European Institutions and context

Joy Johnson

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Europe provokes divisions across political spectrum

“In Europe, not run by Europe”

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BRITAIN’S RELATIONS WITH EUROPE: TIMELINE

1951 Creation of ECSC under Treaty of Paris

1957 Creation of EEC under Treaty of Rome

1960s De Gaulle rebuffs Britain’s application (1963, 1967)

1973 Britain (+ Den, Ire) members of EEC

1986 Deepening of internal market: Single European Act

1992 Deepening of political union: Treaty on European Union (‘Maastricht’) – paved the way for single currency

1997 Treaty of Amsterdam - S(((SSScScSchengenSchngenSchengenSchengenSchengen

2000 Treaty of Nice – paved the way for enlargement

2007 Treaty of Lisbon – created President European CouncilNB. Similar material in Kavanagh et al, 2005: Table 8.2:

Amsterdam Treaty

• freedom of movement one of the main objectives of the European Union, the Treaty of Amsterdam agreed to incorporate Schengen into EU law.

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Question is: ‘to stay in’

• Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher originally yes supporter in the UK’s first referendum in 1975 in the then European Economic Community (Common Market)

• 67% of voters supported the Labour government's campaign despite several (Labour) cabinet ministers having come out in favour of British withdrawal.

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Thatcher says No, No, No

• Former Prime Minister supported single market (Single European Act)

• Greater integration (contents of the Maastricht treaty – moving to ever greater union) drew a No, No, No

• Her Chancellor (Lawson) and former Foreign Secretary (Howe) resigned

• Political elite ousted her from office over Europe

• (For the masses it was the Poll Tax)6

Conservative’s fault line

• Her successor John Major’s premiership was riven with division by Maastricht

• Maastricht created European Union based on 3 pillars – European Communities; a common foreign and security policy; cooperation in the fields of Justice and Home Affairs (Nugent p 85 - 105)

• Economic and Monetary Union leading to single currency

• Debacle of Black Wednesday with Britain thrown out of the Exchange Rate Mechanism (September 1992)

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John Major tried to appease Eurosceptics

• opted out of the Social Chapter –included the Working Time Directive (48 hours working week) eventually signed by Tony Blair

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Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM)

• Linked the values of participating European currencies and limits the extent of their fluctuations

• Britain signed up in 1990 • (Nigel Lawson had previously

shadowed the German deutschmark and spectacularly fell out with his boss Margaret Thatcher)

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Black Wednesday

• Britain kicked out in 1992 • Panic set in after stock market speculation and

interest rates shot up to 15% in one day• Pound sterling found itself in an unsustainable

position during the months after signing up to ERM• Value of the pound against the dollar too high • affect on exports market• Membership of ERM meant that Chancellor couldn’t

devalue the pound to remedy over valued pound(Morrison p 302)

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Black Wednesday

• Lamont statement on the day• Useful chapter putting ERM into its

contemporary context Gowland et al, Britain and European Integration Since 1945)

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European Monetary Union

• Single currency - Euro zone• Gordon Brown’s five tests (economic,

political and social)• Brown concluded that interest rates

appropriate in one country were not necessarily right for another

• Countries not growing in harmony• Lack of flexibility to adjust economies to

crises • Useful chapter Brown, Beyond the Crash

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EU less toxic

• David Cameron has sought to make EU less toxic for the Conservative Party

• HOWEVER• Global financial crisis – problems - Eurozone• Irish Bailout – In Britain’s national interest• Angela Merkel seeking to revise treaty rules

(Lisbon) to handle any future financial crisis• Recent decisions enraged Conservative

backbenchers (and others) • Loss of Parliamentary sovereignty

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Budget increase down from 6% to 2.9what happened to the freeze promise?

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DELEGATION OF POWER TO EU NOT NECESSARILY

DETRIMENTAL

Supra-national ‘collective action’National government may not be able to meet

citizens’ needs on some (international) policy issues - Environmental pollution, immigration, crime

EU ‘fit’ with BritainEU sometimes doesn’t ‘fit’ (eg. social policy)… but sometimes it does (eg. single market).

EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

Incremental progressEconomic integration followed by

political integrationBritain/Denmark/Sweden opted out of

Eurozonedomestic concerns over ‘political

union’, loss of sovereigntyGrand theory (Neill Nugent govt and

politics of the EU p 557 – 576)19

Structures and Procedures in EU

• Supranational (e.g Single Market)• Intergovermental (e.g. Defence)

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KEY EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS

European Commission (President Jose Barruso)

http://europa.eu/

European Parliament (736 MEPs)

Council of Ministers (eg Ecofin)

European Commission

• Regarded as EU Civil Service• Headed by President currently Jose

Manuel Barruso• Has 27 commissioners appointed by

nation states (past UK - Peter Mandelson, Chris Patten, Neil Kinnock)

• Overseas EU laws, proposes new ones • Can’t legislate

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European Commission’s responsibilities

• draft budget• formulating policy, overseeing its

implementation • Guardians of the ‘treaties’• If member states fail to implement a

policy the Commission might bring the matter to the European Court of Justice (ECJ)

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EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Powers of ‘co-decision’ with CouncilPower to reject CommissionPowers to reject EU budget

European Parliament

• The European Parliament is made up of 736 Members elected in the 27 Member States of the enlarged European Union.

• Co-decision with Council of Ministers making following Amsterdam and Nice Treaties. Judged necessary by enlargement. (except in areas of policy that remained inherently inter-governmental)

• MEPs elected by PR – UK party regional list system • 72 UK MEPs were elected in the European Parliament

elections on 4 June 2009 for 5 year term

• Sits in Brussels 3 weeks, 1 week in Strasbourg

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Council of Ministers

• Made up of government ministers from member states

• ministers attend the council depends on the subject under discussion (e.g. An Agricultural Council)

• Chancellor attends Economic Council of Finance Ministers

(separate meeting of Eurozone ministers but Chancellor still attends key meetings i.e. Irish bailout)

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European Council

• Is not an institution as such but it does have a pivotal role to play within the EU

• Strategic role with regard to structural funding or englargement

• Government of member states not only are represented in the Council they also implement EU policy

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European Court of Justice (ECJ)

• Resolves disputes for example between member states and the EU

• Based in Luzembourg• Has its own President (elected by their

fellow judges on 3 year term)• One judge per member state 27 (13 hear

one case at a time)• Since Lisbon Treaty assisted by 11

advocate-generals• Judgements require unanimity

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ECJ

• Areas of law covered• Free trade and free movement of

goods and services in the EU single market

• Employment law and the European Social Chapter

• Competition law (cartels, monopolies, mergers and acquisitions)

• Public sector regulation 29

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European Central Bank (ECB)

• Established 1 January 2002 – the day euro notes and coins issued the 12 EU member states.

• Based in Frankfurt• Britain, Sweden and Denmark opted

out of single currency

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• The European Central Bank (ECB) sets monetary policy for all 12 nations that are members of the euro. It is the successor of the European Monetary Institute - set up to oversee the transitional second stage of monetary union.

• The ECB works with national central banks within what is called the European System of Central Banks. Its key tasks are to:

• Define and implement monetary policy, such as setting interest rates;

• Maintain price stability; • Support economic policies of member states as long as they do

not affect price stability; • Conduct foreign exchange operations and look after the official

foreign reserves of the member states; • Promote smooth operation of payment systems that link banks.

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Responsibilities

• Define and implement monetary policy, - setting interest rates;

• Maintain price stability; • Support economic policies of member states

as long as they do not affect price stability; • Conduct foreign exchange operations and

look after the official foreign reserves of the member states;

• Promote smooth operation of payment systems that link banks.

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: OPTING OUT OF COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS

1992: Monetary union; ‘Social Chapter’

1993: ‘Working Time Directive’1997: Immigration and asylum2007: Police and judicial cooperation

on crime

Schengen

• As freedom of movement is one of the main objectives of the European Union, the Treaty of Amsterdam agreed to incorporate Schengen into EU law.

• UK opted out

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Lisbon Treaty

• Under EU rules, the treaty had to be ratified by all 27 member states before coming into force.

• Ireland voted no in a referendum – in 2nd referendum voted yes

• The last country to ratify the treaty was the Czech Republic, which completed the process on 3 November 2009.

• The treaty became law on 1 December. 38

Lisbon Treaty

• Created two new top jobs - EU Council president and EU foreign affairs chief

• Boosted powers of European Parliament, making co-decision with governments the norm

• Paved way for new EU diplomatic service, headed by UK's Baroness Ashton

• Took eight years of negotiation, including two Irish referendums

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Lisbon Treaty

• The new President of the European Council - Belgium's Herman Van Rompuy - chairs EU summits though many EU ministerial meetings will still be chaired by the country holding the six-month presidency - currently Spain

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Herman van Rumpuy President& Baroness Ashton Foreign Affairs

Hostile media

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Lisbon Treaty

• Treaty often described as an attempt to streamline EU institutions to make the enlarged bloc of 27 states function better.

• Opponents see it as part of a federalist agenda that threatens national sovereignty.

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After Lisbon

• The Parliament will be on an equal footing with the Council - the grouping of member states' governments - for most legislation, including the budget and agriculture – ‘co-decision’.

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After Lisbon

• Removal of national vetoes in a number of areas, including fighting climate change, energy security and emergency aid. Unanimity will still be required in the areas of tax, foreign policy, defence and social security.

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After Lisbon

• Removal of national vetoes in a number of areas, including fighting climate change, energy security and emergency aid. Unanimity will still be required in the areas of tax, foreign policy, defence and social security.

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After Lisbon

• A redistribution of voting weights between the member states, phased in between 2014 and 2017 based on a "double majority" of 55% of member states, accounting for 65% of the EU's population.

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After Lisbon – New powers

• New powers for the European Commission, European Parliament and European Court of Justice, for example in the field of justice and home affairs.

• Parliament will be on an equal footing with the Council - the grouping of member states' governments - for most legislation including the budget and agriculture

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After Lisbon

• Removal of national vetoes in a number of areas, including fighting climate change, energy security and emergency aid. Unanimity will still be required in the areas of tax, foreign policy, defence and social security.

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After Lisbon

• The new European Parliament was elected in June 2009 under the existing Nice Treaty - 736 MEPs - down from the previous 785.

• Under the Lisbon plan, the number will be fixed at 751

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After Lisbon Qualified Majority Voting

• Some extensions of qualified majority voting in the European Council are already in place, but plans to redistribute voting weights have been delayed until after 2014.

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EU in survival crisis

• ...the EU Council president, Herman Van Rompuy, warned that the European Union was in a "survival crisis" over eurozone debt problems, as the economic health of members such as the Republic of Ireland and Portugal came under fresh scrutiny.

• Mr Van Rompuy said that if the euro failed, so too would the EU. (BBC News)

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Referendum Cameron commitment

• If any future treaty proposes changes to British sovereignty to referendum – if not then there won’t be one

• European Union Bill

(See Coalition Agreement section 13 on Europe)

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Council of Europe

• Council of Europe is not an institution within the European Union

• Roots lay in the desire to combat nationalism post second world war

• European states should work together

• May 2949 Statute of the Council of Europe established

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Aims of the Council of Europe

• To achieve greater unity between its members for the purpose of safeguarding and realising the ideals and principles which are the common heritage and facilitating their economic and social progress

• While regarded as weak nevertheless it still performs useful functions – notably in the field of human rights through the European Convention of Human Rights

• Neill Nugent, The Government and Politics of he European Union

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Issues

• Eurozone• Further Treaty?• Referendum on any further transfer of

powers • Budget• Turkey’s membership• Loss of sovereignty• Recent decisions made by ECJ i.e.

Prisoner voting rights56

Seminar questions

• Identify major institutions of the EU and describe the role, powers and membership of;

• The European Parliament• The European Commission• The Council of Ministers• The European Court of Justice• The European Central Bank

• Also the Council of Europe (not an institution)57