Handbook on the European Union

ZOLTÁN HORVÁTH

HANDBOOK ON THE EUROPEAN UNION

ZOLTÁN HORVÁTH

HANDBOOK ON THE EUROPEAN UNION Fourth edition in English

2011

© Zoltán Horváth Hungarian text revised by: Réka Somssich Translated by: Péter Szűcs English text revised by: Ros and Tom Glaser Manuscript completed on June 2011

HVG-ORAC is a partner of LexisNexis Group

Budapest, 2011 Published by HVG-ORAC Publishing House Ltd. Responsible publisher: Ádám Frank, managing director ISBN 978-963-258-146-0 All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Responsible editor: Zsolt Gábor Typesetting and technical editing by: Éva Harkai Proofreader: Marianna Györkös Printed in Hungary by Multiszolg Bt. – Vác

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CONTENTS

Introduction 17 PART I

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, ITS STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONING Chapter 1: History and development of European integration

21

1.1. The issue of integration in Europe after the Second World War 1.2. Establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community 1.3. From the failure of the European Defence Community to

the Treaty of Rome 1.4. The first fifteen years of the EEC 1.5. The Merger Treaty 1.6. The Six become Twelve – Enlargements of

the European Communities 1.7. Adoption of the Single European Act – A single market

coming true 1.8. From the Communities to a Union – The Maastricht Treaty 1.9. The EU after Maastricht – Results following initial difficulties:

a new enlargement and the introduction of the single currency 1.10. Maastricht continued: the Amsterdam Treaty 1.11. The precondition for Eastern enlargement: the Treaty of Nice 1.12. The European Union at the beginning of the 21st century:

the parallel processes of deepening and widening 1.12.1. Enlargement 1.12.2. The comprehensive reform of the Founding Treaties

– The Lisbon Treaty 1.12.3. Building an economic and political Union

21 27 28 32 34 34 37 39 43 46 49 53 53 56 68

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Contents

1.12.3.1. Strengthening economic integration to improve

the Union’s competitiveness 1.12.3.2. Strengthening internal and external security

Chapter 2: The institutional structure of the European Union 2.1. The character of the institutional structure 2.2. The Commission 2.2.1. The members of the Commission – the Commissioners 2.2.2. The administrative structure of the Commission 2.2.3. The competence of the Commission 2.3. The Council 2.3.1. The Council of the European Union 2.3.2. COREPER and the Council’s working groups 2.3.3. The Presidency of the Council 2.3.4. Voting system in the Council 2.3.4.1. The evolution of qualified majority voting 2.3.4.2. Qualified majority voting under the Treaty of Nice:

the rules applicable until 1 November 2014 2.3.4.3. The rules of qualified majority voting under the

Treaty of Lisbon: the introduction of double

majority on 1 November 2014 2.4. The European Council 2.4.1. The role and evolution of the European Council 2.4.2. The functioning of the European Council 2.4.3. The President of the European Council 2.5. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs

and Security Policy and the European External Action Service 2.5.1. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs

and Security Policy 2.5.2. The European External Action Service 2.6. The European Parliament 2.6.1. The development of the European Parliament’s

institutional role 2.6.2. The election and political composition of the

European Parliament 2.6.3. The office-holders and bodies of the European Parliament 2.6.4. The working order of the European Parliament

69 76

81 81 83 84 90 92 94 94 96 98 100 101 103 104 108 108 110 111 112 112 114 115 115 118 125 129

Contents

2.7. The Court of Justice of the European Union 2.7.1. The tasks of the European Court of Justice 2.7.2. The composition of the European Court of Justice 2.7.3. The procedures of the European Court of Justice 2.8. The Court of Auditors 2.8.1. The composition of the Court of Auditors 2.8.2. The work of the Court of Auditors 2.9. The European System of Central Banks and the

European Central Bank 2.9.1. The European System of Central Banks 2.9.2. The institutions of the European Central Bank 2.10. The Economic and Social Committee 2.10.1. The composition of the Economic and Social Committee 2.10.2. The activities of the Economic and Social Committee 2.11. The Committee of the Regions 2.11.1. The composition of the Committee of the Regions 2.11.2. The activities of the Committee of the Regions 2.12. The European Investment Bank 2.12.1. The organisational structure of the

European Investment Bank 2.12.2. The tasks of the European Investment Bank 2.13. The European Ombudsman

Chapter 3: The Union’s competences 3.1.

3.2.

3.3.

3.4.

The evolution of the definition of competences: from the system of three pillars to the Lisbon catalogue of competences The values and aims of the European Union The principles governing the exercise of power by the Union The categories of Union competences – a catalogue of Union policies

Chapter 4: D ecision-making and legislation in the European Union 4.1. Decision-making in the European Union 4.1.1. The Commission’s role in preparing decisions 4.1.2. Reconciling the interests of the Member States

7 130 130 131 133 137 137 138 138 139 141 142 142 143 144 144 145 146 147 147 148

150 150 153 154 157

162 163 164 168

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Contents

4.1.2.1. Preparing decisions in the Council 168 4.1.2.2. The role of the Council Presidency 170 4.1.2.3. The growing influence of the European Council 171 4.1.2.4. Decision-making based on consensus-building 173 4.1.2.5. Coordinating Member-State action at the national level 173 4.1.2.6. The involvement of national parliaments 175 4.1.3. Representing citizens at the EU level 177 4.1.3.1. The European Parliament, and the expansion of its powers 177 4.1.3.2. Assuming the role of co-legislator 179 4.1.3.3. Decision-making in the Parliament 180 4.2. Decision-making procedures 181 4.2.1. The legislative procedures 185 4.2.1.1. The ordinary legislative procedure 185 4.2.1.2. The special legislative procedures 191 4.2.1.2.1. The consultation procedure 191 4.2.1.2.2. The consent procedures 193 4.2.1.2.3. The budgetary procedure 195 4.2.2. Decision-making in the Common Foreign and

Security Policy 198 4.2.3. Other decision-making procedures 200 4.3. The Commission as a delegated decision-maker –

How comitology works 201 4.3.1. Comitology prior to the Treaty of Lisbon 201 4.3.2. Delegated decision-making under the Treaty of Lisbon 204

Chapter 5: European Union law

208

5.1. The creation of a Union legal order, the concept of EU law 208 5.2. Sources of European Union law 210 5.2.1. Primary legal sources: the Treaties 211 5.2.1.1. The concept of the “Treaty” and “the Treaties” 211 5.2.1.2. The nature of the Treaties: the framework treaty structure 215 5.2.1.3. Amending the Treaties – The ordinary and simplified

revision procedures 216 5.2.2. Secondary legal sources: legal acts of the European Union 220 5.2.3. Other legal sources 225 5.2.4. The notion of the EU acquis 226

Contents

5.3. The features of the Union’s legal system 5.4. Approximation of legislation in the EU 5.5. Accession to and withdrawal from the Union, suspending

the rights of a Member State 5.6. The instruments of flexible integration 5.7. Union citizenship and fundamental rights 5.7.1. The rights stemming from Union citizenship

and the citizens’ initiative 5.7.2. Fundamental rights in the Union – The Charter

of Fundamental Rights

Chapter 6: The internal market and the four freedoms 6.1. The free movement of goods 6.1.1. Establishing the customs union 6.1.1.1. The abolition of customs duties and charges having

equivalent effect 6.1.1.2. The system of the Common Customs Tariff 6.1.2. Abolition of quantitative restrictions and removal

of measures with equivalent effect 6.2. The free movement of persons 6.2.1. The free movement of economically active,

wage-earning persons 6.2.1.1. The free movement of workers 6.2.1.2. The freedom of establishment 6.2.2. The free movement of non-economically active persons 6.3. The freedom to provide services 6.3.1. The definition of services in EU law 6.3.2. The prohibition on discrimination, the question

of educational qualifications and the exceptions

to the freedom to provide services 6.3.3. The liberalisation of the free movement of services

in practice 6.4. The free movement of capital 6.4.1. The realisation of the free movement of capital 6.4.2. Exceptions to the free movement of capital 6.5. The internal market and taxation

9 226 230 232 234 237 237 238

243 244 244 245 245 246 249 250 250 252 255 257 257 259 260 263 263 264 264

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Contents

Chapter 7: The budget of the European Union 7.1. Features of the Union budget 7.2. Structure of the European Union’s budget 7.2.1. The revenue of the budget 7.2.2. Expenditure of the budget 7.3. Budgetary debates and multiannual financial frameworks 7.3.1. The key issues of budgetary debates 7.3.2. Managing budgetary debates: the system of multiannual

financial frameworks 7.3.3. The Delors I and Delors II packages 7.3.4. The financial provisions of Agenda 2000 7.3.5. The European Union’s financial framework for the

period 2007-2013 7.3.5.1. The Commission’s proposal 7.3.5.2. The agreed financial framework

268 268 270 271 273 276 276 279 280 283 289 289 292

PART II

THE INTERNAL POLICIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Chapter 8: The economic and monetary union 8.1. The evolution of monetary integration 8.2. The European Monetary System 8.3. The Delors Plan 8.4. The advantages of the single currency 8.5. The Treaty of Maastricht and the EMU 8.6. The EMU after Maastricht – the introduction of the euro 8.6.1. Difficulties after the Treaty of Maastricht 8.6.2. Decision about the euro and the timetable of its introduction 8.6.3. The third stage and the introduction of the single currency 8.7. The operating framework of the economic and monetary union 8.8. The impact of the global financial and economic crisis on

the functioning of the EMU – the beginnings of economic

governance at the European level

305 305 306 308 309 310 313 313 314 315 320 328

Contents

Chapter 9: Competition policy 9.1. The reasons for establishing competition rules at Union level 9.2. Union competition rules applying to undertakings 9.2.1. Prohibition of agreements and other concerted practices

distorting competition 9.2.2. Prohibition of abuses of dominant positions 9.2.3. The control of concentrations of undertakings 9.3. Union competition rules applying to Member States 9.3.1. Union competition rules applying to state aids 9.3.2. Union competition rules applying to public enterprises

Chapter 10: T he Common Agricultural Policy and the Common Fisheries Policy 10.1. Establishment of the Common Agricultural Policy 10.2. Agricultural market organisation in the first thirty years of

the CAP 10.3. Results and problems of the CAP in its first three decades 10.4. The 1992 CAP reform 10.5. A new reform of the CAP – Agricultural provisions

of Agenda 2000 10.6. Eastern enlargement and the Common Agricultural Policy 10.7. The agricultural reform of 2003 10.8. The Common Agricultural Policy from 2007 to 2013 10.9. The Common Fisheries Policy

11

336 336 338 338 339 340 341 341 343

345 345 347 348 350 354 357 361 366 369

Chapter 11: T he Common Transport Policy and trans-European networks

374

11.1. Developing a Common Transport Policy 11.2. Objectives of the Common Transport Policy 11.3. The trans-European networks programme

374 376 378

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Contents

Chapter 12: R egional policy – Economic, social and territorial cohesion in the EU 382 12.1. The evolution and development of the policy of economic,

social and territorial cohesion 12.2. The operation of the Structural and Cohesion Funds before 1999 12.3. The Structural and Cohesion Funds between 2000 and 2006 12.4. The Structural and Cohesion Funds between 2007 and 2013

Chapter 13: Employment and social policy

13.1. The development of social policy 13.2. Employment moves to the foreground – The effect of

the Treaty of Amsterdam 13.3. The framework for coordinating social and employment policies 13.4. New directions in EU employment and social policy

Chapter 14: Industrial and enterprise policy 14.1. Development of industrial policy 14.2. Industrial policy in the new millennium – from industrial policy

to enterprise policy

Chapter 15: Research and technological development policy 15.1. The evolution of research and technological development policy 15.2. Research and technological development policy in the

21st century

Chapter 16: Energy policy 16.1. The evolution of EU energy policy 16.2. Institutionalising energy policy and taking it to a new level

Chapter 17: Environmental policy 17.1. Development of the Union’s environmental policy 17.2. Instruments of EU environmental policy

382 388 391 399

406 406 408 411 414

422 422 426

433 433 435

443 443 449

458 458 460

Contents

17.2.1. Environmental legislation 17.2.2. Environmental action programmes 17.2.2.1. The Fifth Environmental Action Programme 17.2.2.2. The Sixth Environmental Action Programme 17.2.3. The European Environment Agency 17.2.4. Financial instruments 17.2.5. Integrated action against climate change

Chapter 18: Consumer policy 18.1. The evolution and the operating framework of consumer policy 18.2. Consumer policy in the 21st century

Chapter 19: Public health policy 19.1. The framework of public health policy 19.2. The main trends of action in the field of public health

Chapter 20: Education, vocational training, youth and sport policies 20.1. The framework of education, vocational training,

youth and sport policies 20.2. The functioning of education, vocational training and youth policy 20.3. Creating an EU sport policy

Chapter 21: Cultural and audiovisual policy 21.1. EU cultural policy 21.2. EU audiovisual policy

Chapter 22: J ustice and home affairs in the European Union – the area of freedom, security and justice

13 460 462 463 463 464 465 466

471 471 474

478 478 480

483 483 485 493

496 496 500

505

22.1. The beginnings of cooperation in justice and home affairs:

the third pillar of Maastricht 505 22.2. The Schengen Agreement and the Schengen acquis 507

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Contents

22.3. The Treaty of Amsterdam: an overhaul of the third pillar,

‘Communitising’ a part of the cooperation in justice and home affairs 22.3.1. Justice and home affairs questions transferred into

the first pillar 22.3.2. Incorporating the Schengen acquis into the framework

of the European Union 22.3.3. Police and Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters –

the third pillar after the Amsterdam Treaty 22.4. Building an area of freedom, security and justice after Amsterdam 22.5. The provisions of the Treaty of Nice affecting justice and home affairs 22.6. The creation of an area of freedom, security and justice 22.7. Reforms introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon

510 511 512 512 514 516 517 524

PART III

THE EXTERNAL POLICIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Chapter 23: C ommon trade policy and the EU’s external relations 531 23.1. The weight of the European Union in the world economy 23.2. The functioning of the Common Trade Policy of the

European Union 23.3. The conclusion of international agreements 23.4. The external relations of the European Union 23.4.1. Characteristics of the EU’s multilateral external relations 23.4.2. The system of agreements defining the bilateral external

relations of the EU 23.4.2.1. Association agreements and preferential arrangements 23.4.2.2. Other special relations 23.4.2.3. Neighbourhood policy

532 533 537 539 540 541 541 546 551

Contents

Chapter 24: Development cooperation and humanitarian aid 24.1. The evolution of development cooperation policy and its

operating framework 24.2. Development cooperation and humanitarian aid under the

Treaty of Lisbon

15

554 554 557

Chapter 25: T he Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy 559 25.1. The evolution of cooperation in the field of foreign and security policy 25.2. Second pillar of the Maastricht Treaty: establishing the

Common Foreign and Security Policy 25.3. The novelties of the Amsterdam Treaty 25.4. Key issues of the Common Foreign and Security Policy

after Amsterdam 25.5. The birth of a European Security and Defence Policy 25.6. The reforms introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon 25.7. The current framework of the Common Foreign and

Security Policy 25.8. The Common Security and Defence Policy in practice –

military and civilian missions of the Union

559 560 564 567 570 579 584 588

PART IV

THE ENLARGEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Chapter 26: Enlargement policy 26.1. The institutionalisation of relations with the countries of

Central and Eastern Europe 26.2. The conditions and procedures for accession 26.2.1. The Copenhagen criteria 26.2.2. The accession procedure for new Member States 26.2.3. Accession negotiations – An Outline 26.3. Eastern enlargement – from 15 to 27 Member States

593 593 599 599 600 601 604

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Contents

26.3.1. From the Copenhagen criteria to the opening

of accession negotiations 26.3.2. The accession negotiations of Eastern enlargement 26.3.3. The enlargement of 1 May 2004 26.3.4. The enlargement of 1 January 2007 26.4. Continuing enlargement 26.4.1. Turkey 26.4.2. The Western Balkans 26.4.3. Iceland 26.4.4. Pre-accession funding 26.4.5. Is the door still open?

604 612 623 625 628 628 632 636 638 638

ABBREVIATIONS AND GLOSSARY OF TERMS Abbreviations 643 Glossary of terms

647

Bibliography 705

17

INTRODUCTION Copies of the former editions of the Handbook on the European Union published in English, French, Hungarian and Slovak have made their way to the bookshelves of many readers wishing to know more about European integration. Much to my delight, it has proved to be useful for politicians, public officials, journalists, students and even the general public. The Handbook, promoted and disseminated among others by the European Commission and the Hungarian Parliament, has become a standard part of the curriculum in many universities and colleges. The English and Slovak editions were published with the financial assistance of the European Commission while, for the first French edition, I am grateful for the support of the French Institute.

This book aims to assist the work of practitioners dealing with the EU in their daily work, but hopefully it can also serve as a course book in its own right. I wanted to compile a book that could meet the expectations of all those interested in European integration from the legal, economic or political perspective. By attempting to incorporate all of these three aspects, I have aimed to provide a comprehensive view of the European Union, to help readers understand the motives of EU actions and decisions, the reasons behind the achievements and potential failures of integration, and the future direction of the EU. During the writing of this book, I have been able to draw inspiration from my experience as a lecturer at universities, colleges and EU training courses in several countries inside and outside the EU for public officials, journalists, teachers, entrepreneurs and students, whose questions and feedback keep me in touch with real needs, in particular in respect of those areas of European integration which are the most obscure to the average reader. That may be one of the reasons why the book has become such a popular reference book for people preparing for recruitment competitions (concours) of the EU institutions.

The Handbook aims to help readers consolidate their understanding of the ins and outs of how the European Union functions and provide a solid foundation for future experts in European affairs. The book devotes special attention to the most topical and controversial issues, therefore each chapter is thoroughly revised and updated before a new edition is published to reflect the latest development in European integration.

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Introduction

The main novelty of this fourth edition in English is that it describes how the Union functions with the Treaty reforms now in effect. With about 18 months having passed since the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, it is now possible to see more clearly what impact the new Treaty has had on the daily operation of the EU. The book also sets out recent policy reforms from the Union’s response to the financial and economic crisis to farm policy reforms, from the EU assuming an increased international role to its dynamically evolving energy policy. This book is meant for those who wish to deepen their knowledge of the functioning of the European Union and ongoing policy debates, who want to have an overview of the EU’s institutional and legal architecture, who seek a clear explanation to why European integration remains so obscure and complicated. The Handbook aims to present the latest trends and developments in all policy areas from justice and home affairs to economic and monetary policy, from culture to public health, from social policy to the environment, from foreign policy to trade.

The Handbook is divided into four main parts. Part One provides a comprehensive introduction to the history and evolution of the European Union as well as the legal, institutional, decision-making and budgetary arrangements underpinning the EU’s functioning. Part Two focuses on the general framework, objectives and functioning of the Union’s internal policies, while Part Three does the same for external policies.

Part Four is devoted to the issue of enlargement. These four parts are followed by a Glossary of Terms, containing brief definitions of 400 key concepts, which will hopefully be a useful guide to EU terminology and may even serve as a stand-alone pocket reference book. In order to ensure that searching the Glossary is fast and user-friendly, terms that have an entry of their own are printed in italics in the text of the definitions.

I am grateful to Réka Somssich and Tamás Számadó, who have proofread the present and previous Hungarian editions. I owe special thanks to Ros and Tom Glaser, whose immense help and devotion in proofreading the consecutive English editions was instrumental to the publishing of this volume. Special acknowledgements go to the translator Péter Szűcs, for his meticulous work.

I genuinely hope that this book will prove to be useful in disseminating information about European integration and will thereby contribute to a better understanding of the opportunities that the European Union has to offer.

The author

PART I

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, ITS STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONING

21

CHAPTER 1

HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION 1.1. The issue of integration in Europe after the Second World War Many are inclined to identify the concept of an integrated Europe with the present form of European integration – the European Union. However the idea of united European states is rooted in common European thinking much earlier, and its emergence cannot be attributed exclusively to the political and economic conditions that prevailed in the period after World War II. Various idealistic concepts had been formulated before in the works of artists, philosophers and scientists, including Dante, Comenius, Erasmus of Rotterdam, or Immanuel Kant. As early as 1849, Victor Hugo used the term ‘United States of Europe’ to indicate a goal to be aimed at by each European country. Viewing the early stages of industrialisation, SaintSimon, on the other hand, also studied the economic and technical conditions of European integration, pointing out the need for establishing a comprehensive European organisation, a kind of European Parliament.

Then, in the first half of the 20th century, several plans were put forward to realise European unity in an institutionalised form. In this respect, special mention should be made of Richard Coudenhove Calergi, born in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, who published his book entitled “Pan-Europa” in 1923. The book lists concrete proposals for uniting Europe. The “Pan-European Movement”, organised on the basis of his work in the 1920s, formulated a concept of economic integration as well.

Yet, a basis for actually creating an institutionalised Europe was provided through the lessons learned from the destruction caused by World War II. It was then that many realised that cooperation created on a loose inter-governmental basis, similar to that of the League of Nations which operated between the two world wars, could not provide a sufficient guarantee for peaceful coexistence and the development of the states of Europe. The League of Nations failed to draw together European states either politically, economically, or culturally, and, as a result of its weakness as an institution for one thing, even failed to prevent the most horrible war in the history of Europe from happening. This failure showed that Member States do not look upon an organisation operating without supra-national control and based on loose inter-governmental relations as a guarantee of sustainable cooperation.

Furthermore, it became evident that if a state finds that its national interests are

22

Chapter 1: History and development of European integration

better served if cooperation is called off and even if a war is launched, it may not hesitate to do so.

Also, the western part of the Europe that was divided after World War II, realised quite early that the old continent would be able to increase its largely diminished political and economic weight and influence in the nascent bipolar arrangement of the world only through integration. Regional economic cooperation appeared indispensable for the development of the countries of Europe with their fragmented national markets, and also for regaining and strengthening their position in the world economy. In addition, economic cooperation was necessary, in the face of the restructuring of the world economy and the competitive advantage of the United States (market scale, technological level, etc.), as well as for the sake of technological and structural modernisation.

Thus, following the devastation brought about by the World War, politicians in Western Europe started to discuss the feasibility, rather than the necessity, of integration. The main issue was whether a political, military or economic orientation, or a combination thereof, was needed to preserve peace in Europe and enable the countries of Europe to recover; also, it had to be determined which countries would take part in the unfolding process of integration.

After 1945, the idea of unity became so popular that various movements aimed at European integration were formed one after the other in nearly every European country, except those controlled by the Soviet Union. The development of the idea of European unity is evidenced by the fact that parties belonging to differing political families started to set up their European organisations with the aim of creating a federal Europe.

A feature shared by the various national and international movements was the intention to create a united Europe on the basis of a common system of institutions.

These ideas centred around a federalism that included, directly or indirectly, the establishment of a European system of institutions on a supranational basis.

Many European governments, however, appeared reluctant to take a definitive step in this direction and took a standpoint that preferred looser cooperation primarily based on inter-governmental cooperation, in line with the tradition of policy making by nation-states. This was the approach taken in the setting up of the Council of Europe on 5 May 1949 by ten countries of Western Europe. The Council of Europe, however, did not represent a bloc aiming at integration in terms of competence, operation or activities; rather, it appeared to be a regional international organisation in the traditional sense.

Chapter 1: History and development of European integration

23

The Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE) was established by 10 countries of Western Europe (Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom) in London on 5 May 1949. Later on, practically all Western and Southern European countries with a democratic establishment joined the Council of Europe, and then, after the communist systems had collapsed, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe also joined the organisation, to be followed by Ukraine, Russia and other republics of the former Soviet Union. With further ex-Soviet and ex-Yugoslav republics joining, the membership of the Council of Europe has grown to 47. Belarus is the only European country not admitted to the Council of Europe (while the Vatican has observer status).

The Council of Europe is a regional inter-governmental organisation with the following main aims: strengthening pluralist democracy, maintaining the rule of law, protecting human rights, promoting and developing a European cultural identity, and seeking solutions to problems facing society. The activity of the Council of Europe is best characterised by the nearly 200 Conventions elaborated by the Council, predominantly dealing with issues concerning human rights and various aspects of society and culture, including, for example, the European Convention on Human Rights (‘Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms’), the European Social Charter, the Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, all of which have become part of national law following their ratification by the Member States. The headquarters of the Council of Europe is in Strasbourg. Its main bodies include the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly, and the Secretariat headed by the Secretary General.

An important role is fulfilled by the European Court of Human Rights – often referred to as the ‘Strasbourg court’ – established within the framework of the European Convention on Human Rights, which represents the highest judicial forum for the protection of human rights in Europe.

Of the Western European countries, it was the United Kingdom, with its colonial and commonwealth interests still playing an important role, that did not intend to join an organisation aimed at integration in which national sovereignty was restricted through the operation of supranational institutions. On the other hand, other countries – the Benelux states, for example – promoted the idea of the establishment of an organisation based on economic cooperation to realise mutual interests.

Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg had already decided to set up the Benelux Union in 1944, which was created in 1948. The cooperation between the Benelux states represented real integration, rather than a mere customs union.

24

Chapter 1: History and development of European integration

By 1949, the problem of what to do with Germany – a question on the table since the end of World War II – had become crucial. The Americans – in an attempt to counterbalance the expansion of the Russian sphere of influence – considered the military strengthening of West Germany as an increasingly urgent task, while France and the other Western European allies were reluctant to support this measure for lack of appropriate safety guarantees. It was clear that resolving French-German relations was a critical issue for the future of Europe. Promoters of the idea of a European Union were convinced that the resolution of the century-old GermanFrench conflict was a precondition for creating a common Europe.

For the French, fear of a new German recovery raised the issue of how Germany and its strength could be controlled, since the alternative of taking punitive revenge had obviously failed after World War I. Promoters of a unified Europe saw a guarantee for building a peaceful and strong Europe through institutions with a supranational character that could embrace France and Germany alike.

Considerable impetus for the acceleration of Western European integration was stimulated by developments taking place in Central and Eastern Europe. Following World War II, the establishment of single-party states and communist regimes in countries occupied by the Soviet Union proceeded at high speed. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe falling under Soviet orientation attempted to split away from the democratic orientation of Western European countries from a political and also economic perspective. Finally, the economic division of Europe was institutionalised through the Marshall Plan1 of 1947. After the countries of Central and Eastern Europe under Soviet influence and the Soviet Union itself rejected the aid, the participating countries of Western, Northern and Southern Europe, together with the United States, established the OEEC (Organisation for European Economic Cooperation) in 1948.

Its aim was to promote European trade, economic stability and development, and also to coordinate and distribute assistance received from America under the Marshall Plan. In 1961, the OEEC was redesigned considerably in terms of its objectives and operation: it converted from a European organisation of reconstruction into a cooperation organisation for the industrialised countries. Thus, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) was created.

1

The Marshall Plan, named after Secretary of State of the United States of America George C. Marshall, was initially proposed as an American aid package offered by the USA to all European states for reconstruction after the war. However, the Marshall Aid was utilised only by countries of Western, Northern and Southern Europe, while countries of Central and Eastern Europe under Soviet influence rejected the plan on the instructions of the Soviet Union.