1 / 14

Postwar settlements & the origins of the European Union

Postwar settlements & the origins of the European Union. National Conference 2008 January 17-19 at Memorial University “Federalism - Is It Working?” Guest Speakers (such as John Crosbie, Clyde Wells, Ryan Cleary) Panel Discussions

james-sexton
Download Presentation

Postwar settlements & the origins of the European Union

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Postwar settlements & the origins of the European Union

  2. National Conference 2008 January 17-19 at Memorial University “Federalism - Is It Working?” Guest Speakers (such as John Crosbie, Clyde Wells, Ryan Cleary) Panel Discussions Social Events- Screech-In for visiting students, Pub Crawl, Banquet Delegate Package- t-shirt, scarf, bag, 3 meals and surprises! Student delegates from 8 provinces Just $50 for MUN students! All are welcome! Registration Forms can be picked up/dropped off at the POSC office (SN 2028) Sign our email list for more information!

  3. Understanding European Politics Factors: • Institutions and structures • Cleavages • Political forces • The past: • Does not necessarily shape the present (path dependency), • Does throw up problems & choices, parameters…

  4. Wars & depression as crucible • Dirty thirties & the expansion & elaboration of welfare states • WW II as interlude for planning, reflection, learning, institution-building, e.g • Beveridge report in UK • Detention camps & resistance movements produce new élan, determination not to repeat the past • Designs for postwar economic order

  5. Products: • New economic & political structures • Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates • GATT (later WTO) • United Nations • OECD • Council of Europe • EU • New policies & practices • Keynsian welfare state (KWS) • Demand management (from John Meynard Keynes • Expansion & elaboration of welfare states • From 1960s onward: unprecedented affluence & an end to zero-sum politics

  6. Shaping postwar Europe • Not everything turns out as intended • Successes & failures of ‘breakthrough’ efforts, e.g. • Netherlands • France • Fate of Germany: • Earlier intent: to return Germany to agrarian past, eliminating capacity to make war, cf. JCS 1040, Morgenthau Plan • Instead: partition, reconstruction & reindustrialization • http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/europe/02/euro_borders/html/2.stm

  7. Building the EU • Diverse efforts to unite Europe: • Spinelli & European federalists • Pressure from the United States • Churchill • Brussels & Hague conferences (1948) • Jean Monnet & Robert Schuman • Outcomes - Multiple institutions • OEEC (forerunner of OECD) • Council of Europe (1948) • NATO (1949) • European Coal & Steel Community (ECSC) & eventually EEC & European Union (`1951)

  8. Actual origins • Cold war & partition of Germany • Need for West Germany to re-industrialize • Need to do so in a way acceptable to France • Jean Monnet & the Schuman plan • Establish a transnational institutions – a high authority and a representative assembly – to govern a key structure • Neo-functionalism: expectation that success in one sector will produce spillovers to others

  9. Uniting Europe in fits and starts • ECSC established in 1951 • Failure of European Defense Community (1951-53) • Euratom & European Economic Community (EEC) in 1956 • Amalgamation: European Community • Single European Act (SEA 1985) • Maastrict Treaty (1991) & formation of the European Union • Schengen – end of border controls • Euro & Eurozone 11 (2001)

  10. Enlargements • The six: • France, Germany, Italy, Benelux • First enlargement, 1973 • UK, Ireland, Denmark • From 9 to 12 • Greece (1981), Spain, Portugal (1986) • From 12 to 15: Austria, Finland, Sweden • From 15 to 25 & 27: East Central Europe • Holdouts: Norway & Switzerland http://europa.eu/abc/maps/index_en.htm

  11. The EU & its institutions • Transnational structures: • The European Commission (Monnet’s High Authority) • The European Parliament • Monnet’s representative assembly • Directly elected since 1979 • The European Court of Justice • Intergovernmental structures: • The Council of Ministers • The European Council

  12. How Europe operates • Monnet method • Integration via small steps, agenda setting, elites reaching agreement • The Commission as agenda-setter (in good times) • The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers as legislative branches • The European Council as fixer • The European Court of Justice – builds Europe by asserting the primacy of EU law

  13. Strains and tensions • Among EU institutions: • Commission v. Council of Ministers & European Council • European Parliament v. Council of Ministers • Among member-states: disagreement about a wider or deeper Europe • Between citizens & elites: how much Europe is needed

  14. Bottom lines • Continued affluence – but not for everyone • Loss of direction & momentum • European Constitutional Convention • Drafts Constitutional Treaty • Torpedoed by 2005 French & Dutch referenda • 2007 Berlin accord, Lisbon treaty =salvage operations • EU nevertheless very much present: • supremacy of European law over national law • EU an arena in which all member-states must operate

More Related