What’s the point of the EU?

EU overview

Voluntary agreement between member states / economic agreement, now a supranational IGO / founded on HRs and liberal democracy

History of the EU

Treaty of Rome 1957 - founded the EEC / Maastricht Treaty and Treaty of Nice - expanded, 27 member, own defence

EU crisis years - 2009-now

Eurozone crisis, refugee crisis, Brexit, rise of nationalism + right wing, geopolitical tensions (Russia, USA, Israel), climate crisis, AI

Models for the EU - intergovernmental organisation

Formally EU is intergovernmental / MS free to leave and join, give up sovereignty once members / Moravcsik - EU made up of rational choices by powerful actors (states still retain sovereignty)

Models for the EU - neo-functionalism

Cooperation in one sector leads to greater integration in neighbouring sectors (e.g. began as economic cooperation - expanded to justice and politics)

Models for the EU - Supranationalism

EU is a political community, transcends intergovernmentalism / arguably closer to SP than IGO now (own currency, own army)

Models for the EU - Post-functionalism

Rising constitutive tensions between interdependence and politicisation - natural limits to EU integration

The role of law in EU integration

‘‘It is difficult to overstate how central law has been, and still is, in structuring the process of integration’ - De Witte / law is crucial and efficient / direct effect + primacy doctrines especially key

Academic - V. Middelaar - overview

Rising calls for Europe to be more united to compete with competing superpowers / but doing so = defence, unification, war - questions on EU’s values

Academic - Iglesias and NicShuibhne overview

EU legal order is particular - more than just ordinary international law, focus is on the individual + takes precedence over conflicting national law / by becoming more geopolitical, could lose this particularly

Academic - Iglesias and NicShuibhne - quotes

The peculiarity of the EU legal order is its closeness to the functioning of a national legal system without ever ceasing to be an international law construct’

Costa v ENEL

Key case in establishing the primacy of EU law / ensures greater protection of individual rights

Academic - Iglesias and NicShuibhne - key takeaway

Particularity of the EU legal order is not a static claim that EU law is simply different from international law, it’s an evolving constitutional idea / originates in individual rights and effective enforcement, has developed into the CJEU’s doctrine of autonomy and the protection of the EU legal system

Academic - Iglesias and NicShuibhne - overview

Critical of the EU - not based on HRs and liberal democracy, colonialism shaped the Treaty of Rome / EU must be understood from its historical context

Academic - Jones, Kelemand and Meunier - overview

‘Falling forward’ theory for EU integration / member states reach possible, but incomplete compromises = creates institutional weaknesses = crises = pressure to deepen + expand EU powers / so integration is conditional, not inevitable

EU as a supranational, geopolitical power

EU has to become a stronger identity/supranational body to counterbalance the powers from the US, China, and RussiA - especially now that the US is focused on protectionism and isolationism

Relationship between member states’ independence and interdependence

Conflicting - member states must lose some independence to integrate / but conflict is not necessarily a problem to be solved, but rather one that creates balance and helps members achieve both their economic/political aims while still maintaining a level of sovereingty / also EU membership ultimately voluntary

Considering EU’s normative aims - democracy or efficiency?

Both - but democracy first / EU gains legitimacy from this way, must consider all for effective collective solutions