1. Focus on Europe
European Citizenship:
More than 50 years together!
Bart Dhaenens
Assistant International Office
September 2012
Introduction
The History of the EU
How to deal with the EU-27
European Institutions
EU Current Issues

2. 2. Focus on
Programme
• ‘Europe, I presume?„ (20/02)
• Focus on your host country: Belgium
• ‘European Citizenship’ (20/02)
• Introduction to History and institutions of the European Union
• Current issues
• Multiculturalism: ‘focus on…’
• Monday-afternoon, starting 27/02
• A presentation of your own country
• Self / Peer Evaluation and Team work!
• Co-ordinated by Ms Eveline Le Roy

3. 2. Focus on
Summary
DEADLINE 30/11/2011
1. Comparison
– Upload your file
2. EU (Current Issues – Quiz)
– Upload your file (Current Issues)
– Answer online (Quiz)
DEADLINE 05/01/2012
3. Focus on… your country
– Presentation: instructions by Eveline Le Roy
– Self and peer evaluation: answer online
4. Survey
– Extra questions: answer online
Necessary links to answer online and upload
are send by e-mail

4. 3. EuropaQuiz
1. How would you define Europe?
2. What are the main European Institutions?
3. Who is representing the EU?
4. What is the EU doing today?
5. Where is ‘the EU’ situated?
6. How many people are living in the EU?

5. 4. EU / memberstates
Let‟s go into more details…
… about the EU and its memberstates
• The European Commission?
• The European Parliament?
• Are these words also used in your own country?
– Parliament?
– Government?
• An overview of the 27 EU-countries…

6. 4. EU / memberstates
Difficulties
• Government types:
– All democracies!
– Federal? Unitary state?
– Monarchy? Republic?
• Executive branch:
– Head of State: Monarch/President/PM/Chancellor
– Cabinet: an executive or advisory council
• Parliament:
– unicameralism, bicameralism?
– Chambers with equal power? Or one more superior
than the other?

7. 1. Going back in time…
More than 50 years ago
The aim, in the aftermath of World War Two, was
• to secure peace between Europe‟s victorious and
vanquished nations
• bring them together as equals, cooperating within
shared institutions.
• 1951: The European Coal and Steel Community is
established by the six founding members (BE, LU, NL,
FR, DE, IT)
• 1957: The Treaty of Rome
– Establishing a common market
– a European Economic Community (EEC)

8. 1. Going back in time…
1957 - 2007
• 1973: The Community expands to nine member states
and develops its common policies
• 1979: The first direct elections to the European
Parliament
• 1981: The first Mediterranean enlargement (GR)
• 1986: Two new Mediterranean Member states (SP/PT)
• 1993: The Treaty of Maastricht establishes the
European Union / Completion of single market
• 1995: The EU expands to 15 members
• 2002: Euro notes and coins are introduced
• 2004: Ten more countries join the Union
• 2007: We are now with 27!

9. 2. The Construction of Europe
Result? A complex structure…
Construction? Yes, but also important evolutions…
• Originally it started as a peace effort
• Enough successful to have other countries adhere
• Flexible structures were created.
• The political shape of Europe was dramatically changed
when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989..
• By adding areas of intergovernmental cooperation to
existing integrated Community structures, the Maastricht
Treaty created the European Union (EU)

10. 2. The Construction of Europe
In very short…
• The European Union (EU) is
– not a federation like the United States.
– nor is it simply an organisation for co-operation between
governments, like the United Nations.
• It is, in fact, unique. The countries that make up the EU
(its „member states‟) remain independent sovereign
nations but they pool their sovereignty in order
– to gain a strength
– to obtain world influence none of them could have on their own.

11. 2. The Construction of Europe
Basic idea
• Pooling sovereignty means, in practice, that the member
states
– delegate some of their decision-making powers to shared
institutions they have created, so that
– decisions on specific matters of joint interest can be made
democratically at European level
• The European Union is more than just a confederation of
countries, but it is not a federal state.
• It is, in fact, a new type of structure that does not fall into
any traditional legal category.
• Its political system is historically unique and has been
constantly evolving over more than 50 years.

12. 1. Recent history
How to deal with the EU-27?
• One of the basic questions remains how to combine
“unity in diversity” with “unity is strength”?
• How to deal with the enlargement-process?
• Important steps (not) taken towards an institutional
reform
• 2001(December): establishing a Convention to prepare
a draft Constitutional Treaty.
• 2002 / 2003: convention under the presidency of Valéry
Giscard d‟Estaing, had 105 members (different political
representatives)
• 2003 (June): adoptation of draft treaty by consensus
• 2004 (29th of October, Rome): Treaty formally signed

13. 1. Recent history
How to deal with the EU-27?
• 2005 (May/June): rejected by voters in France and the
Netherlands
• Period of reflection announced by the European Council
• 2007: German EU-presidency declares period of
reflection over
• 2007 (13th of December, Lisbon): Reform Treaty
formally signed
• 2008 (12th of June): a rejection of the Irish voters
• Ratification process continued in other countries
• 2009 (2th of October): a second referendum in Ireland
– An Irish yes!
– Finalising procedures in other countries
• 2009 (1st of December): Treaty entered into force

14. 2. A European Constitution
‘The Constitution’
What? Ambitions…
• A clearer presentation of the breakdown of powers and
responsibilities between the Union and its member countries.
• Giving national parliaments a role in ensuring that the EU complies
with the principle of subsidiarity.
How?
• Whatever constitutional system the EU countries finally choose on
the basis of fresh discussions, it will have to be ratified by each of
them either by parliamentary vote or national referendum.
• Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate.

15. 2. A European Constitution
‘The Constitution’
Main provisions
• President of the European Council
– Elected by qualified majority for a term of 2,5 years, renewable once.
• President of the Commission
– Elected by a simple majority of MEPs following a proposal from the
European Council,
– „taking into account the European parliamentary elections‟.
• EU Foreign Minister.
• Incorporating the Charter of Fundamental Rights .
• Increasing the number of fields covered by qualified
majority voting in the Council.
• Giving the European Parliament greater legislative and
budgetary powers.

16. 3. Treaty of Lisbon
Main provisions Treaty of Lisbon
• Easier decision procedures
• New and clearly specified authorities
• Role of the National Parliaments
• New calculation of qualified majority
• Enlargement of the
power of the European parliament
• European Council: institution
• Less European Commissioners from 2014 onwards
• A European president
• Charter of civil rights?
• Clause to solidarity
• Symbols?
• Petition of Civilians

17. 1. Multi-governance
European Union:
multi-level governance system
• Multilevel = multiple layers
• The EU is not one supranational entity but one political
system with several levels of management:
– Intergovernmental
– Supranational
– National
– Subnational
• Structures (more or less) like national branches of power
• main actors of the member-states themselves meet and
“top-specialists” initiate legislation concerning their
specialism (agriculture, education, employment, etc…)

18. 2. EU institutions
Here they are then!
• The Council of Ministers of the European Union,
– represents the member states,
– representing the governments of the Member States
– the EU‟s main decision-taking body.
– Still rotating presidency
• Hungarian Presidency (Jan – Jul 2011) http://www.eu2011.hu
– When it meets at Heads of State or Government level, it
becomes the European Council
• role to provide the EU with political impetus on key issues.
• The European Parliament,
– elected by the peoples of the Member States
– represents the people, shares legislative and budgetary power
with the Council of the European Union.

19. 2. EU institutions
• The European Commission
– represents the common interest of the EU
– driving force and excecutive body
– the main executive body. It has the right to propose legislation
and ensures that EU policies are properly implemented
• Court of Justice
– ensuring compliance with the law
• Court of Auditors
– controlling sound and lawful management of the EU budget
• European Economic and Social Committee
• Committee of the Regions
• European Central Bank
• European Ombudsman
• European Investment Bank

20. 2. EU institutions
Brussels has decided…
• referring to the EU institutions,
most of which are located in the
city of Brussels.
• EU laws
– proposed by the European
Commission
– but it is the Council of the European
Union (ministers from the national
governments) and the European
parliament that debate, amend and
ultimately decide whether to pass
these proposed laws.

21. 3. The European parliament
Elections of the EP
• Elections: every five years (last: 4 to 7th of June 2009)
• Every EU citizen who is registered as a voter is entitled
to vote.
• The European Parliament
– expresses the democratic will of the Union's citizens (now
approx. 500 million people),
– represents their interests in discussions with the other EU
institutions.
– has 736 members from all 27 EU countries.
– More then one third of them are women (35%).
• Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) do not sit
in national blocks, but in seven Europe-wide political
groups.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/

22. Welcome into the new Europe!
• Number of inhabitants: 492,387,344
• Enlargement of the territory: 740,000 km²
• Official languages: 23
– Languages Combinations in EP plenary sessions: 380
– Irish (Gaelic): 23th language since 01/01/07
– Number of pages to be translated in 2005: 2,370,000
• GDP: $ 14,430 billion compared to $ 14,140 in USA
• Everybody using the €uro? no!
– But: more and more countries are introducing the Euro!
– 2010 – 2011: next countries? Delay because of crisis
– 01/01/2011: Estonia 17th Euro-country
• Life expectancy 78.82 year

23. Europe to-day
To summarize:
• In the early years: only trade and economy
• Now the EU deals with many other subjects of direct
importance for our everyday life
• The most important achievement is without doubtthat the EU
has delivered half a century of stability, peace and
prosperity it has helped to raise living standards, built a
single Europe-wide market
• Member countries are not always able to protect their
interests effectively and sufficiently on their own.
• EU must
• continue to pursue policies that are in keeping with its own values.
• bring its ideas regarding a sustainable, efficient, and just
socioeconomic system onto the global stage and to preserve the
European way of life

24. Europe to-day: Unity in diversity
The future?
• Launched the single European currency
• Strengthened Europe‟s voice in the world
• Europe is a continent with
– many different traditions and languages
– but also of shared values
• EU defends these values,
– fosters co-operation among the peoples of Europe,
– promoting unity while preserving diversity and ensuring that
decisions are taken as close as possible to the citizens
• Still a lot of questions…
• Impact of the Lisbon Treaty?!
• July 2013: accession of Croatia as 28th country
• 21th century: Europe in an interdependent world?!