EU's Historical Evolution and Context

Introduction

This paper is a presentation of different practices pursued by the European Union relative to her mandate. The essay opens up with Dedman (2006), who observes that the European Union is a product of World War Two which was conceived when the war ended in the year 1945, by six European nations to promote European integration for the realization economic development among member states. The original pioneer member states were France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, and Luxembourg. As the war had brought economic prosperity and disoriented cohesion and integration, it was of a need to restore such aspects. For those seeking history dissertation help, The paper intends to unravel the historical evolution and contexts of the Union, its components, and roles of such, the sources of the Union’s jurisprudence while basing these tenets in the context of Joseph Weiler's view; that the European Union is a system of governance; not a government.

Formation of the European Union

After the end of the Second World War, which proved catastrophic, the European powers came into a union to strategize and pledge allegiance and bring forth measures against the outbreak of yet another war. The pledge, as Egeberg, and Trondal, (2011) submit gave birth to the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) which was again geared to foster political and economic integration and seek a way forward to eternal peace and order; and again heal the economic and social damages of the war. Has the Union attained her authentic objectives? This paper intends to critically evaluate on the subject.

Following the achievements by the ECSC, the pioneers expanded their union and signed the Treaties of Rome on March 1957, which gave birth to the European Atomic Energy Community and the European Economic Community (ECC). ECC was formed to induce common market and allow free movement capital, goods, services and people. In view of this objective, one can easily infer and deduce that the milestone pursued by the European Union is a structured form of governance geared to direct and achieve some sort of objectives and the prosperity of European Communities.

Such that; as the European Community grew, so did the leaders developed an interest to facilitate free movement of goods and services; for the creation of jobs and wealth. Consequently, the Single European Act was enacted which paved way for increased competition, cheaper products and services; and better efficiency in the trade system across the member states.

The Treaty of Maastricht documented and signed on the 7th day of February 1992 formed the European Union on the threshold of three pillars namely; the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the European Communities, and the Police and Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters. The EU brought forth the ideas of European citizenship, initiated economic and monetary union and launched the powers of the European Parliament.

From the year 1992, the European Union has strived to streamline the institutional system in the quest to improve her governance and efficiency. In such efforts, the Malta Summit and the 2001’s Treaty of Nice were part of the plan to enlarge the union. However, the union has been challenged bureaucratically. In effect to such challenges, the Lisbon Treaty of 2007 was initiated to simplify the union’s working operations, voting legislation, and create position its president. Additionally, the treaty initiated of the new post; the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Throughout the developmental steps geared to make it more efficient and broaden the subsequent efforts are follow-up measures to seal the failures realized, and so the awakening calling to new outreach; it is conspicuous that the union is a system of governance characterised by efforts to administer the Europeans better.

European Union Institutions

The Union is governed by various institutions that function differently but yet towards a common objective. The union’s structural organization and ability to thrive throughout the centuries is well recorded in literature. Joseph Weiler in his work; Do the New Clothes have an Emperor; notes that, the Union has made it integrate unified laws amongst Europeans. He evidences this argument by presenting the cases where national fiscal policies are being realized with the enactment of the European Monetary Union. However, the professor puts into question the political and economic domain prevailing and doubts if it is in indeed in the right place.

The Union as Governance, not Government

In his work; Europe in Crisis-On Political Messianism, Legitimacy and the Rule of Law, Joseph Weiler notes with concern that the union has not inclined itself towards the economic prosperity of common citizens which affects the common people. It is on this premise, amongst others which this paper intends to unravel; that Joseph Weiler believes that the Union is a mere government and not governance. Government is a body comprising of a set of people formulating legislation for the maintenance of orderliness and look into peoples’ grievances and needs. On the other hand, governance entails how the government of the ay administer her person; which is basically how the government exercise its power on the people.

Joseph Weiler argues that the union belongs to its citizens, based on three proposals aiding his ideological affiliation. Throughout its historical contexts, the European Union has held up a series of new treaties, new pillars, a new name and renewed commitments to economic prosperity. The Monetary Union as a result of these commitments came into being.

At the international level, Joseph suggests that we have no arms of government or institutions accorded with Statal settings. But the presence of governance is felt by a system which is democratically legitimated, thus giving an impression of governance. The models the union adopts has always been characterised by accountability, some deliberation and representation as reflected in the enactment of different union components with time.

Various authors have acknowledged through a converging perception on what international governance seems to be. Joseph Weiler shares the common ideas. He supposes that international governance is continually confronted with new obligations in form of regulations, norms, and transformative incentives. In that; the union is always confronted with a need to act in the quest to displace domestic norms with the international one. The display of execution of indirect regulatory norms does not displace government laws and systems but instead limits them. An applicable example in this perception is the law on non-discrimination in trade regimes.

Roles of the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and the Commission

The European Union is a body comprising of different bodies that work independently to produce viable targets. The components of the Union are therefore many and this essay does not intend to critically evaluate all of them. Some of them are; the European Parliament, Council of the European Union, European Council, European Commission, Court of Justice of the European Union, European Court of Auditors, European Economic and Social Committee, Interinstitutional bodies, and European Ombudsman.

The European Parliament is the only directly elected European Union body, whose elected members represent more than 500 million Europeans. The role of this parliament is to elect the president of the European Commission and share power over budget allocations with the Council of the European Union. The European Parliament is thus, a law-making body. The process members of the EU parliament are elected after the period of five years. Alongside the making of laws, the parliament also undertakes two other main roles namely; supervisory roles which entail the scrutiny of all EU institutions.

The parliament also discusses and shares ideas with the European Central Bank on matters of monetary policies. The parliament can also question the Commission of Council, grant discharge, examine the citizens’ petitions and establish inquiries; and oversee elections. The other role of the parliament falls under budgetary approval allocation in conjunction with the council. The above-mentioned roles are enacted in two main stages; the committees’ stage and the plenary sessions. In the committees’ stage, legislations are prepared through examination of proposals as suggested along political divides.

The European Council sets priorities for the union and summons together the top national leaders and EU leaders for a common talk. The council is chaired by the president and is constituted of the national heads of state and the president of the Commission. However, the Council of the European Union represents the governments of the individual member states. The Council of the European Union is thus the voice of the union member states’ government. In union with the European Parliament, the council is the chief decision maker for the union.

The council is also mandated to negotiate and implement the union’s guiding principles and laws and coordinate the EU states’ policies. The adoption of EU’s annual budget and the development of EU’s security and foreign policies fall under the jurisdiction of the Council. The presidency seat of the Council of the EU is shared in shifts by member states.

The European Commission as the EU’s executive body proposes and implements the union’s policies and laws. The commission also monitors the treaties and the daily activities of the union. Additionally, the Commission safeguards the interests if the European citizens may propose new laws to the European Parliament. It also manages EU policy frameworks and allocates EU funding. Additionally, the Commission is an international representative of the European Union.

The Court of Justice is the Supreme Court concerning the interpretation of EU laws across the member states. The Central European Central Bank works towards maintaining the euro’s purchasing capacity and therefore the strength of the euro currency. The organs of the European Union are created on the needs to establish a holistic system of governance, to induce a more economically and integrated Europe.

Sources’ of the United Nations’ Jurisprudence

Horspool and Humphreys, (2012); and Chalmers, Davies, and Monti, (2010) presentation on the sources of the European Union’s law will be critiqued as outlined below;

Primary sources; including treaties for the union formation, agreements on the functioning of the union, amendments from EU treaties, annexed protocols, and agreements initiated during the accession of new states.

Secondary sources including; conventions, agreements and unilateral acts.

Supplementary sources; including case laws, international law and policies, and general law principles.

The European Union laws are extracted from universal norms and accepted code of conduct that advises morality. The universal doctrines and acceptable ethics are vital foundations and contributors to international law. Additionally, the conventions, treaties and agreements from international platforms form an important source of the European Union law.

Conclusion

The outbreak of World War Two in Europe caused havoc along the economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainability. As a mechanism to breakthroughs the tempting moments of economic recess and divisions that torn the nations apart, the European Union was conceived. Such that; a series of unions did follow, for the fulfilment the will of the co-founder fathers of the union.

As discussed above, the various elements of the union have not only initiated good governance; but also initiated forum participation of the European citizens towards the basket of issues affecting them. Such that; scholars such as Joseph Weiler have come into the realization that the Union is a system of governance; and not, a government argued above. Additionally, the origin of the doctrines and laws governing that gives relevance to the continuity and responsibilities of the union are also presented herein.

Bibliography

Búrca GD. The European Constitution project after the referenda. Constellations. 2006 Jun; 13(2):205-17.

Chalmers D, Davies G, Monti G. European Union law: cases and materials. Cambridge university press; 2010 Jun 24.

Curtin D, Mair P, Papadopoulos Y. Positioning accountability in European governance: An introduction. West European Politics. 2010 Sep 1; 33(5):929-45.

Curtin D. Challenging Executive Dominance in European Democracy. The Modern Law Review. 2014 Jan; 77(1):1-32.

Dedman, M., 2006. The origins and development of the European Union 1945-1995: a history of European integration. Routledge.

Egeberg M, Trondal J. EU-level agencies: new executive Centre formation or vehicles for national control? Journal of European Public Policy. 2011 Sep 1; 18(6):868-87.

Eleftheriadis, P. The moral distinctiveness of the European Union. International journal of constitutional law, 9(3-4), 2011, pp.695-713.

Follesdal A, Hix S. Why there is a democratic deficit in the EU: A response to Majone and Moravcsik. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies. 2006 Sep; 44(3):533-62.

Gustavsson, Sverker, Christer Karlsson, and Thomas Persson. "Examining the illusion of accountability." (2017).

Hodson D, Peterson J, editors. Institutions of the European Union. Oxford University Press; 2017.

Kiiver, P., The early warning system for the principle of subsidiarity: Constitutional theory and empirical reality, 2012 Routledge.

Maduro, M.P., How Constitutional Can the European Union Be? The Tension between Intergovernamentalism and Constitutionalism in the European Union, 2012

Mearns Jr EA. The Constitution of Europe, by Joseph HH Weiler. Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law. 2000; 32(1):169.

Miller V, Lunn J. The European Union: A Democratic Institution? House of Commons Library; 2014.

Pavone T. Democracy by Lawsuit: Or, Can Litigation Alleviate the European Union's" Democratic Deficit?” Constitutional Studies. 2016; 1(2):59-80.

Raunio T. The gatekeepers of European integration? The functions of national parliaments in the EU political system. Journal of European Integration. 2011 May 1; 33(3):303-21.

Schermers HG, Blokker NM. International institutional law: unity within diversity. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers; 2011 Aug 11.

Schmidt VA. The European Union: Democratic legitimacy in a regional state? JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies. 2004 Dec; 42(5):975-97.

Wagner E, Bech S, Martínez JM. Translating for the European Union institutions. Routledge; 2014 Apr 23.

Weiler JH. Europe in Crisis-On Political Messianism, Legitimacy and the Rule of Law. Sing. J. Legal Stud. 2012:248.