european union's treaties and the integration process

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Treaties and the Integration Process

Index

1The Making Treaties

2Treaties and the Nature of European Integration

3Concluding Remarks

1The Making Treaties

Intergovernmental Conference

Key actors are representatives of

the governments of the member states

Unanimity is necessary

The length of IGCs has varied

Council presidency exercises this role by convening and chairing all meetings at all levels

Intergovernmental Conference

IGCs have inevitably taken up many working hours

The principal charge was that it was too casual and underprepared for the December 2003 summit

Intergovernmental Conference

EU’s two main non-governmental institutions

struggle to exert much influence

Commission is certainly in no position to attempt to veto agreement

Its influence on eventual outcome is usually marginal

The EP is even more disadvantaged

It has usually been disappointed by IGC outcome

commission European Parliament

The ratification difficulties have resulted in the schedule for the implementation of all of the post foundation treaties

Ratifying treaties

Ratification problems have been negative referendum results

Ratification difficulties can bring national gains

2Treaties and the Nature of European Integration

Economics before Politics

The extent is no more clearly seen than in the way

That every post-foundation treaty has involved

extensions to QMV(Qualified Majority Voting)

The main rationale was that QMV extensions were

a prerequisite for the passage of the SEM (Single

European Market) programme.

Flexibility

All of the EU’s treaties since the Maastricht Treaty have

built on and extended tradition of being adaptable and

innovative in respect of policy development

Incrementalism

Governments realise the advantages of cooperating with other EU countries in a particular policy area and attempt to do so on a very loose intergovernmental basis.

The policy area given clear treaty recognition and moved firmly into the organisational framework of the union.

Governments realise they must permit stronger decision-making processes if aims to be achieved

Ideal three-step type of integration cascade

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3

Incrementalism

How to treaties have advanced

Expending

the EU’s policy

Remit and potential

Strengthening

The EU’s institutional

and decision-making

arrangement.

Increased length and complexity

The governments attempt to make the EU more effective and efficient,

but they also seek to promote and defend national interests

On length, post-Lisbon, the TEU

Contains 55 articles and the

TFEU no less than 358

On complexity, this is no more

Clearly demonstrated that with

the TEU

The many protocols and declarations that customarily have been

attached to the treaties provide another dimention

Variable pace

The pace of the integration process has varied

Treaties reflect this variable pace

Interplay between supranational and national actors

Some analysts of European integration have made much of the role

played in the integration process by supranational actors

Although making of EU’s treaties may appear to provide strong

support, the case should not be overstated.

Interplay between supranational and national actors

The very processes in which the role of national

government is likely to be most prominent

Commission is an active participant in IGCs.

The EP was allowed to make a direct input

Commission and the EP have been able to

exercise in influence in IGCs

Benefits for everybody

Certainly in all of the treaty-making negotiations there have been disagreements between the states.

Because of their own distinctive needs and preferences, states have sometimes argued.

But it has nonetheless been recognised that there are benefits for all to be gained from the integration process.

The integrationist advances achieved in the treaties have been made possible by the member states

An elite-driven process

Insofar as political and administrative elites tend to set the policy agenda may be said to be elite-driven

But, This is particularly the case in the EU because of the weak lines of accountability between decision-makers and the citizenry.

Elites do not always reflect popular concerns, has been demonstrated by difficulties in ratifying the treaties

Demonstration of the elite-driven nature of the integration process occurred when several member states moved to hold referendums on the constitutional Treaty.

3Concluding Remarks

Ongoing, but perhaps in the future a very different, Process

The discussions and negotiations before have been characterized

by considerable differences between the participants

on the nature and pace of integration.

Given the experience of the 2000s, clearly none of these options

provides an ‘easy’ way of amending the treaties

For those who want to see the EU based on an integrated

federalist structure treaty reform certainly does matter,

but then this federalist vision is no longer realistically.

Thank you