PS 341 9/21 Summary

Supranationalism

Decision-making authority where member states yield power to shared, central institutions that act on behalf of the EU as a whole.

Intergovernmentalism

Decision-making process where member state governments retain their sovereignty and decisions require unanimous agreement.

Stealth Strategy (Monnet Strategy)

The strategy of using economic integration as the practical engine to force gradual political integration after WWII[cite: 2].

Treaty of Rome (1957)

Foundational treaty that established the European Economic Community and laid the groundwork for the single market and Customs Union[cite: 2].

The Four Freedoms

The fundamental rights of free movement within the EU single market: Goods, Services, Labor, and Capital[cite: 2].

Customs Union

An agreement that removes trade tariffs between member states and establishes a common external tariff on imports from outside countries[cite: 2].

Maastricht Treaty (1992)

Treaty that created the EU structure and introduced the original Three-Pillar System to balance economic and political union[cite: 2].

Lisbon Treaty (2009)

Treaty that simplified the EU structure by merging the pillars into a single EU entity with supranational and intergovernmental tracks[cite: 2].

Direct Effect

The legal principle that citizens can enforce EU laws directly in national courts, not just through national legislation[cite: 2].

Primacy (Supremacy)

The legal principle that EU law overrides conflicting national laws of member states[cite: 2].

Autonomy of EU Law

The legal principle that the EU legal system is independent of both national legal systems and international law[cite: 2].

European Commission

The executive branch made up of civil servants in Brussels; holds a monopoly on proposing new EU legislation and enforces rules[cite: 2].

European Council

The body made up of national heads of state/government that sets the high-level political direction and multi-year strategies[cite: 2].

Council of Ministers (The Council)

The legislative body made up of national government ministers who represent national interests and vote on proposed laws[cite: 2].

European Parliament

The directly elected body representing EU citizens; co-legislates laws and approves the budget alongside the Council[cite: 2].

Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)

The judicial branch that interprets EU law to ensure it is applied uniformly across all member states[cite: 2].

Ordinary Legislative Procedure

The standard process for passing EU laws where the Parliament and the Council of Ministers must both agree on a proposal[cite: 2].

Economic Asymmetry in the EU

The reality that population and economic power are heavily concentrated in 6 key member states while income levels vary widely[cite: 2].

Left-Out Areas of Integration

Sensitive policy areas like social wages, national taxation, and working hours that remain primarily under national control[cite: 2].

Pillar 1 (Pre-Lisbon)

The original European Community pillar covering economic integration, operating on supranational majority voting[cite: 2].

Pillar 2 (Pre-Lisbon)

The Common Foreign and Security Policy pillar, which operated strictly intergovernmentally via unanimous voting[cite: 2].

Pillar 3 (Pre-Lisbon)

The Justice and Home Affairs pillar, dealing with police/judicial cooperation (initially intergovernmental, later largely merged)[cite: 2].