3. France: Genuine Europeanization or Monnet for Nothing?

This chapter examines France’s paradoxical relationship with the European Union by focusing on the heterogeneity of adaptation to the EU. While public policy and legislation are becoming increasingly Europeanized, the EU has a limited impact on political life and the domestic institutional system. As a result of this mixed situation, the national narratives for supporting French membership of the EU suffer from progressive erosion and Euroscepticism subtly gaining ground. The chapter first considers patterns in France’s EU membership before discussing the impact of EU membership on public opinion and political parties. It then looks at the Europeanization of French politics and the impact of EU membership on French institutions as well as public policy. The chapter argues that France has changed by joining the EU, contrary to what a large body of recent work suggests.

13. Europeanization and Political Parties

This chapter examines the ways in which the European Union and the political parties of member states interact and cause change. It considers various types of change, causal mechanisms, and the differences between parties and the EU in both older and newer member states. The chapter first provides an overview of the different partisan actors that operate in the multi-level system of domestic and EU politics before discussing the manner in which domestic political parties can be said to have ‘Europeanized’. It then shows how parties in older and newer member states differ and concludes with an assessment of the wider effects of Europeanization on domestic politics in general and party politics in particular. The chapter suggests that the EU’s influence, in both east and west, may be more significant in the long run in terms of its indirect impact on patterns of party competition.

14. The Europeanization of Interest Groups and Social Movements

This chapter examines the dynamics of Europeanization of interest groups and social movements in European Union member states. European integration has influenced interest groups and social movements since the beginning of the process in the 1950s. However, transformation has been induced by other elements such as globalization or the transformation of the state. Drawing on findings from empirical studies, this chapter analyses the change in interests, strategies, and internal organizational structures of interest groups and social movements, both in the ‘old’ and ‘new’ member states. It shows that the Europeanization of interest groups and social movements is highly differentiated, according to public policy areas, group types, and national origins.

5. The United Kingdom: Towards Isolation and a Parting of the Ways?

This chapter examines the history of the United Kingdom’s relationship with the European integration process. Britain’s relations with the European Union is characterized by partial Europeanization. The British ruling elite, especially the civil service, has been Europeanized. However, the political parties have been beset by internal divisions on European integration, while the British public has not been supportive of integration. The chapter first provides an overview of the UK’s European diplomacy before discussing the impact of Europeanization on British politics. It then considers the differing levels of accommodation with European integration and the changes that have accompanied the coming to power in 2010 of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition after a lengthy period of Labour rule (1997–2010). The chapter concludes by comparing the UK’s experience with those of fellow member states Ireland and Denmark.

15. The Europeanization of Member State Policy

This chapter examines the impact of Europeanization upon the public policy functions of European Union member states. It first explains why Europeanization of policy is a hot topic before describing types of Europeanization and characteristic patterns of governance in the EU. It then discusses the dynamics of Europeanization, focusing on the processes involved and the effects produced, and relates these processes and effects to categories of policy in order to map the Europeanization of public policy. It also analyses research considerations with respect to Europeanization and concludes with an assessment of the EU enlargement process as well as suggestions for conducting empirical studies to investigate the EU’s impact on member states.

11. Contrasting States of Europeanization?

This chapter examines recurrent themes in the experiences of the countries discussed earlier in terms of European Union membership. It first considers the contribution of Europeanization as an analytical tool for understanding EU member state relations on a country-by-country basis before discussing emergent themes and issues. In particular, it assesses the significance of timing of accession for the member states’ Europeanization experience, showing how timing has often interacted with a geographical focus to each enlargement wave. It also asks whether the Europeanization experience is different for large states rather than small states, or whether the embeddedness of member states’ political systems plays a role. The chapter concludes by identifying different impacts of Europeanization along the dimensions of politics, polity, and policy.

9. Estonia: Excelling at Self-Exertion

This chapter examines Estonia’s relations with the European Union. Estonia showed dedication in pursuing integration with the EU as it sought to strengthen statehood in a complex international environment. In the course of its post-communist transition, Estonia’s homegrown reforms gradually gave way to policy change and institution building driven by EU accession conditionality. The small nation’s track record as an EU member state points to continued compliance with EU law and pre-accession demands. However, legal alignment has not always been accompanied by behavioural and attitudinal change. The chapter first provides an overview of Estonia’s integration with the EU before discussing the pattern of its relations with the EU before and after accession. It then assesses the impact of EU membership on Estonia’s public opinion, political parties, political institutions, governance, and public policy.

4. Germany: In Search of a New Balance

This chapter examines Germany’s profile as a European Union member state. It first provides an overview of Germany’s trajectory during the history of European integration before analysing the patterns of Germany–EU relations. It then uses the comparative politics paradigm by considering public opinion on Europe, the European dimension of party politics, and the Federal Republic’s major political institutions and their role in European policy. It also discusses Germany’s policy performance as an EU member state, along with the impact of EU membership on German political parties. The chapter shows that, within the framework of international politics, Germany has ceded much of its sovereignty and become ever more integrated into European and transatlantic frameworks. At the same time, German interests in the areas of international security and socioeconomic development have benefited significantly from European integration.

1. The European Union and its Member States: An Overview

This chapter provides an overview of the European Union and its member states. It first explains why the member states matter in the EU before discussing the role of member states in the EU, with particular emphasis on three approaches to understanding member state-EU relations: intergovernmentalism, institutionalism, and governance approaches. It then examines the Europeanization of the member states as well as the domestic politics approach, which claims that it is impossible to understand the EU without considering domestic politics. It concludes by presenting the logic and structure of this volume: how the relationship between the EU and its member states will be portrayed in the chapters that follow.

Conclusion

This chapter focuses on the current applicant states and examines the ways in which the Europeanization literature can be applied to candidates. It first considers the impact of enlargement upon the functioning of the European Union before discussing the attractiveness of the EU for the European states. It then assesses the impact of the EU on countries applying for membership and the implications of future enlargements for the role of member states within the EU institutions. It also explains how new enlargements will affect the role of institutional and policy differentiation in the EU and concludes with an analysis of the influence of the EU on countries that are Europeanized but not member states.