Can federations expel member states? On the political theory of expulsion

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-67
Author(s):  
Eva Marlene Hausteiner
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Member State ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Careful Analysis ◽  
Political Order ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Feasibility Constraints ◽  
Voluntary Separation

When, if at all, can a federal political order expel a member state against its will? In political theory, expulsion has—unlike the scenario of secession as voluntary separation—so far received no systematic attention; an omission that is reinforced by the paucity of historical precedent. However, current debates around the potential disintegration of the European Union show that expulsion, as a theoretical and political possibility, deserves a more careful analysis. The article sets out to consider a route toward theorizing expulsion in systematic and realist terms. It outlines possible motivational constellations, feasibility constraints, legitimacy issues, as well as procedural dimensions. The resulting claim—that expulsion may be feasible in some circumstances but that its legitimacy is bound to remain contested—is applied to the case of the European Union.

4. The Supremacy of EU Law and its Reception in the Member States

2020 ◽  
pp. 47-72
Author(s):  
Nigel Foster
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Member State ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
General Question ◽  
The Political ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Questions And Answers

The Concentrate Questions and Answers series offer the best preparation for tackling exam questions. Each book includes typical questions, bullet-pointed answer plans and suggested answers, author commentary and illustrative diagrams and flowcharts. This chapter presents sample exam questions along with examiner’s tips, answer plans, and suggested answers about the supremacy of EU law and its reception in Member States. Both the legal arguments for supremacy and the political logic are often considered in establishing the reasoning for EU law supremacy. The first question concentrates on the reasons for EU law supremacy from the point of view of the Union and in the view of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU (or also abbreviated CoJ)). A general question about the exit process of a state by a Member State in the light of Brexit is included.

scholarly journals Los procesos secesionistas y el derecho europeo

2016 ◽  
pp. 347
Author(s):  
Javier Tajadura Tejada
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Member State ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
The Political ◽  
European Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Citizenship ◽  
Regional Authorities

Este artículo analiza en primer lugar el significado de la secesión en el Derecho Internacional y en el Derecho Constitucional. Asimismo, examina cómo se aborda el fenómeno de la secesión en el Derecho comunitario europeo. Esto obliga a estudiar dos tipos de problemas: por un lado, el de la secesión de un Estado miembro respecto de la propia Unión; por otro, el de la fragmentación de un Estado miembro por la secesión de una parte de su territorio. La conclusión es que la conservación o fragmentación de un Estado miembro de la Unión Europea no es un asunto interno: la secesión de partes de un territorio afecta al sistema político europeo en su conjunto, en la medida en que es una forma de integración federal donde no caben actos unilaterales que quebranten el principio de lealtad federal de la Unión y la ciudadanía europea que ha ido conformándose en las últimas décadas.This article analyzes the meaning of secession in international and constitutional law. It also examines the phenomenon of secession in European law. This requires studying two types of problems: the secession of a member state of the European Union and the fragmentation of a Member State for the secession of part of its territory. The conclusion is that conservation or fragmentation of a Member State of the European Union is not an internal matter. In our opinión, the political and legal system of the Union can be characterized also federally, which prevents the national and regional authorities to carry out unilateral acts that go against the principle of Community federal loyalty and European citizenship.

scholarly journals The EU after Brexit: Key Geopolitical and Geo-Economic Challenges

2020 ◽  
pp. 30-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petr YAKOVLEV
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
European Council ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Union History ◽  
The Eu

The decision on Britain’s secession from the European Union, taken by the British Parliament and agreed by London and Brussels, divided the Union history into “before” and “after”. Not only will the remaining member states have to “digest” the political, commercial, economic and mental consequences of parting with one of the largest partners. They will also have to create a substantially new algorithm for the functioning of United Europe. On this path, the EU is confronted with many geopolitical and geo-economic challenges, which should be answered by the new leaders of the European Commission, European Council, and European Parliament.

3. The Transfer of Powers and Union Competences

2021 ◽  
pp. 71-93
Author(s):  
Nigel Foster
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Union Section ◽  
And Control

This chapter examines the multifaceted and increasingly complex relationship between the European Union and its member states. The chapter begins with the transfer of sovereign powers and the democratic legitimacy of the Union and the establishment of constitutionalism within the Union. Section 3.4 considers the transfer of powers from the member states and the division and control of competences between the Union and the member states. In this context, the principles of subsidiarity and of proportionality are discussed, which are the political solutions to the very emotive questions about how power is shared between the Union and the member states.

7. Treaty enforcement actions against member states

2020 ◽  
pp. 177-193
Author(s):  
Nigel Foster
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Member State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Procedural Law ◽  
Interim Measures

This chapter examines the enforcement of legal actions against member states in violation of the provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). This is termed the procedural law. It explains what constitutes a breach of TFEU provisions and the process of identifying and reporting violations. It provides examples of the procedures involved in breaches of Articles 258, 260, 259, and 278–279 of the TFEU. This chapter also considers the actions brought by one member state against another, suspensory orders, and interim measures, and describes alternative actions that can help secure compliance by member states.

Twenty Years of CJEU Jurisprudence on Citizenship

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 821-834
Author(s):  
Prof. Dr. Gerard-René de Groot ◽  
Ngo Chun Luk
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Member State ◽  
Symbiotic Relationship ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Union Law ◽  
Member States ◽  
Constant Friction ◽  
Union Citizenship ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Relationship

The history of the European Union has been fraught with constant friction between the sovereignty of the Member States and the supranational powers of the Union, with the Union gaining terrain in fields of law traditionally belonging to the Member States. Despite this tension, certain legal fields are steadfastly asserted as belonging to the Member States. Notably, Member States regulate the grounds of the acquisition and loss of nationality. The Treaty of Lisbon highlights that the nationality of Member States is scarcely governed by European Union law, if at all. The sole provision governing the relationship between Member State nationality and Union law, i.e., Article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) stresses the primacy of Member State nationality.Reality, however, is often not as simple as such a cursory reading implies. European Union citizenship, once a mere complementary facet of the national citizenships, has transformed into an institution in its own right, forming a symbiotic relationship between the Member State nationality and the European Union.

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.

The `right' education in Europe: When the obvious is not so obvious!

2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Novoa
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Member State ◽  
Educational Policies ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Union Level ◽  
Detailed Explanation ◽  
Political Intervention ◽  
Ways Of Thinking ◽  
The Right

In this article I begin by addressing three ways of thinking that are deeply influencing educational policies, not only at the European Union level, but also inside each Member State. Then, I move into a more detailed explanation of these influences, raising three main arguments: (i) employability as a problem for each citizen; (ii) comparability as a new mode of governance; (iii) mobility as a means to imagine European citizenship.The whole text is built around the new programme, Education & Training 20I0, which constitutes a kind of $space$quoteleftumbrella' for the political intervention of the European Union in the field of education.

scholarly journals The European Court of Justice and the Policy Process

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne K. Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Member State ◽  
Case Law ◽  
European Court Of Justice ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Administrative Practices ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Eu

The European Court of Justice is one of the most important actors in the process of European integration. Political science still struggles to understand its significance, with recent scholarship emphasizing how closely rulings reflect member states’ preferences. In this book, I argue that the implications of the supremacy and direct effect of the EU law have still been overlooked. As it constitutionalizes an intergovernmental treaty, the European Union has a detailed set of policies inscribed into its constitution that are extensively shaped by the Court’s case law. If rulings have constitutional status, their impact is considerable, even if the Court only occasionally diverts from member states’ preferences. By focusing on the four freedoms of goods, services, persons, and capital, as well as citizenship rights, the book analyses how the Court’s development of case law has ascribed a broad meaning to these freedoms. The constitutional status of this case law constrains policymaking at the European and member-state levels. Different case studies show how major pieces of EU legislation cannot move beyond case law but have to codify its principles. Judicialization is important in the EU. It also directly constrains member-state policies. Court rulings oriented towards individual disputes are difficult to translate into general policies, and into administrative practices. Policy options are thereby withdrawn from majoritarian decision-making. As the Court cannot be overruled, short of a Treaty change, its case law casts a long shadow over policymaking in the European Union and its member states, undermining the legitimacy of this political order.

scholarly journals The European Union and Public Health Emergencies: Expert Opinions on the Management of the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Suggestions for Future Emergencies

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Gontariuk ◽  
Thomas Krafft ◽  
Cassandra Rehbock ◽  
David Townend ◽  
Loth Van der Auwermeulen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
European Union ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Proper Actions ◽  
Public Health Emergencies

Objective: The first wave of the coronavirus SARS-COV-2 pandemic has revealed a fragmented governance within the European Union (EU) to tackle public health emergencies. This qualitative study aims: 1) to understand the current EU position within the field of public health emergencies taking the case of the COVID-19 as an example by comparing and contrasting experiences from EU institutions and experts from various EU Member States at the beginning of the pandemic; and, 2) to identify and to formulate future EU pandemic strategies and actions based on experts' opinions.Methods: Eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with public health experts from various European Member States and European Commission officials from May 2020 until August 2020. The transcripts were analyzed by Thematic Content Analysis (TCA), mainly a manifest content analysis.Results: This study demonstrated that the limited EU mandate in health hinders proper actions to prevent and tackle infectious disease outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The results showed that this limitation significantly impacted the ECDC, as the Member States' competence did not allow the agency to have more capacity. The European Commission has fulfilled its role of coordinating and supporting the Member States by facilitating networks and information exchange. However, EU intra- and inter-communication need further improvement. Although diverse EU instruments and mechanisms were found valid, their implementation needed to be faster and more efficient. The results pointed out that underlying political challenges in EU decision-making regarding health emergencies hinder the aligned response. It was stated that the Member States were not prepared, and due to the restriction of their mandate, EU institutions could not enforce binding guidelines. Additionally, the study explored future EU pandemic strategies and actions. Both, EU institutions and national experts suggested similar and clear recommendations regarding the ECDC, the investment, and future harmonized preparedness tools.Conclusion: The complex politics of public health at the EU level have led to the fragmentation of its governance for effective pandemic responses. This ongoing pandemic has shed light on the fragility of the political and structural systems in Europe in public health emergencies. Health should be of high importance in the political agenda, and robust health reforms at the local, regional, national, and EU levels are highly recommended.

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