The Political System of the European Union

Second Edition
A 399055

Simon Hix

macmitlan

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Contents
List of Tables and Figures Preface to the Second Edition Preface to the First Edition List of Abbreviations 1 Introduction: Explaining the EU Political System The EU: a Political System but not a State How the EU Political System Works Actors, Institutions and Outcomes: the Basics of Modern Political Science Theories of European Integration and EU Politics Allocation of Policy Competences in the EU: a 'Constitutional Settlement' Structure of the Book PART I 2 GOVERNMENT 27 27 31 32 35 38 40 41 46 49 52 53 53 59 59 xiv xvii xviii xxi 1 2 5 9 14 18 23

Executive Politics Theories of Executive Power, Delegation and Discretion Government by the Council and the Member States Treaties and treaty reforms: deliberate and unintended delegation The European Council: EU policy leadership and the 'open method of coordination' National coordination of EU policy: 'fusion' and 'Europeanization' Government by the Commission A cabinet: the EU core executive A bureaucracy: the EU civil service Regulators: the EU quangos Comitology: Interface of the EU Dual Executive The committee procedures Interinstitutional conflict in the choice and operation of the procedures Democratic Control of the EU Executive Political accountability: selection and censure of the Commission vii

viii

Contents Administrative accountability: parliamentary scrutiny and transparency Explaining the Organization of Executive Power in the EU Demand for EU government: selective delegation by the member states Supply of EU government: Commission preferences, entrepreneurship and capture Conclusion: the Politics of a Dual Executive

62 65 65 67 69 72 72 76 79 80 83 89 89 90 96 99 103 106 109 111 111 115 117 119 121 121 122 123 124 126 128 128 131

Legislative Politics Theories of Legislative Coalitions and Organization Development of the Legislative System of the EU Legislative Politics in the Council Agenda organization: the presidency, sectoral councils and committees Voting and coalition politics in the Council Legislative Politics in the European Parliament MEP behaviour: reelection versus promotion and policies Agenda organization: leaderships, parties and committees Coalition formation Legislative Bargaining between the Council and the EP Theoretical models ofEU bicameralism Empirical evidence of EP power Conclusion: Complex but Familiar Politics

4 Judicial Politics Political Theories of Constitutions and Courts The EU Legal System and the European Court of Justice Composition and operation of the European Court of Justice Jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice Constitutionalization of the European Union Direct effect: EU law as the law of the land for national citizens Supremacy: EU law as the higher law of the land Integration through law, and economic constitutionalism State-like properties: external sovereignty and internal coercion Kompetenz-Kompetenz: judicial review of competence conflicts Penetration of EU Law into National Legal Systems Quantitative: national courts' use of ECJ preliminary rulings Qualitative: national courts' acceptance of the EU legal system

Contents Explanations of EU Judicial Politics Legal formalism and legal cultures Activism by the European Court of Justice Strategic national courts: judicial empowerment and inter court competition Private interests: the other interlocutors of the EC] Strategic member state governments Conclusion: Unknown Destination or Emerging Equilibrium? PART II 5 POLITICS

ix 134 134 136 137 138 140 142

Public Opinion Theories of the Social Bases of Politics Public Support for the European Union: End of the Permissive Consensus More or Less Integration: Europe Right or Wrong? National divisions Transnational conflicts: class interests Other transnational divisions: age, education, gender, religion and elite versus mass What the EU Should Do: Europe Right or Left? The Electoral Connection: Putting the Two Dimensions Together Conclusion: the EU as a Plural Society

147 147 149 151 152 157 161 166 170 173 175 175 177 180 181 186 192 192 196 202 202 203 206 208 208 211 213 216 220

Democracy, Parties and Elections Democracy: Choosing Parties, Leaders and Policies The 'Democratic Deficit' Debate Parties: Competition and Organization National parties and Europe Parties at the European level Elections: EP Elections and EU Referendums EP elections: national or European contests? Referendums on EU membership and treaty reforms Towards a More Democratic EU? A more majoritarian and/or powerful parliament Election of the Commission: parliamentary or presidential? Conclusion: Towards Democratic EU Government?

Interest Representation Theories of Interest Group Politics Lobbying Europe: Interest Groups and EU Policy-Making Business interests: the large firm as a political actor Trade unions, public interests and social movements Territorial interests: at the heart of multilevel governance

Contents National Interests and the Consociational Cartel Explaining the Pattern of Interest Representation Demand for representation: globalization and Europeanization Supply of access: policy expertise and legislative bargaining Conclusion: a Mix of Representational Styles 223 225 225 227 230

PART in 8

POLICY-MAKING 235 235 239 239 242 245 249 251 251 255 260 261 262 264 266 267 269 271 271 275 276 277 278 281 281 283

Regulation of the Single Market Theories of Regulation Deregulation via Negative Integration: the Single Market and Competition Policies The single market Competition policies New liberalization methods: the open method of coordination and the Lamfalussy process The impact of deregulatory policies: liberalization and regulatory competition Reregulation via Positive Integration: Environmental and Social Policies Environmental policy Social policy The EU reregulatory regime: between harmonization and voluntarism Explaining EU Regulatory Policies The demand for regulation: intergovernmental bargaining The demand for regulation: private interests and Europluralism The supply of regulation: policy entrepreneurship, ideas and decision framing Institutional constraints: legislative rules and political structure Conclusion: Neoliberalism Meets the Social Market

Expenditure Policies Theories of Public Expenditure and Redistribution The Budget of the European Union Revenue and the own-resources system Expenditure The annual budget procedure: 'the power of the purse' The Common Agricultural Policy Objectives and operation of the CAP Problems with the CAP

Contents Reform of the CAP: towards a new type of (welfare) policy Making agricultural policy: can the iron triangle be broken? Cohesion Policy Operation of the policy Impact: a supply-side policy with uncertain convergence implications Making cohesion policy: Commission, governments and regions Other internal policies Research and development Infrastructure Social integration and a European civil society Explaining EU Expenditure Policies Intergovernmental bargaining: national cost-benefit calculations Private interests: farmers, regions, scientists and 'Euro-pork' Commission entrepreneurship: promoting multilevel governance Institutional rules: unanimity, majority, agenda-setting and the balanced-budget rule Conclusion: a Set of Linked Welfare Bargains 10 Economic and Monetary Union The Political Economy of Monetary Union Development of Economic and Monetary Union in Europe The Delors Report The Maastricht Treaty design Who qualifies? Fudging the convergence criteria Resolving other issues: appeasing the unhappy French government Explaining Economic and Monetary Union Economic rationality: economic integration and a core optimal currency area Interstate bargaining: a Franco-German deal Agenda-setting by non-state interests: the Commission and central bankers The power of ideas: the monetarist policy consensus Monetary and Economic Policy in EMU Independence of the ECB: establishing credibility and reputation ECB decision-making in the setting of interest rates

xi

283 285 289 289 292 294 295 296 298 298 300 300 303 304 305 307 309 309 313 313 314 316 319 320 320 323 325 326 328 328 331

xii

Contents Inflation targets: ECB-EcoFin relations National fiscal policies: the Stability and Growth Pact European fiscal policies: budget transfers and tax harmonization Labour market flexibility: mobility, structural reforms and wage agreements The external impact of EMU Conclusion: the Need for Policy Coordination 333 334 336 338 341 342 344 344 346 347 348 350 353 356 359 359 364 367 369 372 374 374 378 378 379 382 384 385 387 387 393

11 Citizen Freedom and Security Policies Theories of Citizenship and the State EU Freedom and Security Policies From free movement of workers to 'an area of freedom, security and justice' Free movement of persons Fundamental rights and freedoms Immigration and asylum policies Police and judicial cooperation Explaining EU Freedom and Security Policies Exogenous pressure: growing international migration and crime Government interests: from high politics to regulatory failure and voters' demands Bureaucrats' strategies: bureau-shaping and the control paradigm Supranational entrepreneurship: supplying credibility and accountability Conclusion: Skeleton of a Pan-European State 12 Foreign Policies Theories of International Relations and Political Economy External Economic Policies: Free Trade, Not 'Fortress Europe' The pattern ofEU trade The Common Commercial Policy Multilateral trade agreements: GATT and the WTO Bilateral preferential trade agreements Development policies: aid and trade in 'everything but arms' External Political Relations: Towards an EU Foreign Policy Development of foreign policy cooperation and decision-making Policy success and failure: haunted by the capabilityexpectations gap

Contents Explaining the Foreign Policies of the EU Global economic and geopolitical (inter)dependence Intransigent national security identities and interests ~ ~ Domestic economic interests: EU governments and multinational firms Institutional rules: decision-making procedures and v Commission agenda-setting Conclusion: a 'Soft Superpower'? /13 Conclusion: Rethinking the European Union

xiii 395 396 398 400 402 404 406 406 406 409 412 415 422

V-/ What Political Science Teaches Us About the EU Operation of government, politics and policy-making in the EU Connections between government, politics and policymaking in the EU What the EU Teaches Us About Political Science Appendix: Decision-Making Procedures in the European Union Bibliography

Index

475