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Brief history of post-WWII European integration

Explore the history of European integration from the Treaty establishing the EEC in the 1950s to the Treaty of Lisbon and the EU institutions. Learn about the initial successes, the rise of intergovernmentalism in the 1960s, economic crises in the 1970s, and the push for European "Union" in the 1990s. Discover the rise and fall of a "constitution" in the 2000s and the institutions defined by the Treaty of Lisbon.

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Brief history of post-WWII European integration

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  1. Brief history of post-WWII European integration Prof. Marquis Lecture of 31 March 214 University of Verona

  2. Outline • Today: some history … • 1950s >> Treaty establishing the EEC • 1960s >> [The rise of intergovernmentalism] • 1970s >> Economic crisis and policy stagnation • 1980s >> La rilancia • 1990s >> Toward European ‘Union’ • 2000s >> The rise and fall of a ‘constitution’ • t • Tomorrow: [finish history, then:] the EU institutions • The institutions of the EU as defined by the Treaty of Lisbon

  3. Ragazzi:non provare a scrivere tutto …Andro’ troppo veloce!Avrete comunque gli slide, quindi: Tranquillo!

  4. 1950s: Treaty establishing the EEC

  5. 60 years ago...The story of European ‘union’ began with an important initial success followed by aspectacular failure

  6. Before the Treaty of Rome • Monnet(1888-79) and Schuman launched ‘Europe’ with the Treaty establishing the Coal and Steel Community (‘ECSC Treaty’) • t • Singed 18 April 1951. Effective 24 July 1952 • Also called the ‘Treaty of Paris’ • Expired in 2002 • t • ECSC established new institutions: • ‘High Authority’ • & European Court of Justice (ECJ) • T • But – what was the purpose of this Treaty?

  7. Coal and steel >> tanks, artillery, aerial bombers • t • ECSC was a way to retain some control of West German coal and steel • t • In view of the expectation that W Germany would in a few years regain its sovereignty (which it did in 1955) • t • But Monnet saw it as cooperation in one sector that would expand to cooperation in all sectors • L’Europe des petits pas • And driven by a vision of a federal Europe • Because states in a federation do not war against each other

  8. But then, the first crisis of European integration:The ‘European Defence Community’

  9. Oct. 1950: French P.M. Pleven proposed the establishment of a European Defence Community (EDC) • t • With the Soviets next door, and with the Korean war breaking out, security was a top priority • t • So: Integrate the armed forces of all NATO members, including those of West Germany, and place them all under the command of a European Minister of Defence • t • The EDC almost became a reality...

  10. EDC Treaty signed by the Six govts. in May 1952 • t • Thanks to P.M. Spaak, EDC was not limited to military integration • t • Also provided for political union in an attached Treaty establishing a European Political Community(EPC) t • i. economic integration (customs union); • t • ii. federal decision-making institutions, including a Parliament with strong powers; • t • iii. commitment to human rights protection

  11. French rebellion: Treaty ratified in D and BNLX... But the Assemblée Nationalerejected the text on 30.08.54. Why? • t • French army was in Indochina (1946-54); so a ‘European Army’ implied a largely German Army • t • And the Right (the Gaullists) opposed the transfer of French sovereignty to supranational institutions • t • Già nel 1954: a clash between ‘supranationalism’ and the ‘Souverainistes’ • t • A recurring theme in EU history

  12. But in June 1955, the Six were in Messina to negotiate a new Treaty • t • Impetus from BNLX, esp. Wim Beyen, Dutch MFA • He proposed a customs union(BNLX since ‘44) • t • But the failure of EDC/EPC had a profound effect • For the ‘Europeans’, best strategy was to limit the scope of the project to the economic sphere • t • But the ultimate goal was to move beyond economic integration • Ernst Haas (IR scholar), Jean Monnet: concept of ‘spillover’ (‘Neofunctionalism’)

  13. Beyen Plan and Messina Conference lead to … the EEC

  14. At Messina, Spaak was appointed to study the possible avenues of integration • t • Spaak Report (21.04.56: presented to the MS of the ECSC) • Identified a need to create a ‘common market’ among the Six • t • Furnished the basis for further negotiations among the FMs, and an intergovernmental conference (IGC) was launched

  15. The FMs accepted the Spaak Report in Venice in May 1956 • Then Spaak and committees started drafting • t • ... and in Rome, on 25.03.57, the Six signed two Treaties of Rome: • t • The Treaty establishing a European Economic Community (EEC Treaty); and • The Euratom Treaty • Of special interest to France, dealing with: • Trade in supplies of fissile materials like uranium and plutonium • Safety and operations of nuclear power plants

  16. Preamble (EEC): The founders of the Community “resolve to preserve and strengthen peace and liberty” • So: integration as a means of avoiding renewed conflict • t • Called for: • an improvement of living and working conditions in the EEC; and • a progressive abolition of trade barriers • t • And established numerous principles and mechanisms …

  17. creation of a common market; • adoption of common policies (CAP, transport); • elimination of internal customs duties and quantitative restrictions; • free movement of goods, services, workers & capital; • assurance of undistorted competition; • establishment of a common commercial policy; • promotion of coordination of policies regarding employment, the environment, the competitiveness of industry, and R&D; • eradication of discrimination on the basis of nationality • i.e., for those coming from the Six

  18. Legislation: in relation to economicintegration the EEC Treaty (like the ECSC) provided for supranationalist legislative procedures • t • Commission proposes legislation for the Councilto consider • t • Votes of the MS were weighted so that those of FR, D and IT counted for more than those of BNLX. This was the original definition of Qualified Majority Voting(QMV) • t • QMV implies a partial surrender of sovereignty • t • But in ‘non-economic areas’, MS retained their veto • t • Es.: Taxation or migration of labor, etc.

  19. EEC Treaty entered into force on 01.01.58 • t • In those days, the MS would not have imagined putting that Treaty to a popular vote • t • The Treaty was concluded for an unlimited period of time • t • But has been modified many times • t • Today we call it the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union(the ‘TFEU’) • Or in Italian: the TFUE • last amended: 2009

  20. [1960s: The rise of intergovernmentalism]

  21. President De Gaulle (1959-69) held Monnet (who, as first President of the High Authority, represented supranationalism) in contempt • Favored increased funds for the CAP, but opposed any strengthening of the Community’s institutions • July 1965: when the Council met – no France! (the ‘empty chair crisis’) • A crisis about who really had sovereign powers • France no longer accepted decisions of the Council on the basis of QMV • De Gaulle saw the Community as an international organization acting as an agent for its principals • Each principal should have the right to vetoany Community initiatives

  22. Compromise finally reached in LUX, 29 Jan 1966. According to the ‘Luxembourg Accord’: • t • When very important interests of a MS were at stake, the MS would ignore the QMV rule and seek to reach a solution acceptable to all of the MS • t • De facto, this become a rule of unanimous voting • This is the essence of intergovernmentalism • t • LUX Accord >> slow ‘positive’ integration in the 1970s and early 1980s

  23. 1970s:Economic crisis and policy stagnation

  24. In the 1970s, the problem was ‘Eurosclerosis’ (stagnation) • t • Following the EEC’s establishment of a customs union in 1968, it was difficult for the Community to advance any farther (3 problems) • t • 1. The essential problem was gridlock(bloccaggio) in the Council’s decision-making • t • The gridlock resulted from a compromise made in 1966, leading to a de facto veto for the MS

  25. 2. Another factor slowing down legislation: Council tended to refer decisions to the HSG. But HSG only met twice a year; not very efficient • t • 3. In the 1970s, a number of events shifted attention toward domestic problems • t • OPEC raised oil prices, exacerbated a more general energy crisis • Productivity was sluggish, and labor costs were increasing • Some European producers were at a competitive disadvantage compared to their rivals in the US and Japan • So MS resorted increasingly to NTBst • t • In general, lack of vision for the EEC

  26. 1980s: il Rilancio.Completing the internal market(‘Objectif 1992’)

  27. 1970s and early 1980s, European producers (different ones) were distressed: • t • NTBs and fragmented markets made it difficult for them to profit from economies of scale • So business groups in Europe tried to stimulate more liberalized trade in goods and services • t • Ad es.: the CEOs of Philips and Volvo set up the Roundtable of European Industrialists in 1983 • t • Dekker produced a proposal for the creation of a common market

  28. Then an official report by Lord Cockfield (Commissioner for the Internal Market, 1985-89 ) in June of 1985 • t • The Cockfield Report set out a detailed plan for the completion of the common market by 1992 • t • The plan included proposals for 282 new pieces of legislation to harmonize national laws and to reduce or eliminate NTBs • t • All of this was to be accomplished within 6 or 7 years

  29. But the 282 proposals faced the obstacle of unanimous voting in the Council • t • So in late 1985 and early 1986, the MS began to negotiate the first significant revision of the (30 year-old) EEC Treaty • t • The Single European Act (SEA / Ehlermann) was signed in February of 1986, and entered into force on 01.07.87 • t • SEA increased the scope for QMV (except tax, labor..) • In effect, abolished the de facto vetos of the MS (thus overturning the formally illegal Luxembourg Accord ) • ... e poi ...

  30. SEA institutional reforms: • t • 1. The European Council • Recognized for the first time, but nothing said about its functions • t • 2. The Assembly formally became the ‘Parliament’ • t • 3. (de facto) The Commission became more more important as a driver of the legislation necessary to ‘complete’ the common market • t • So after 20 years, the Community returned to an ethos of supranationalism and integration

  31. In the new favorable environment, why not go further with the political dimension?1990s: Toward European ‘Union’

  32. European Council met in Maastricht in Dec 1991 and agreed a Treaty on ‘European Union’ (TEU) • t • Signed in Feb 1992, took effect on 01.11.93 • t • But the Union did not replace the Community! • t • Union co-existed with the Community and shared the same institutional structure • t • But it operated through different decision-making procedures • t • 4 notesabout significance of the TEU...

  33. 1. Created a 3-pillar (3 pilastri) structure • I. the three Communities (the EC, the ECSC, and Euratom) • II.Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) • III. Justice and Home Affairs • Police and judicial cooperation on crime, • Visas, asylum, border controls, etc. (the ‘Schengen Acquis’) • Today, JHA commonly called Freedom, Security & Justice • PILLAR STRUCTURE ABOLISHED in 2009

  34. 2. The TEU launched the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) • t • In 2002, Euro became the single currency for 12 of 15 MS (today 18 of 28) • t • Politically, EMU was extremely delicate • t • Giving up a national currency and monetary control (above all, the DM) was a significant surrender of political sovereignty • t • Reflected by the opt-outs granted to the UK and Denmark

  35. 3. Enhanced the role of the Parliament (EP) • Before Maastricht, EP was weak. Merely advised and passed resolutions • t • Critics often spoke/speak of a democratic deficit • t • Majone responded with arguments of ‘output legitimacy’ • Another response is: are we sure the committee work of national parliaments is democratic? • t • Maastricht did not make the EP co-equal with Council but it finally made the EP a legislator • t • Specifically, it established the ‘co-decision procedure’ (today called the ‘Ordinary Legislative Procedure’)

  36. Co-decision: Commission proposes / approved by both the Council and the EP • Council and the EP each had/have a veto • t • TEU introduced the co-decision procedure for: • t • Measures relating to the internal market; • Environmental protection; • R&D; • Some aspects of public health; • Consumer protection; • Education and Culture • t • So at Maastricht the competences of the Community grew to cover many more policy fields • This probably contributed to the 4th point, cioe’ ...

  37. 4. Maastricht also introduced a new ‘veto player’ – the citizens of the MS • t • When the EU modifies its Treaties, each MS must ratify the new agreement in accordance with its constitutional requirements • t • In Denmark, when the people were asked, they said Nay! (51%, June 1992) • t • So this was the first referendum crisis (end of the era of ‘permissive consensus’) • t • But the Danes eventually accepted the Treaty in a second referendum (57%, May 1993)

  38. [Treaty of Amsterdam (1997, effective 1999)]

  39. SEA and TEU Treaty revisions happened within just 5 years of each other. After the TEU the pace of Treaty reform in fact accelerated • t • Already in 1996, diplomats began discussing new reforms in the context of an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) in Torino • t • The basic goal was to make changes necessary to accomodate the next (fifth) enlargement • i.e., the let the former Soviet States (Czech, Hungary, Poland, Baltic States, etc.) into the EU

  40. Following IGC of 1996, the MS signed Treaty of Amsterdam on 2 Oct 1997, entered into force on 1 May 1999 • t • The Treaty was supposed to introduce institutional reforms to improve the ability of the EU to cope with a larger membership; • But these issues were too controversial and had to be postponed • t • Called the ‘Amsterdam leftovers’

  41. 2000s: The rise and fall of a ‘Constitution’

  42. Another IGC in 2000 >> Treaty of Nice, Feb 2001 • Mainly noteworthy for two things: • t • 1.Re-defined QMV in a way that gave disproportionate power to Spain, Poland, France, etc. -- at the expense of Germany. Unsustainable. • t • 2. Treaty stopped in June 2001 by Irish voters (54% rejection) • t • Ireland had to hold a second referendum in October 2002: accepted by 63%

  43. Then: Laeken Summit, Dec. 2001. European Council called for a ‘convention’ to consider EU’s future development, e.g.: • Simplification of the Treaties • ‘Greater democracy, transparency and efficiency’ in the Union • The Convention worked in 2002-03 and, in June 2003, produced a draft ‘Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe’ • Submitted to the European Council in the summer of 2003

  44. IGC of 2004 adopted a draft ‘Constitutional Treaty’ not too different from the text prepared by the Convention • Signed 29 October 2004 in the Campidoglio • Was supposed to enter into force on 1 November 2006 • By mid-May of 2005 the CT had been ratified by 9 MS • But in May and June, rejected in France (55%) and Netherlands (62%) • Dutch vote largely to protest against unpopular politicians • But French vote was a deliberate rejection

  45. So: another referendum crisis, like Maastricht and Nice • In June 2007, the European Council decided to abandon the project of a ‘Constitution’ • Launched another IGC, but removing the rhetoric and symbols of a constitution • But the final text, signed in December 2007 in Lisbon, did not deviate radically from the text of 2004 • (French, Dutch voters not given another chance to vote) • t • But – uh oh! The Irish voters had to approve it!

  46. Did the Irish voters approve it? • The Irish voters did not approve it! • Rejected in June 2008 (53%) • Second Irish referendum in October 2009, with a strong yes (67%) • So 8 years after the Laeken Declaration, the Lisbon Treaty finally entered into force on 1 December 2009 • Attention: The EU is not governed by a single ‘Treaty of Lisbon’ …

  47. ToL amended the EC Treaty (now TFEU) and the TEU • So there are STILL TWO MAIN TREATIES: • 1. the TEUestablishes the institutional framework and foundational principles; • 2. the TFEUis a more detailed legal instrument aimed, inter alia, to establish a common market • N.B. Both Treaties of equal rank • And other important instruments too, such as the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights • Now binding primary law (but – general principles and ECHR already applied before) • Binds the EU institutions and MS when they implement EU law or act within its scope

  48. Main impact of the Treaty concerns institutional reform (tomorrow) • Is the Lisbon Treaty sufficient for the EU? • A far-reaching Treaty revision seems unlikely for now… many MS and key figures and institutions suffer from Treaty fatigue • But few people were fully content with the ToL • For example, many felt the EU was ill-equipped to deal with macroeconomic problems • And a micro-Treaty entered into force in 2013 with the aim of addressing the sovereign debt crisis (IRE, PRT, GRC…) and achieving greater financial stability

  49. 2013 Fiscal Compact • Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union (the ‘TSCG’) • t • Entered into force, 01.01.13 for 16 MS, incl. Italy • Applies mostly to Eurozone countries (plus DMK) • The point of the Treaty is greater fiscal discipline to avoid repeats of the debt crisis

  50. A MS of the Fiscal Compact is required to adopt a domestic law establishing an almost-balanced budget • This means mandatory limits (‘caps’) on deficits, under the monitoring of a fiscal advisory council • t • [The technical part] General budget deficit must be less than 3% of GDP (PIL); and the • Structural deficit (SD – i.e., ignoring the cyclical shortfalls in revenue) must be less than • 1% of GDP if the debt-to-GDP ratio is significantly below 60% - or, • for countries deeper in debt, the SD must be below 0.5% of GDP

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