The political system of the European Union PDF
Preview The political system of the European Union
THE EUROPEAN UNION SERIES General Editors: Neill Nugent, William E. Paterson The European Union series provides an authoritative library on the European Union, ranging from general introductory texts to definitive assessments of key institutions and actors, issues, policies and policy processes, and the role of member states. Books in the series are written by leading scholars in their fields and reflect the most up- to-date research and debate. Particular attention is paid to accessibility and clear presentation for a wide audience of students, practitioners and interested general readers. The series editors are Neill Nugent, Professor of Politics and Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration, Manchester Metropolitan University, and William E. Paterson, Honourary Professor in German and European Studies, University of Aston.Their co-editor until his death in July 1999, Vincent Wright, was a Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford University. Feedback on the series and book proposals are always welcome and should be sent to Steven Kennedy, Palgrave Macmillan, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, UK, or by e-mail to [email protected] General textbooks Published Desmond Dinan Encyclopedia of the European Neill Nugent The Government and Politics of Union [Rights: Europe only] the European Union (7th edn) John Peterson and Elizabeth Bomberg Decision- Desmond Dinan Europe Recast: A History of Making in the European Union European Union [Rights: Europe only] Ben Rosamond Theories of European Desmond Dinan Ever Closer Union: An Integration IntroductiontoEuropeanIntegration (4thedn) Esther Versluis,Mendeltje van Keulen and Paul [Rights: Europe only] Stephenson Analyzing the European Union Mette Eilstrup Sangiovanni (ed.) Debates on Policy Process European Integration: A Reader Simon Hix and Bjørn Høyland The Political Forthcoming System of the European Union (3rd edn) Laurie Buonanno and Neill Nugent Policies and Paul Magnette What is the European Union? Policy Processes of the European Union Nature and Prospects Magnus Ryner and Alan Cafruny ACritical John McCormick Understanding theEuropean Introduction to the European Union Union: A Concise Introduction (4th edn) Dirk Leuffen, Berthold Rittberger and Frank Brent F. Nelsen and Alexander Stubb The Schimmelfennig Differentiated Integration European Union:Readings on the Theory and Sabine Saurugger Theoretical Approaches to Practice of European Integration (3rd edn) European Integration [Rights: Europe only] Also Planned NeillNugent(ed.) EuropeanUnionEnlargement ThePoliticalEconomyofEuropeanIntegration SeriesStandingOrder(outsideNorthAmericaonly) Visit Palgrave Macmillan’s ISBN0–333–71695–7hardback EUResource area at ISBN0–333–69352–3 paperback www.palgrave.com/politics/eu/ Full details from www.palgrave.com Themajorinstitutionsandactors Hans Bruyninckx and Tom Delreux Environmental Policy and Politics in the European Union Published JörgMonar JusticeandHomeAffairsintheEuropean Renaud Dehousse The European Court of Justice Union Justin Greenwood Interest Representationinthe Also planned EuropeanUnion(2nd edn) FionaHayes-RenshawandHelenWallace Political Union The Council of Ministers (2nd edn) The External Policies of the European Union Simon Hix and Christopher Lord Political Parties in the European Union David Judge and David Earnshaw The European ThememberstatesandtheUnion Parliament (2nd edn) Neill Nugent TheEuropeanCommission Published Anne Stevens with Handley Stevens Carlos Closa and Paul Heywood Spain and the Brussels Bureaucrats?The Administration of European Union the European Union Alain Guyomarch, Howard Machin and Ella Ritchie Forthcoming France in the EuropeanUnion Wolfgang Wessels The European Council Brigid Laffan and Jane O’Mahoney Ireland and the European Union Forthcoming The main areas of policy Simon Bulmer and William E. Paterson Germany and Published the European Union Michele Chang Monetary Integration in the Brigid Laffan The European Union and its Member European Union States Michelle Cini and Lee McGowan Competition Baldur Thórhallson Small States in the European Policy in the European Union (2nd edn) Union Wyn Grant The Common Agricultural Policy Also planned Sieglinde Gstöhl and Dirk de Bievr`e The Trade Policy of the European Union Britain and the European Union Martin Holland The European Union and the Third World Jolyon Howorth Security and Defence Policy in Issues the European Union Johanna Kantola Gender and the European Union Published Stephan Keukeleire and Jennifer MacNaughtan The Foreign Policy of the European Union Derek Beach The Dynamics of European Brigid Laffan The Finances of the European Union Integration:Why and When EU Institutions Matter Malcolm Levitt and Christopher Lord The Political Christina Boswell and Andrew Geddes Migration and Economy of Monetary Union Mobility in the European Union Janne Haaland Matláry Energy Policy in the ThomasChristiansenandChristineReh European Union Constitutionalizing the European Union John McCormick Environmental Policy in the Robert Ladrech Europeanization and National European Union Politics John Peterson and Margaret Sharp Technology PolicyintheEuropeanUnion Cécile Leconte Understanding Euroscepticism Handley Stevens Transport Policy in the Steven McGuire and Michael Smith The European European Union Union and the United States WynRees TheUS-EUSecurityRelationship:The Forthcoming Tensionsbetween a European and a Global Agenda KarenAnderson SocialPolicyintheEuropeanUnion The Political System of the European Union Third edition Simon Hix and Bjørn Høyland © Simon Hix 1999, 2005, 2011, © Bjørn Høyland 2011 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2011 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries ISBN 978–0–230–24981–3hardback ISBN 978–0–230–24982–0paperback This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 Printed in China Contents List of Figures, Boxes, and Tables xi Preface xiv List of Abbreviations xv 1 Introduction: Explaining the EU Political System 1 The Institutional and Policy Architecture of the EU 2 What is the EU? A Political System but not a State 12 Two Theories of EU Politics 16 Structure of the Book 19 PART I GOVERNMENT 2 Executive Politics 23 Theories of Executive Politics 23 The Member States: Executive Power, Delegation, and Discretion 27 Delegation and intergovernmental conferences 27 Political leadership and delegation 32 Transposition of EU legislation 33 Government by the Commission 34 A cabinet: the EU core executive 34 Comitology: interface of the EU dual executive 37 Administrative Accountability: Parliamentary Scrutiny and Transparency 39 Political Accountability: Selection and Censure of the Commission 43 Conclusion: the Politics of a Dual Executive 46 3 Legislative Politics 49 Theories of Legislative Coalitions and Organization 49 Development of the Legislative System of the EU 51 Legislative Politics in the European Parliament 54 The MEPs: agents with two principals 54 Agenda organization: leaderships, parties, and committees 55 Coalition formation 59 Legislative Politics in the Council 61 v vi Contents Agenda organization: the presidency, sectoral Councils, and committees 62 Voting and coalition politics in the Council 64 Bicameral Politics in the EU 68 Conclusion: Bicameral Politics in the EU 74 4 Judicial Politics 75 Political Theories of Constitutions and Courts 75 The EU Legal System and the European Court of Justice 78 Composition and operation of the European Court of Justice 79 Jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice 82 Constitutionalization of the EU 83 Direct effect: EU law as the law of the land for national citizens 84 Supremacy: EU law as the higher law of the land 85 Integration through law and economic constitutionalism 86 State-like properties: external sovereignty and internal coercion 87 Kompetenz–Kompetenz: judicial review of competence 88 Penetration of EU Law into National Legal Systems 89 Quantitative: national courts’ use of ECJ preliminary rulings 90 Qualitative: national courts’ acceptance of the EU legal system 93 Explanations of EU Judicial Politics: Is the ECJ a Runaway Agent? 95 Legal–formalist view: the hero of European integration 95 Intergovernmentalism: the ECJ as an agent of the member states 97 Supranational politics: the ECJ as an independent but constrained actor 98 Conclusion: a European Constitution? 100 PART II POLITICS 5 Public Opinion 105 Theories of the Social Bases of Politics 105 End of the Permissive Consensus 107 Explaining Support for the EU at the National Level 110 Explaining Support for the EU at the Individual Level 115 Political Context Matters: the Role of Ideology, Parties, and the Media 124 Conclusion: from Consensus to Conflict? 129 Contents vii 6 Democracy, Parties, and Elections 130 Democracy: Choosing Parties, Leaders, and Policies 130 The ‘Democratic Deficit’ Debate 132 Parties: Competition andOrganization 137 National parties and Europe 138 Parties at the European level 140 Elections: EP Elections and EU Referendums 146 EP elections: national or European contests? 146 Referendums on EU membership and treaty reforms 152 Conclusion: Democratic Politics in the EU? 157 7 Interest Representation 159 Theories of Interest-Group Politics 159 Lobbying Europe: Interest Groups and EU Policy-Making 162 Business interests: the large firm as a political actor 165 Countervailing power: public interests, social movements, and trade unions 169 Territorial interests: at the heart of multilevel governance 176 Explaining the Pattern of Interest Representation 178 Demand for access: the effects of globalization and European integration 178 Supply of access: expertise and information means legislative power 181 Conclusion: Competing Interests on a Level Playing Field 185 PART III POLICIES 8 Regulation of the Single Market 189 Theories of Regulation 189 Deregulation: Market Integration and Liberalization 192 The single market programme 192 Competition policies 195 Services integration 199 Open method of coordination 201 Re-regulation: Common Standards 203 Environmental policy 203 Social policy 206 Explaining EU Regulatory Policies 209 National preferences and bargaining over EU regulatory policies 210 Supranational politics: interests, entrepreneurship, and preferences 211 Conclusion: Mostly Winners, But Some Losers 216 viii Contents 9 Expenditure Policies 218 Theories of Public Expenditure andRedistribution 218 The Budget of the European Union 220 Revenue and expenditure 220 The annual budget procedure: the power of the purse 222 The Common Agricultural Policy 224 Operation and reform of the CAP 225 Making agricultural policy: can the iron triangle be broken? 227 Cohesion Policy 230 Operation of the policy 230 Impact: a supply-side policy with uncertain convergence implications 232 Making cohesion policy: Commission, governments, and regions 234 Other Internal Policies 235 Research 236 Other internal policies 237 Explaining EU Expenditure Policies 239 Intergovernmental bargaining: national cost–benefit calculations 239 Supranational politics: private interests, policy entrepreneurship, and institutional rules 242 Conclusion: a Set of Redistributive Bargains 243 10 Economic and Monetary Union 245 The Political Economy of Monetary Union 245 Development of Economic and Monetary Union in Europe 249 The Delors Report 249 The Maastricht Treaty design 250 Who qualifies? Fudging the convergence criteria 252 Explaining Economic and Monetary Union 254 Economic rationality: economic integration and a core optimal currency area 254 Intergovernmental bargaining: a Franco-German deal 256 Supranational politics: the Commission and central bankers 257 The power of ideas: the monetarist policy consensus 258 How Economic and Monetary Union Works 259 Independence of the ECB: establishing credibility and reputation 260 ECB decision-making 262 Inflation targets: ECB–Ecofin relations 265 National fiscal policies and the eurozone crisis 266 Contents ix Labour market flexibility: structural reforms and wage agreements 269 Conclusion: Testing Times for the Euro 271 11 Interior Policies 273 Theories of Citizenship and the State 273 EU Interior Policies: From Free Movement of Workers to an Emerging European State 275 From free movement of workers to ‘an area of freedom, security and justice’ 275 Free movement of persons 277 Fundamental rights and freedoms 280 Immigration and asylum policies 282 Police and judicial cooperation 286 Explaining EU Interior Policies 288 Exogenous pressures: global migration, crime, and terrorism 288 Intergovernmentalism: high politics, voters’ demands, and bureaucrats’ interests 292 Supranational politics: entrepreneurship, credibility, and actors’ preferences 295 Conclusion: a Pan-European State? 300 12 Foreign Policies 302 Theories of International Relations and Political Economy 302 External Economic Policies: Free Trade, Not ‘Fortress Europe’ 305 Pattern of EU trade 306 The Common Commercial Policy 306 Multilateral trade agreements: GATT and WTO 308 Bilateral preferential trade agreements 309 European development policy 310 Security and Defence Policies 310 Development of foreign policy cooperation and decision- making 310 Enlargement 319 The politics of foreign policy 322 Explaining EU Foreign Policy 323 Global economic and geopolitical interdependence 323 Intergovernmentalism: geopolitical and economic interests 325 Supranational politics: institutional rules and supranational agenda-setting 328 Conclusion: a Major Player in Global Politics? 330
The list of books you might like
