1. The European Union A Layperson’s Introduction Laura Brunell, Ph.D.
Department of Political Science
Gonzaga University

2. Why a European Union?

3. Europe’s Bloody 20th Century

4. The Context of EU Origins: Post WWII Europe
Initiative of French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman
Proposes Coal and Steel Customs Union
1951: Treaty of Paris
Forms the European Coal and Steel Community
6 member states:
France
Germany
Italy
BeNeLux countries

5. From the ECSC to the European Union: Deepening Integration
1957: Treaty of Rome forms the European Economic Communities
1963 The Common Agricultural Policy
1986 The Single Market
1992 The Treaty on the Europe Union (Maastricht)
Includes timeline for Monetary Union (the Euro)
Common Foreign and Security Policy
Justice and Home Affairs

6. Expansion of the EU: Widening
1951
1973

7. Expansion of the EU: Widening
1981
1986

8. Expansion of the EU: Widening
1995
2004

9. Expansion of the EU: Widening
2007
2011: Candidate Countries

10. What kind of entity is the European Union?
Intergovernmental AND Supranational
i.e., in some issues Nation-States still rule (have a veto over joint EU action)
in other issues (mainly economic ones) member states have ceded state sovereignty to the EU level
Overtime, more issues decided supranationally

11. Qualified Majority Voting
Weighted by population size
Treaty of Lisbon
As of 2014
Double majority
55% of member states
Representing 65% of EU population

12. What does the EU do? Econonics
Single Market
Common Trade Policies
External Relations
Trade and development assistance with former colonies
The Euro/Eurozone
Not for UK, DK, SE
Recently admitted countries will join

13. What does the EU do? Europeanization of Identity
Cultural promotion, especially of regions and regional products
Programs like Erasmus to encourage exchange of young people, acculturation to “Europeanness”

14. How European do Europeans Feel?
Most still feel strongest attachment to their region, then their nation, then Europe
Varies by country
Germans feel more European
Central Europeans feel more European
Brits feel less European

15. Euroskeptics European Integration has its share of critics
Argue it is an elite driven fantasy
Capitalist conspiracy (neo-liberalism)

16. Europhiles
Europhiles point to the EU’s success in creating economic growth
A currency union
Unprecedented levels of cooperation among European nations
Positive influence on the democratization of Central Eastern Europe