Decision-making in the

European Union

Anna Unger
Institute of Political and International Studies
Department of Human Rights and Politics
 General information
 written exam in the exam period
 in-class exam
 50 multiple-choice questions (1 good answer by question)
 50 minutes

 your notes, literature, founding treaties of the European Union

 missing lectures: February 28, May 1

 office hours: Wednesday 16:00-17:30, room 2.93

 questions: first see the syllabus, see the regulations, turn to ARO
1. The process of
European integration
Milestones, turning points, ups
and downs

Anna Unger
April 21, 2023.
Decision-making in the European Union
 The issue of European unity
after WW2
 key issue: French-German conflict (the issue of Ruhr)
 territorial and ethnic conflicts
 economic interests and fears
 new world order: bipolar world and nuclear power → security
 after 1946-47 new realities:
 rebuilding Europe: Marshall-plan → without the Soviet bloc
 economic competition and armement
 1950: Korean war → can it happen here?
 three directions of integration:
 security and defense: NATO (1949)
 culture and human rights: Council of Europe (1950)
 economic: European Coal and Steel Community (1951)
 NATO
NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION
 military cooperation and common defense

 USA: leading role

 Article 5: mutual defense

 real activities only after 1989

 now 31 member states

 Council of Europe
 1949-50, The Hague
Conference
 cooperation among European
states
 international organization
 member states are equal
 consensus
 documents: ratification
(international treaties)

 1950, European Convention on

Human Rights (ECHR)
 European Court of Human Rights
(ECtHR, Strasbourg)
 Economic integration

 previously:
 Marshall plan (later: OECD)
 International Authority for the Ruhr (1948)
 need for economic stability
 need for strengthening Western Europe

 Monnet-plan (based on Keynesian economics)

 1950: Schuman declaration (May 9)
 1951, Paris: European Coal and Steel Community
 Lessons from ECSC
 planned economy:
 deficits, shortages, surplus can be avoided
 training and employment can be common
 free trade: transparent and comparable prices, anti-trust regulations

 MSs’ sovereignty is limited:

 no state limits and customs
 common rules for transport

Results:
 barriers and obstacles of commerce are eliminated

 commercial growth in the sectors

 price stability

Challenge: hydrocarbons are rising → coal loses its relevance

 Developments (1954-56)
 1954: failure of European Defense Community
 new Monnet-plan: integration for nuclear energy
 Benelux-states, Western Germany : new level in economic
integration shall be done
 1955: Messina – summit: reforms, perspectives
 1956: Spaak-report about the economic integration
 full integration of the economy in 3 steps:
1. custom union
2. single market
3. wide and deep economic integration → political integration
 Rome Treaties
March 25, 1957. – January 1, 1958.

European Economic Community

European Atomic Energy Community
 customs union

 elimination of export and import limits

 founding the possibility of free movement of people, services and

capital
 Common Agricultural Policy

 common competition policy

 economic coordination

 European Investment Bank

 European Social Fund

 Reforms

European Court of Justice

1963, Van Gend en-Loos case:
 direct effect of EEC law
1964, Costa vs. Enel case:
 primacy of EEC law

Merger Treaty – April 8, 1965. Brussels

 effect: July 1, 1967.
 from this date: European Communities
 Challenges
 enlargement
 UK  1961.
 Nordic states (Denmark, Ireland, Norway)
 Turkey

 1963: French veto against the Brits (again in 1967)

 1969, The Hague summit
 conditions of joining, agreement
 CAP: finance from common budget
 new possibilities for political cooperation (foreign policy)
 Plans for deepening the EC
 1970, Davignon report → European Political Cooperation
 coordination in foreign policy
 up until Maastricht (1993)
 1970, Werner plan → economic and monetary union
 parallel development in the fields of monetary, fiscal and
economic integration
controlling and limiting the ups and downs of exchange rates
harmonization of central banks
common currency (the plan was: within one decade)
 1971: Council adopted the plan
 1973, end of Bretton Woods, oil price crisis: collapse of the Werner plan
 First enlargement
 January 1972.: signature of the treaties
 UK, Ireland, Denmark
 January 1, 1973.: The Nine, not The Six
 1975: referendum in the UK about the membership

 political changes:
 Spain
 Portugal
 Greece
 Europessimism
 1974, Paris Summit:
 direct election of the EP (1979)
 European Council (regularly, at least 3 times in a year)
 Tindemans report: Conception about the European Union
 common vision, European unity
 foreign and security policy kül- és biztonságpolitika: egység kérdése
 two-speed Europe
 “citizens’ Europe” :
 free movement (borderless Europe)
 mutual recognition of degrees and professions
 1979, European Monetary System (EMS)
 foundations of a unified monetary system (collapsed in 1992)
 European Currency Unit (ECU) – fictional common curreny
 Further developments

 new policy areas:

 regional policy
 fishing
 European Development Fund
 EMS
 democratization in Southern Europe, new members:
 Greece (1981)
 Spain, Portugal (1986)
 Grönland leaves (referendum: 1982, exit: 1985)
 eurosclerosis → the threat of economic backlog
 budgetary conflict with the UK
 White Book (1985)

 Commission: single market

 physical
 financial barriers
 technical
 Four Freedoms:
Persons: free movement
Capital
Services free flow
Goods
 Single European Act

 signature:
February 17, 1986.
Luxembourg
 effective:
 July 1, 1987.
 Single European Act

 first comprehensive amendment of Rome Treaties

(1957!)
 EP gets new powers
 the idea of common European foreign policy
 goal: European Union
 Four Freedoms and Single Market:
 one step before EMI
 achievements: 94% of actions to be taken until the end of
1992
 European Union

 December 11, Maastricht: Maastrichti Summit

 Maastricht Treaties: February 7, 1992. / November 1,
1993.
 Treaty on European Union:
 new document

 Rome Treaties:
 new amendments
 Structure
 pillars:
 1. EC
 2. CFSP
 3. JHA
 slow and hard success: referendum in Denmark
(1992), German Constitutional Court (1993)
 challenges of monetary policy
 Nordic enlargement, 1992-95 (January 1, 1995.)
 After Maastricht
Inside
 The Fifteen – slow decision-
making and the dilemma of
further enlargement
 nation states contra EU
 monetary union
 single market and state aids
Outside
 CFSP: opportunities and limits
 international politics (war in
Yugoslavia)
 new international economic
order (WTO)
 Eastern enlargement
 Treaty of Amsterdam

signed:
October 1, 1997.
effective:
May 1, 1999.
 Results
1. pillar 2. pillar 3. pillar
 more power to the EP  Mr. CFSP  competences for
 majoritarian decision-  majoritarian the Court of Justice
making decision-making  Schengen becomes
 Social Protocol becomes with the option of mandatory for new
integral part of the veto members
Treaty
 issues (policies) from the
3. pillar (environment)
 total failure: institutional
reform
 Further reforms:

 principle of transparency
 Article 6 (values)
 citizenship
 flexibility clause
 protocol: Stability and Growth Pact
 the fiscal founding of the monetary union
 Between two treaties

 March 1998: negotiations start with new candidates

 January 1, 1999: € starts (physical appearance: 2002)
 March 1999: resignation of the Commission
 Spring of 1999: NATO bombs Serbia
 1999-2000: “quarantine” against Austria
 May 2000: Joschka Fischer-speech about the finality of
the EU (“From Confederacy to Federation”)
 December 2000: Charter of Fundamental Rights
 Treaty of Nice

 Signed:
February 26, 2001.
 Effective:
February 1, 2003.
 Key objectives

 institutional reforms (for Eastern enlargement)

 more effective decision-making system
 issues of flexibility
 Nice by night
December 10-11, 2000.

 1998. március: csatlakozási tárgyalások kezdete – „regatta

modell”
 1999. január 1: €
 1999. március: az EB lemondása
 1999. március: Berlini ET
 1999. tavasz: NATO-bombázás, Szerbia
 1999-2000: az „osztrák karantén”
 2000. május: Joschka Fischer beszéde
 Results
Institutional reform
Council
 voting system
 weights of votes
 double majority PARLIAMENT
 veto is limited  more seats
Commission  stronger power in
 1 state, 1 commissioner decision-making
 wider powers for the president
 new procedure for elections
 Millennial challenges
 Eastern enlargement
 until 2000: 3-5 new possible member
 2000 summer: ‘Big Bang theory’
 2003: referendums
 May 1, 2004: The Twenty-Five
 January 1, 2007: The Twenty-Seven (Bulgaria, Romania)
 July 1, 2013: 28 tagállam (Croatia)
 constant challenge of the political structure
 sovereignty and democratic deficit
 European Convention on the Future of Europe (2002-2003)
 failure of Constitutional Treaty (2004-2005)
 After 2000
 Treaty of Lisbon (2007, effective: 2009)
 Great Recession of 2008-2010, austerity crisis
 Eurozone crisis (2010-13)
 Greek crisis → democratic challenge
 Italy, Spain (2012-14)
 after 2010: growing migration (Arabic Spring, civil war in Syria, ISIS,
Afghanistan)
 2014: occupation of Crimea by Russia (sanctions against the Kremlin and
friends)
 2016: BREXIT referendum
 2017: process of leaving
 exit: January 31, 2020.
 2018-: Hungary and Poland: conclifts about democracy and rule of law,
European values → Article 7, and “another democratic deficit” (Dan
Kelemen)
 2020: Covid 19 → dezintegration
 2022: Russian invasion in the Ukraine → real unified foreign policy?
 In this semester…

1. Economic integrations, integration theories. The EU as a political system

2. The legal system of the EU, basics of decision-making: general patterns
3. Council, European Council
4. European Commission
5. European Parliament
6. Court of Justice of the European Union
7. Further bodies (ECB, EESC, CoR, ECA)
8. Decision-making and legal sources: primary and secondary sources,
membership
9. Parties and elections, citizen participation and democracy
10. National parliament, subsidiarity, MSs and EU (Article 7, TEU)