The European Union (EU) has ever expanded since its initial origin phases/stages of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951 and the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1958 by the Inner Six countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and Netherlands). Since its origins, the EU has integrated a substantial number of member-states to twenty-eight and are currently under the accession process some other countries eagerly waiting to join the European Union’s already large family
As a reaction to E.B.Haas and L.Lindburg’s Neofuntionalist explanation of European Integration, Hoffmann put forward an alternative analysis which he deemed more “realistic” in what concerned the role of states in the EU; Intergovernmentalism. He made two main points on the matter; the first was that national governments of European member countries are “uniquely powerful actors” and only make decisions aligned with their national interests. In simple terms this meant that national government decided
EU from a economic community of six nation states to the political and economic union it has become today. However there are two competing theories for explaining EU integration that give opposing views on the matter, neo-functionalism and intergovernmentalism. In this essay I will examine both theories and attempt to reach a conclusion if either successfully explains EU integration. Neo-functionalism is a theory initially proposed by Ernst Haas during the 1950s in response to the creation of
government without much control. The exit of the UK seems to challenge the idea of “integration” and brings the concept of disintegration into the picture, which Liberal Intergovernmentalism then would have to be able to account for. Due to the scope of this paper I will only briefly touch upon disintegration and how Liberal Intergovernmentalism deals with UK’s divorce with the European Union. According to Ben Rosamond (2016), UK leaving the European Union has provoked speculations about a possible disintegration
2. A contextual analysis of the European Integration as proposed by the Grand Theory with disrespect and respect to the idea of nation states. The theory offers three main points concerning the EU integrations, (a) Neofunctionalism, (b) Intergovernmentalism
and the future of the EU. Before starting the story of the passage to the Union, Van Middelaar identifies three types of discourses and three types of spheres that illustrate the diversity in understanding the nature of the EU. He explains: intergovernmentalism (Offices and States discourses), supranationalism (Offices and Citizens discourses), and constitutionalism (States and Citizens discourses). By identifying and explaining these discourses, the author shows the limits of previous studies of
Abstract: The Corruption Scandal of the European Commission and its possible effects on the institutional balance and the question of legitimacy I. Defining Corruption The first chapter is an attempt to define corruption. It is important to divide overlapping and complicated terms such as corruption, scandal and fraud. Corruption is defined as an illegal transaction, where both actors benefit from their special position in the market or the government. Scandal is the public reaction to allegations
The European Union (EU), since the initial foundation in 1952 as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and throughout periods of development, has been considered one of the most advanced forms of regional integration. It, based on numerous treaties and resolutions, has strived to promote values such as peace, cooperation or democracy, and in 2012 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for having “contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe” (Nobel
Difficulties of a Single Monetary Policy for a Large Number of Countries I. INTRODUCTION The European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the common currency the euro, was originally promoted as a source for economic growth and as a mechanism to make European markets less fragmented. However, the recent eurozone crisis has shown the complexity surrounding the issue of a single monetary policy for a large number of countries. Recent economic developments in the eurozone have therefore put an emphasis
Which EU institution is the most powerful? The European Union (EU) is currently made up of 25 countries, known as Member States, which together form the largest voluntary and peaceful block of countries in the world. Many people mistakenly view the European Union as a single body whilst in fact; the EU consists of a number of different institutions that together carry out activities on behalf of the Member States. There are many institutions but the main five being the Commission, the Council