, formed a symbiotic relationship within the EU to strengthen global presence and the EU can only exist if the states that formed it want it to exist.

Characteristics That Shaped the EU

• Federalism advocates for a supra-state "United States of Europe" to replace national states and overcome nationalism, though strong federalist characteristics in treaties often fail ratification due to national resistance.

• Intergovernmentalism: States power/ core sovereignty should remain intact, especially in high political and nationally sensitive areas like army and currency issues.

• Integration in practice: States delegate tasks to Brussels if it serves national interests or when it is better organized in Brussels or to avoid the political cost in national politics, specifically painful decisions.

• States only cooperate and delegate when it benefits them, especially avoiding sensitive issues like military or money.

• Liberal Intergovernmentalism, Andrew Moravcsik's theory 'preferences of power,' emphasizes: Formation of national preferences and intergovernmental bargaining.

• Determining what national interests to defend and promote intergovernmentally. Delegation of authority to EU institutions through interstate agreements.

• The Single Market demonstrates how economic integration was negotiated to balance national and collective interests.

• Economic benefits and strategic negotiations lead states to integrate more deeply while still safeguarding their key national interests.

• Functionalism (Mitrany): Promotes functional non-political, technocratic integration to make war impossible.

• Applied by Jean Monnet: The EC's formation is based on this technocratic logic.

• Neo-functionalism (Haas): Builds on functionalism with: Gradual Integration (Spillover): Integration in one necessitates cooperation in others.

• Ever closer union: ECSC → EEC → Single Market → Euro (Deepening)

• Elite Socialization/ loyalty transfer: (Euro-)bureaucrats and technocrats create joined values and loyalties.

• Shift of political debate from national capitals to Brussels, which would give rise to Formation of supranational interest groups, such as Greenpeace & Amnesty.

• Permissive Consensus to Constraining Dissensus: Initially, public support enabled elites to drive integration, now public skepticism of the elite and Brussel limits further integration.

• Economic integration benefits all member states leading to economies of scale.

• It leads to political integration via elite socialization & loyalty shifts, emergence of supranational interest groups and step-by-step gradual integration (spillover).

• Europeanization, a Constructivist view states that norms, values & interests evolve under specific conditions.

• EU policy-making occurs through uploading and downloading:

• Uploading (policy-shaping): Member states shape EU rules based on their preferences ("goodness of fit").

• Downloading (policy-taking): EU rules reshape domestic politics, empowering specific groups and creating a "Brusselisation" effect.

• De-Europeanisation: Reversal of EU norms, as seen in democratic backsliding. De-coupling from EU or EU norms after having acquired them.

• Multi-level Governance: Governance approaches to study the EU in a 'third way' manner separate from international and domestic politics, but as a sui generis entity.

• The EU operates as a unique governance system involving actors at multiple levels namely: EU level, Nation state level, and Local level.

• Subsidiarity principles: Decisions should be made at the level closest to citizens.