Transcript of Why the European Union? The EU is a good thing for idealistic, pragmatic and selfish reasons. the...
- Slide 1
- Slide 2
- Why the European Union? The EU is a good thing for idealistic,
pragmatic and selfish reasons. the idealistic: the EU has helped
bring peace and stability to Europe. In a continent where
generations fought bloody wars, this is simply a much better way of
settling our differences. Of course we still have rows - but around
a negotiating table. War between EU countries is now
unthinkable.
- Slide 3
- the pragmatic: we need a structure for finding common solutions
to common problems with our neighbouring countries. The EU is where
countries of our continent get together to agree (or not) on common
policies when they decide that it is mutually beneficial to do so.
We are highly interdependent economically and environmentally, and
we face common threats and challenges on matters like international
crime, terrorism and so on. It makes sense to work together.
- Slide 4
- the selfish: most of Croatia's exports go to European Union
countries. It is in Croatia's interest to be around the table when
the rules for that market are adopted. Croatian citizens will
become (also) citizens of the EU, allowing freedom to live and work
in all EU countries with protected rights.
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- Why is the EU special? is not a classic international
organisation. it has some features of a federation, where Member
States pool their sovereignty in limited fields and exercise powers
jointly through common institutions. it confers some rights
directly on all European citizens. Citizens are represented not
only by their governments, but by directly elected
parliamentarians. They can adopt laws which are binding across
Europe.
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- What is European Union law? The primary law (the de facto
constitution) of the Union is a set of treaties which lay down (and
limit ) the field of responsibility of the EU, define its main
objectives and set out how its takes decisions. It also lays down
certain rights for all EU citizens, such as nondiscrimination on
the ground and nationality or gender. It spells out how members of
the European institutions are elected or appointed.
- Slide 7
- Under those treaties, the EU is entitled to adopt secondary
legislation. The bulk of such European laws are rules for what is
now the world's largest free market. Many are intended to make life
easier for business, cutting red tape and bureaucracy. This is done
by adopting common standards and rules so that businesses face a
single set, rather than 27 or 28 different ones. For instance it is
now possible to register a trademark once, valid across Europe,
instead of facing 27 different registration procedures, each with
forms to fill and and fees to pay.
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- What is European Union law? Other EU laws are to protect
people. For instance, having a common system across Europe for
labelling foodstuffs - the famous E numbers on our jars - enables
people with allergies to see easily what to avoid. Common
Europe-wide laws to protect the environment are more effective as
pollution doesn't stop at boundaries. A common competition policy
has protected consumers from national monopolies and multinational
companies alike, perhaps most visible in the airline market where
cheaper flights have enabled millions to enjoy European
travel.
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- How are European Union laws adopted? The EU has a bicameral
legislature: a directly elected European Parliament and an
indirectly elected Council. The Council is composed of ministers
from the governments of the Member States. Both Parliament and
Council have to approve proposals for them to become law. Within
the Council, a qualified majority (requiring support of a high
majority of states and of population) is normally needed. For
sensitive matters such as tax or foreign policy, unanimity is
needed.
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- The Parliament and the Council act on the basis of draft
proposals put forward by the European Commission. The Commission is
the Union's central administration, headed by a team of
Commissioners whose role is comparable to ministers in a national
context. The President of the Commission is elected by the European
Parliament. He agrees with the national governments on who the
other Commissioners should be (one per country). The Vice President
of the Commission acts as the EU's High Representative for foreign
policy (a sort of EU foreign minister).
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- Is it bureaucratic? No, the European Commission only has the
power to propose, and to carry out what has been agreed. All
decisions on policy and European legislation are taken by the
Council -- composed of the elected governments of the Member States
-- and the European Parliament, composed of directly elected MEPs.
The administration that serves under the European Commission is
actually smaller than that of most medium-sized cities in
Europe!
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- How does the European Parliament work? The European Parliament
is directly elected by citizens every five years. It is the world's
first experiment in transnational democracy. It contains members
from parties that are in government and parties that are in
opposition in each and every member state. Members of the European
Parliament sit according to their political affinity (Socialist,
Liberal, Christian Democrat, Green, Conservative, etc), not in
national delegations. The main dividing lines are differences of
political viewpoint, not of national viewpoint.
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- Unlike many national parliaments, where the government can rely
on its majority to get its way, in the European Parliament,
majorities have to be built issue by issue through explanation and
persuasion. There is no inbuilt " governing majority". There is a
genuine debate, enriched by the variety of national and cultural
perspectives brought by members from so many different
countries.