Political Parties in the European Union

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Magnus Johansson ◽  
Tapio Raunio
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Level ◽  
Member States ◽  
People's Party ◽  
Commission President ◽  
National Governments

Media often portrays European Union (EU) decision-making as a battleground for national governments that defend the interests of their member states. Yet even the most powerful individuals, such as the German chancellor, the French president, or the Commission president, are party politicians. At the same time the consistent empowerment of the European Parliament (EP) means that the party groups of European-level “Europarties”—political parties at European level—are in a key position to shape EU legislation. The Parliament has also become more directly involved in the appointment of the Commission, with the results of EP elections thus influencing the composition of the Commission. Examining the “partyness” of European integration, this article argues that scholarly understanding of the role of parties in the EU political system has taken great strides forward since the turn of the millennium. This applies especially to the EP party groups, with research focusing particularly on voting patterns in the plenary. This body of work has become considerably more sophisticated and detailed over the years; it shows that the main EP groups do achieve even surprisingly high levels of cohesion and that the left–right dimension is the primary axis of contestation in the chamber. It nonetheless also emphasizes the continuing relevance of national parties that control candidate selection in EP elections. Considering that most votes in the Parliament are based on cooperation between the two largest groups, the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) and the center-left Party of the European Socialists (PES), future research should analyze in more detail how these groups build compromises. Actual Europarties, however, remain relatively unexplored. Case studies of treaty reforms or particular policy sectors reveal how individual Europarties have often wielded decisive influence on key integration decisions or key appointments to EU institutions. The Europarty meetings held in conjunction with European Council summits are particularly important in this respect. The regular, day-to-day activities of Europarties deserve more attention, both regarding decision-making and vertical links between national parties and their Europarties. Overall, it is probably more accurate to characterize Europarties as networks of like-minded national parties or as loose federations of member parties, especially when compared with the often centralized and strongly disciplined parties found in the member states.

INTRODUCTION: HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT AND THE EUROPEAN UNION

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 299-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Banta ◽  
Wija Oortwijn
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Health Technology Assessment ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Technology Assessment ◽  
Health Technology ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Level

Health technology assessment (HTA) has become increasingly important in the European Union as an aid to decision making. As agencies and programs have been established, there is increasing attention to coordination of HTA at the European level, especially considering the growing role of the European Union in public health in Europe. This series of papers describes and analyzes the situation with regard to HTA in the 15 members of the European Union, plus Switzerland. The final paper draws some conclusions, especially concerning the future involvement of the European Commission in HTA.

scholarly journals Explaining the European Union’s Changing Position towards the Gibraltar Question after the Brexit Referendum

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4-1) ◽  
pp. 21-30
Author(s):  
Uğur Burç Yıldız İ ◽  
Anıl Çamyamaç
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
International Law ◽  
Social Constructivism ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Policy Choices ◽  
Near Future ◽  
First Time

Abstract Having previously remained impartial on the Gibraltar question between Spain and Britain since both were member states, the European Union suddenly changed its position after the Brexit referendum in favor of the Spanish government at the expense of breaching international law. In doing so, the European Union, for the first time, created a foreign policy on the long-standing Gibraltar question. This article explores the reasons behind the creation of this foreign policy in support of Spain. The European Union feared that the idea of Euroscepticism may escalate among remaining member states after the Brexit referendum because of wide-spread claims that it would dissolve in the near future, fuelled by farright political parties. The European Union therefore created a foreign policy regarding Gibraltar in Spain’s favor in order to promote a “sense of community” for thwarting a further rise in Euroscepticism. While making its analysis, the article applies the assumption of social constructivism that ideas shape interests, which then determine the foreign policy choices of actors.

Europarties’ election pledges and European Commission legislative priorities: An assessment of their overlap

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 795-806
Author(s):  
Petia Kostadinova ◽  
Magda Giurcanu
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Data Set ◽  
People's Party ◽  
European People’S Party ◽  
Time Periods ◽  
Institutional Relations

Utilizing a newly compiled data set, this article demonstrates that some election pledges made by the transnational Europarties are included among the European Commission priorities issued during the pre-legislative stage. The data set consists of 597 promises made by four transnational Europarties during the 2004 and 2009 European Parliament (EP) elections and of 698 subsequent Commission legislative intentions. Focusing on the time periods during the Barroso presidencies, the article’s findings suggest that (1) decision-making rules in the EP help us understand which transnational pledges are included in Commission priorities and (2) promises by two Europarties, such as the European People’s Party and the European Liberal and Democrat Party, are more likely to be considered by the Commission than those of other Europarties. Our results speak to scholarly debates on the place of the Europarties in the European Union inter-institutional relations and more broadly on the democratic legitimacy of the Union.

National Political Parties and European Integration: Mapping Functional Loss

Politics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-17
Author(s):  
Gijs Berends
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Systematic Evaluation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Level ◽  
Functional Loss

This article specifically examines the role of national political parties in the light of European integration. It introduces the functions that are normally associated with parties, which allows for a systematic evaluation of the performance of national parties in the European Union. Probing these functions that parties are reputed to implement, it arrives at the conclusion that national parties are fairly unsuccessful in fulfilling their core tasks at the European level.

In View of Ratification: Governmental Preferences and Domestic Constraints at the Amsterdam Intergovernmental Conference

2002 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 447-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Hug ◽  
Thomas König
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Amsterdam Treaty ◽  
Treaty Negotiations ◽  
Domestic Constraints ◽  
Draft Proposal ◽  
The Eu

The bargaining product of the Amsterdam Intergovernmental Conference—the Amsterdam Treaty—dwindled down the draft proposal to a consensus set of all fifteen member states of the European Union (EU). Using the two-level concept of international bargains, we provide a thorough analysis of how this consensus set was reached by issue subtraction with respect to domestic ratification constraints. Drawing on data sets covering the positions of all negotiating actors and ratifying national political parties, we first highlight the differences in the Amsterdam ratification procedures in the fifteen member states of the EU. This analysis allows us to compare the varying ratification difficulties in each country. Second, our empirical analysis of the treaty negotiations shows that member states excluded half of the Amsterdam bargaining issues to secure a smooth ratification. Because member states with higher domestic ratification constraints performed better in eliminating uncomfortable issues at the Amsterdam Intergovernmental Conference, issue subtraction can be explained by the extent to which the negotiators were constrained by domestic interests.

scholarly journals Economic convergence on different spatial levels: the conflict between cohesion and growth

2006 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Kramar
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Common Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Level ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
Conflicting Goals

Abstract The analysis of economic disparities within the European Union strongly depends on the regional level considered. Whereas the economic gap between the member states has decreased over the last decades, regional disparities have rather deepened. The reason for these contradictory findings can be found in the increasing disparities within many of the member states: Especially in growing economies the gap between urban centres and rural peripheries tends to widen. The spatial concentration of research and development, high skilled labour, infrastructure and foreign investment in the capitals will therefore supposably become a big challenge for the accession countries, which will have to face increasing international competition. Joining a common market of more than 450 million people means new opportunities, challenges and threats for economic development, which have to be faced by local, regional and national governments as well as by European institutions. EU-policies act in the dichotomy between the conflicting goals of economic growth and cohesion. Since they strongly influence regional conditions for production it is of great political interest whether a certain measure fosters economic efficiency by favouring the highly developed centres or rather enhances convergence by promoting lagging regions. The answer is, however, not trivial and needs closer examination: Measures encouraging regional cohesion on the European level can also increase disparities within a state or a region at the same time. This is the reason why the regional effects of EU-policies have to be analysed on different spatial levels. Dealing with the spatial impacts of various European Policies (Regional Policy, TransEuropean Networks, Common Agricultural Policy, Research and Technological Development Policy) there is some evidence that these policies try to compensate the effects of growing competition in the common market by concentrating their efforts on urban growth poles within the underdeveloped countries. Doing that, the European Union comes up to the two conflicting goals of growth and cohesion by promoting efficient economic development in the member states on the one hand and regional convergence on the European level on the other. This approach is of course mainly directed at European objectives and brings about new problems for the member states: According to the principle of subsidiarity the growing divergence within the member states is, however, not a policy task of the European Union but of the member states: Therefore national politics are still required to take on responsibility for these intranational problems by adopting their transport, regional and economic policies to the new challenge.

scholarly journals Don’t cry for me Britannia: The resilience of the European Union to Brexit

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 152-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narisong Huhe ◽  
Daniel Naurin ◽  
Robert Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Spatial Model ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Decision To Leave ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Impact

We assess the impact of the United Kingdom’s 2016 decision to leave the European Union on the Council of the European Union, where Brexit is likely to have the clearest observable implications. Using concepts and models from the spatial model of politics and network analysis, we formulate and test expectations regarding the effects of Brexit. We examine two of the most prominent datasets on recent decision-making in the European Union, which include data on cooperation networks among member states before and after the 2016 referendum. Our findings identify some of the political challenges that Brexit will bring, but also highlight the factors that are already helping the European Union’s remaining member states to adapt to Brexit.

Independence: In or Out of Europe? An Independent Scotland and the European Union

2000 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Happold
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Union Member ◽  
Nation State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Level ◽  
Question Mark ◽  
National Governments ◽  
European Union Member States ◽  
The Eu

There is a question mark over the future of the nation-state in Europe. National monetary policy has been transferred to the European level in most European Union member States. Over the next ten years the EU will have a stronger role in defence and foreign policy, immigration and law enforcement. The very policies that supposedly define the concept of national sovereignty are no longer the exclusive domain of national governments.

scholarly journals The geopolitical dimension of gas security in the European Union

2020 ◽  
pp. 45-73
Author(s):  
Remigiusz Rosicki
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Energy Security ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Member States ◽  
Supply Disruptions ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Selection Of

The objective scope of the analysis performed in the text encompasses the energy security in the European Union and its member states, and includes the perspective of geopolitical conditions. The geopolitical conditions should be understood as a variety of relations between geographical conditions and decision-making processes concerned with energy security. The main objective of the text is to present a selection of theoretical problems encountered in the study of energy security, as well as to link them with such issues as gas import dependence and the risk of gas supply disruptions, mainly from the Russian direction. In order to elaborate the objective scope of analysis, the following research questions are presented: (1) To what extent do geographical conditions determine decision-making processes in the energy policy pursued by the European Union?; and (2) To what extent do geographical conditions determine threats to the security of gas supplies to the European Union and its member states? The text is chiefly an overview, but the theoretical part loosely makes use of the premises of the research program concerned with the integration of knowledge as part of the studies of energy security and energy transitions, presented by E. Brutschina, A. Cherp, J. Jewell, B. K. Sovacool and V. Vinichenka. Additionally, knowledge contained in the literature on energy and gas security has been synthesized and enriched with a critical approach, and the author’s own assessments and conclusions.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document