Verhaeven, Johan --- "European integration and finalité politique" [2004] ELECD 168; in Liebscher, Klaus; Christl, Josef; Mooslechner, Peter; Ritzberger-Grünwald, Doris (eds), "The Economic Potential of a Larger Europe" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2004)

Book Title: The Economic Potential of a Larger Europe

Editor(s): Liebscher, Klaus; Christl, Josef; Mooslechner, Peter; Ritzberger-Grünwald, Doris

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781843769620

Section: Chapter 23

Section Title: European integration and finalité politique

Author(s): Verhaeven, Johan

Number of pages: 5

Extract:

23. European integration and finalité
politique
Johan Verhaeven1

The concept of political union is hard to pin down: does it mean a tradi-
tional state-based model of governance, with strong central institutions
and a single external identity, or does it refer to a looser form of common
policies and institutions, without necessarily conforming to the character-
istics of a nation state? Do we define political union through institutions,
policies, the political system? Through the ability to raise taxes and make
budgetary transfers?
The EU remains, in the words of Jacques Delors, `an unidentified politi-
cal object'. If we define political union in terms of supranational or federal
level institutions and integrated policies, the EU has evolved to show several
of these features:


a federal, directly-elected parliament ­ the European Parliament
(although it shares legislative power with the Council);
a federal executive ­ the European Commission (although the
Commission is still far from being a `government', and has to share
executive power with member states);
a legal order which gives European instruments primacy over national
legislation, and a judicial authority resembling a constitutional court
to enforce this ­ the European Court of Justice.


In terms of policies, the EU is a hybrid system: the Community
(federal) method is applied in some cases, while other issues are dealt with
intergovernmentally, although the historical trend has been towards com-
munitarization (Commission initiative; increased use of co-decision;
Qualified Majority Voting in Council) of policy areas (Single Act,
Maastricht, Amsterdam, Nice, Justice and Home Affairs ...