Politics 4: European Union (copy)

Treaty of Paris

1951 → established the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) → this was a common market between 6 countries:

1. France

2. West Germany

3. Italy

4. Belgium

5. Netherlands

6. Luxembourg

Supervised by the High Authority

Treaty of Rome

1957 → Established the European Economic Community (EEC) → created a wider common market → foundations for an ‘ever closer union’

Policy now in:

1. agriculture

2. tariffs

Enlargement Round 1

1973 → first significant expansion in EEC membership → Denmark, Ireland, UK

when did Greece join the EEC?

1981

when did Spain and Portugal join the EEC?

1986

Single European Act passed

1985 → created a Single European Market + Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) is adopted.

Schengen Agreement

• removed internal border controls → one big travel area

• UK and Ireland opt out

Maastricht Treaty:

1992

→ created the EU

→ established a plan for economic union

→ increased cooperation between members in foreign policy + security policy

Enlargement Round 2:

1995 → Austria, Finland, and Sweden join the EU.

Amsterdam Treaty:

1997

→ EU now have a role in immigration + security

→ amended Treaty of Rome → now has a clause that said “This Treaty […is] in the process of creating an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe”.

Eurozone created:

1999 → 11 countries adopt it

→ handled by the European Central Bank

since 1999, how many more countries have adopted the Euro?

8

Nice Treaty:

2001 → created a European security and defence policy

Enlargement Round 3:

2004 → influx in membership → after the fall of the Iron Curtain:

Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia

when did Bulgaria + Romania join the EU?

2007

When did Croatia join the EU?

2013

Lisbon Treaty

2007 → reformed EU institutions:

• QMV is extended to over 45 policy areas

• created the President of the European Council + High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

Who was the first country to leave the EU?

UK

what is QMV (Qualified Majority Voting):

requires 55% of member states to agree

and 65% of the total European population to agree

which PM tried to take UK into the EU?

Harold Macmillan (Tory)

when did Britain join the EEC?

1973

UK referendum on leaving the EU? (1970s)

1975 → Harold Wilson → 67% wanted to stay

what was Black Wednesday?

• 1992 Financial crash

• the pound collapses

• John Major PM

who rules out the Euro for UK?

Labour Chancellor Gordon Brown in 1997

export of British beef banned by the rest of the EU

1996 → considered dangerous

which treaty increased the powers of the European Parliament?

2007 Lisbon Treaty

what date did the UK leave the EU?

31st January 2020

how MEPs left after Brexit?

73

what % of Scotland voted Leave in 2016?

38

what % of NI voted leave in 2016?

44.2

what % of the South East voted Leave in 2016?

40.1

What are the different institutions of the European Union?

1. European Commission

2. Council of the European Union

3. European Council

4. European Parliament

5. Court of Justice of the European Union

European Commission:

1. Brussels

2. 1 commissioner from each state

3. hybrid purpose → civil service + devises policy

4. only EU body that can propose laws

5. manages policy + allocates funding

6. enforces EU Law (with EUCJ)

7. represents EU internationally

2020 example of European Commission’s work?

June = announced 9% reduction in funding for the Common Agricultural Policy

2024 example of European Commission work:

Nature Restoration Act - 17th June - targets to rehabilitate at least 30% of degraded habitats.

2nd example of European Commission work (2024)

Cyber Resilience Act - October

supranationalism: EU

multiple countries give some powers to a higher authority

Council of European Union:

• Brussels

• Government Ministers from each EU country

• main decision-making body of EU.

• 10 sectional councils → shared legislative power with European Parliament

• negotiates laws put forward by the European Commission

sectional council of European Union:

Agriculture and Fisheries and Justice + Home Affairs

example of Council of European Union work:

2019 → negotiates trade deal Japan

2024 example of the Council of European Union work:

approved the Ukraine Facility → $50 billion to the recovery + modernisation of Ukraine

European Council:

• Brussels + Luxembourg

• quarterly meeting of the leaders of all members

• chooses a president for a 5 year term

• agenda setting

• oversaw Brexit + EU response to Ukraine

2024 example of work the European Counil:

adopted the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation (AMMR)

how many sanctions are there against Russia so far?

15

European Parliament:

• Strasbourg + Luxembourg

• Secretariat based in Brussels

• 705 MEPs

• approves annual EU budget

• amends + vetoes legislation → CANNOT PROPOSE LEGISLATION

• confirms appointment of commissioners

• oversees European Commission

how many MEPs does Germany have?

96

how many MEPs does Malta have?

6

how do MEPs sit?

pan-European political groupings:

e.g. Group of Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats

3rd largest political grouping in European Parliament

The European Conservatists and Reformists

example of European Parliament vetoing?

2019 → Romanian Commissioner Rovana Plumb → vetoed over irregularities in her wealth declaration form

2019 example of European Parliament work:

new EU copyright law → Article 11 + Article 13 → social media platforms took more responsibility for illegal copyrighted material on their platforms = meme ban

electoral system of EU Parliament?

Proportional representation

Europe turnout of 2019 European Parliamentary Election?

50.66%

UK turnout for European Parliament election?

37.2% → Nigel Farage + Brexit Party

how many seats did the brexit party get in 2019?

29 → 30.5%

Court of Justice of European Union:

Luxembourg

• 2 courts: Court of Justice + General Court

  Court of Justice = preliminary rulings from national courts

  General Court = rules on actions (sometimes from national governments) → mainly competition law, state aid, trade, agriculture + trademarks

judge of the court of justice of the European Union

one from each country, 6 years → president with 3 year terms

2020 example of Court of Justice of European Union:

overturned Commissions decision to block merger of UK mobile telecoms O2 and Three

2024 examples of CJEU work:

September → Ireland had unlawfully granted state aid to Apple → demanded that Apple pay 13 billion Euros back

Intergovernmentalism: NATO

all members must agree

Acquis Communautaire:

if you join the EU, you need to follow their rules

4 freedoms:

1. movement of goods

2. movement of services

3. movement of people

4. movement of capital

has the EU brought peace?

→ member nations haven’t fought since WWII

→ rising living standards

→ threats from Russia

→ rise of populist + anti-EU parties

→ democratic deficit (low turnout)

has the EU brought freedom, security, + justice?

→ all EU countries are part of the single market → 4 freedoms apply

→ 26 in Schengen area

→ working together against terrorism

who isn’t in the Schengen Area?

Cyprus + Ireland

border checks re-imposed

→ France after Paris terror attacks (2015)

→ lots during COVID

→ after 2015 migrant crisis: Austria, Denmark,

annuals growth rate of EU economy between 2014 - 2019:

2%

unemployment rate in EU vs USA in 2017:

EU = 7.3%

USA = 4.1%

unemployment rate in Greece in Jan 2018:

20.9%

far-right German party that came 2nd in 2025:

AfD (Alternative for Germany)

EU insitution for research

European Research Areas

single market

• largest in world

• created 2.5 million jobs between 1992 - 2006

coordination in policing

European Arrest Warrant

how many countries use the euro

19

what percentage of EU people can speak 3 languages

20%

2021 hijab ban:

ECJ said that employers could ban employees from wearing a hijab in certain circumstances

how much money does the UK still pay to the EU in 2022 - 2023

14.9 billion

what do UK people now need to travel?

ETIAS

effect on immigration in UK after Brexit:

EU immigrants = decreased

non-EU immigrants = increased

→ more than 900,000 net migrants from non-EU in 2022-2023

studies suggest what about Brexit and UK trade?

UK goods exports are 30% lower than if we had remained

how many MPs were expelled from Conservatives for not wanting a no-deal Brexit?

21 how

how many seats did UKIP have in 2014 in EP?

24

Labour divide over Brexit:

2018 = Corbyn faces 90 MP backbench rebellion after they defied his instruction to abstain on a vote about a membership of the European Economic Area (like Norway)

sterling after Brexit

10% depreciate after the Brexit vote

Policies that UK are now free from

Common Agricultural Policies, Common Fisheries Policy

Acts passed to make up for EU law?

2020 Agriculture Act + 2021 Environment Act

how many MPs left Labour in 1975 after they enforced an EU referendum?

4 → created Social Democrat Party

2019 → Johnson loses first vote since 1894 (Lord Rosebery)

3 September - Brexit related → only won one on 15 October

how many defeats did Theresa May face between 2017 - 2019

33

Johnson’s letter to Brussels → requesting a delay for Brexit

19 October → 322 vs 306 vote that Johnson write to Brussels + demand for more

2017 - 2019 Lords defeat the government

59 times

Lord Boswell criticises government

2018: “frustrating the committee’s work by keeping peers and MPs in the dark”

Hilary Benn grills David Davis

December 2017 → exposes the government’s failure to assess the financial effects of Brexit