What is EU? [III]

(… continued)

The European Union is not an intergovernmental organization

Intergovernmental organizations are bodies that promote voluntary cooperation and coordination between or among its members. Intergovernmental organizations have very little (if any) decision-making autonomy and cannot enforce their will on member states. Examples of intergovernmental organizations: the UN, NATO, the Council of Europe.
The differences between the EU and intergovernmental organizations are:
- The EU has more developed and complex institutional structure than intergovernmental organizations. The model of Intergovernmental organizations’ secretariats and delegations can be recognized, in a much more elaborated form, in the EU Commission and the Permanent Representations, but there are many other characteristics, such as: the regular and frequent meetings at the highest political levels between representatives of the member states; the constant and varied forms of contact between national representatives; the Court of Justice; and the European Parliament – the only directly elected multi-state assembly in the world.
- No intergovernmental organization has anything like the policy responsibilities of the EU. In terms of breath, few significant policy areas have completely escaped the EU’s attention. In terms of depth, the pattern varies, but in many important areas, such as external trade, agriculture, and competition policy, key initiating and decision – making powers have been transferred from the member states to the EU authorities.
- The EU has progressed far beyond the intergovernmental nature of intergovernmental organizations to incorporate many supranational characteristics into its structure and operation.

*The EU may thus be thought of as being, in many important respects, less than a state but much more than an intergovernmental organization.

The EU is not a supranational organization

… even there are several supranational EU bodies and policies.

There is a conflict between supranationalism and intergovernmentalism regarding the EU future . Despite broad acceptance of the supranational principle, national governments have been reluctant to cede control over all policy areas to EU institutions. A supranational organization is different because member states surrender power in specific areas to the higher organization. Decisions taken by a supranational organization must be obeyed by the member states. Often there are courts to determine when violations have occurred, although frequently enforcement mechanisms are not as effective as they are within nation states
Because countries were hesitant to surrender any control over national affairs, most of the practical proposals for supranational organizations assumed that economic integration would precede political unification.
The development of three distinct EU pillars reflects this conflict: Member states have declined to yield national control to supranational institutions over politically sensitive areas such as foreign policy and judicial affairs.
The three pillars are
1. The first or ‘Community’ pillar concerns economic, social and environmental policies.
2. The second or ‘Common Foreign and Security Policy’ (CFSP) pillar concerns foreign policy and military matters.
3. The third or ‘Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters’ (PJCC) pillar concerns co-operation in the fight against crime. This pillar was originally named ‘Justice and Home Affairs’.

In the first pillar we find the supranational elements of the EU. Initially, these mainly involved economic policy, but since have expanded to include aspects of social policy, immigration policy, and education. The first pillar contains aspects of both economic and political integration.
In the second and third pillar we find the intergovernmental elements of the EU. The member states of the EU cooperate to formulate common foreign policy and security policy. They also cooperate in justice and home-affairs. In these areas, the members of the European Union retain their authority and autonomy. In other words, if only 26 of 27 member states agree on a foreign policy, the remaining state can choose to pursue its own policy.

*In economic and other areas, the EU is supranational and in most other areas, such as the military and foreign policy the EU is intergovernmental, both of these elements exist in the European Union.

(to be continued)