The Constitutional (Im)balance between ‘the Market’ and ‘the Social’ in the European Union

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sacha Garben
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Economic Governance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Eu

An assessment of the balance between ‘the market’ and ‘the social’ by reference to the areas of social policy, the internal market and economic governance – Imbalance resulting from a consitutional displacement of the legislative process (EU and national) and instead decision-making by the judiciary and the executive – Proposals to address the imbalance by reinforcing the role of the EU legislative process and limiting other forms of European integration.

scholarly journals The Political Role of the European Court of Justice: How the EU Institutional Thresholds Shield the Integrationist Power of the Court

2019 ◽  
pp. 195-212
Author(s):  
Roberto Reyes Izquierdo
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Court Of Justice ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Role ◽  
Fundamental Factor ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Eu

The aim of this paper is to analyse how the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has been a fundamental factor in the integration process of the European Union, in spite of the obstacles posed by the intergovernmental dynamics that have traditionally hindered the construction of a stronger, cohesive and more integrated Europe. Important principles such as direct effect or supremacy of EU law have been developed through ECJ rulings and case law, even when such principles were not literally foreseen in the foundational Treaties. Therefore, this paper argues that the role and power of the Court as an “indirect law-maker” have been essential for the construction of the European Union, and this has been possible due to the complexities and weaknesses of the legislative process involving the three main decision-makers: the Commission, the Council of the EU, and the European Parliament.

scholarly journals Evolution of Decision Making in the European Union as a Parameter of the Depth of Integration

2020 ◽  
pp. 77-88
Author(s):  
Nikolay Kaveshnikov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Active Participation ◽  
Significant Part ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Working Hypotheses ◽  
The Eu

The article explores the evolution of decision-making procedures and their use in the EU as one of the parameters of integration depth. The study used a database of secondary legislation covering 1990-2019. The final empirical data consists of 5,427 documents, including 1,272 directives and 4,155 regulations. The research empirically confirmed the increase in the frequency of procedures application that envisage a more active participation of the European Parliament in the legislative process. At the same time, the authorreveals that a significant part of secondary legislation is still adopted by the Council without the EPinvolvement. An important difference in the use of adaptation procedures of directives and regulations has been identified; working hypotheses about the reasons for such differences have been formulated.

Social Policy and European Union Politics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Daly
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Policy Model ◽  
The Social ◽  
Democratic Parties ◽  
The Eu

Social policy has a particular character and set of associated politics in the European Union (EU) context. There is a double contestation involved: the extent of the EU’s agency in the field and the type of social policy model pursued. The former is contested because social policy is typically and traditionally a matter of national competence and the latter because the social policy model is crucial to economic and market development. Hence, social policy has both functional and political significance, and EU engagement risks member states’ capacity to control the social fate of their citizens and the associated resources, authority, and power that come with this capacity. The political contestations are at their core territorially and/or social class based; the former crystalizes how wide and extensive the EU authority should be in social policy and the latter a left/right continuum in regard to how redistributive and socially interventionist EU social policy should be. Both are the subject of a complicated politics at EU level. First, there is a diverse set of agents involved, not just member states and the “political” EU institutions (Parliament and Council) but the Commission is also an important “interested” actor. This renders institutional politics and jockeying for power typical features of social policymaking in the EU. Second, one has to break down the monolith of the EU institutions and recognize that within and among them are actors or units that favor a more left or right position on social policy. Third, actors’ positions do not necessarily align on the two types of contestation (apart perhaps from the social nongovernmental organizations and to a lesser extent employers and business interests). Some actors who favor an extensive role for social policy in general are skeptical about the role of the EU in this regard (e.g., trade unions, some social democratic parties) while others (some sectors of the Commission) wish for a more expansive EU remit in social policy but also support a version of social policy pinned tightly to market and economic functions. In this kind of context, the strongest and most consistent political thrust is toward a type of EU social policy that is most clearly oriented to enabling the Union’s economic and market-related objectives. Given this and the institutional set-up, the default position in EU social policy is for a market-making social policy orientation on the one hand and a circumscribed role for the EU in social policy on the other.

Regionalist Parties and the European Union

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuele Massetti ◽  
Arjan H. Schakel
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Political System ◽  
Maastricht Treaty ◽  
Multilevel Governance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Eu

Regionalist parties are political actors that emphasize distinct ethno-territorial identities and interests vis-à-vis those of the entire state, advocating some forms of territorially based self-government in a view to protect, give voice to, and enhance those identities and interests. The tense relationships that these political actors often have with the central institutions leads them, in the European Union (EU) context, to identify the EU as a potential ally in their struggle against the state. Indeed, the EU system of multilevel governance, in which regional governments have obtained a considerable role, is also the result of a combined effect of regionalist parties’ pressure on member states from below and the process of European integration creating a favorable political framework from above. This putative alliance was celebrated, during the 1980s and 1990s, with the Maastricht Treaty representing a pivotal moment for the launch of the vision of a “Europe of the Regions.” However, the EU constitutional reforms of the 2000s (from the Treaty of Nice to the Treaty of Lisbon) fell rather short vis-à-vis regionalist claims, revealing the “illusionary character” of the “Europe of the Regions” idea. Since then, attempts to achieve “Independence in Europe” (through “internal enlargement”) have intensified in regions governed by strong and radical regionalist parties, such as in Catalonia and Scotland. These secessionist attempts have added further strain to an already under-stress EU political system. Indeed, far from acting as an ally of regionalist forces, the EU appears to have straddled between the role of a neutral observer and a supporter of member states’ territorial integrity.

scholarly journals The Role of News Media in European Integration : A Framework of Analysis for Political Science

Res Publica ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-227
Author(s):  
Robin B. Hodess
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Political Science ◽  
News Media ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Information Source ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Eu

The pbenomenon of European integration has received a great deal ofattention from political scientists in the wake of the mid-1980s 'relaunch' ofthe European Union (EU). However, political science's theoretical consideration of West European integration has from the outset failed to include news media as a factor in EU politics. This oversight is linked to the general dismissal of the public and public debate as irrelevant to the integration project. Yet because media have several critical functions in politics - as an information-source, agendasetter, and legitimator - political science treatment of the EU now needs to account for the role of news media. Turning to concepts in normative media theory, the article proposes a framework within which to consider media and suggests empirical analysis of media coverage of the European Union. Such analysis would complement political science study of the democratisation and legitimation of the EU, while acknowledging public discourse as an element crucial to the future course of European integration.

21. Institutions of the European Union

Public Law ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 756-794
Author(s):  
Andrew Le Sueur ◽  
Maurice Sunkin ◽  
Jo Eric Khushal Murkens
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Public Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Law Making ◽  
The Eu

This chapter introduces the project of European integration and discusses the legal basis of the EU, which consists of treaties that authorize law-making. It will identify the principal executive institutions of the European Union and their functions. They will be classified under the headings of supranationalism and intergovernmentalism. The chapter will also examine the process of enacting legislation and the role of the European Parliament. Drawing on an understanding of similar institutions and processes in the UK, the discussion is particularly concerned with an assessment of the institutions in terms of public law values, such as legitimacy, accountability, and transparency.

13. The Court of Justice of the European Union

2019 ◽  
pp. 189-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilias Kapsis
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Challenging Environment ◽  
Civil Service Tribunal ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which consists of three courts: the Court of Justice (or ‘the Court’), the General Court, and the Civil Service Tribunal. It focuses on issues of structure and procedure, the extent of the Courts’ jurisdiction, and their role in the promotion of European integration. The chapter also discusses the criticism directed at the CJEU for the way it exercises its judicial powers, which allegedly involve political considerations normally unacceptable for a judicial body. Lastly, the chapter looks at role of the Courts in the current challenging environment facing the EU as a result inter alia of Brexit, the refugee crisis, the rise of populism, and the continuing impact of the economic crisis.

scholarly journals Coalition of states for influence in the European Council. Brexit - a step towards decisional balance in the European Council?

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-130
Author(s):  
Gavrilov Doina
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Decisional Balance ◽  
European Council ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
Over Time ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThe EU decision-making process is one that has changed over time with the Treaties, with the extension, modification of EU policies and the areas where the EU is acting. In addition to the above, in 2016 we have one more reason to add to the changing of the decisional process “-Brexit”- a political turnaround that stimulates new changes at the decision-making level and raises questions about the future of the European Union. Federalists claim that these events will lead to a strengthening of the Union, and euro-skeptics claim that this is a step towards breaking the Union. Two years after the Brexit started, the European Union continues to remain a prominent actor in the international arena, but another question is being raised: “Will EU institutions act on the same principles? Or will there be changes in the decision-making process?”. In this article, we will analyse the state coalitions in the decision-making process, and the role of Brexit in forming coalitions for establishing a decisional balance in the European Council. Following the analysis of the power rapport in the European Council, we refer to small and medium-sized states that work together closely to counterbalance the decisions of the big states, and the new coalitions to achieve their goals in the new political context.

A Demos for the European Union?

Politics ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mette Jolly
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Popular Support ◽  
Political Relationship ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The Eu

The European Union's alleged shortage of democratic legitimacy is said to be caused partly by the polity's lack of a demos which makes it unsuitable for majoritarian decision-making. However, this problem is often overshadowed by – sometimes even confused with – the lack of public enthusiasm as regards European integration. But, although clearly related, these are not synonymous. The no-demos thesis focuses on the lack of a transnational political relationship between individuals and is related mainly to the legitimacy of the EU's decision-making processes, whereas the issue of popular support primarily relates to the legitimacy of European integration itself. In this article, I address the former by attempting to answer the following questions. Firstly, what do we mean when we say that the EU has no demos? Secondly, does the EU really need a demos, and if so, how can one be created?

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