CURRENT CHALLENGES TO EU GOVERNANCE

CURRENT CHALLENGES TO EU GOVERNANCE Ireneusz Paweł Karolewski Course Outline: Unit description This unit gives an overview of current challenges to EU governance. As a first step, the course introduces the students to the key concepts and controversies discussed in the study of European integration. Next, it discusses the institutional set-up, main actors and decisionmaking in the EU; in particular it takes a closer look at the relationship between the EU institutions and the power relations between the actors. In addition, the unit outlines various theoretical debates in the study of the European integration that provide useful tools for the analysis of EU politics and policies. Afterwards, the course explores in more detail some relevant policy fields of the EU, highlighting the controversies present in these areas. These areas include the economic governance of the EU, the EU s security and defense policies as well as Justice and Home Affairs. Against this backdrop, the unit engages with the current challenges to EU governance emphasizing those linked to the EU s future developments. The challenges include centrifugal politics in the EU, the external governance of the EU and European identity. The goal of the course is to provide an introduction to analytical tools useful for the exploration of current developments in the EU on the one hand and to engage students with the current challenges the EU is facing, in particular regarding institutions, policies and legitimacy of the EU, on the other. Core reading: 1. D. Dinan (2010) Ever Closer Union: An Introduction to European Integration, 4th ed. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Pub. 2. H. Wallace, M.A. Pollack and A. R. Young (eds.) (2010) Policy-Making in the European Union, 6th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 3. S. Hix and B. Høyland (2011) The Political System of the European Union, 3rd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. SEMINAR SCHEDULE Week 1: Key concepts and current controversies in the study of European integration: What is it all about? First, the tutor will introduce the content of the course, present the unit program and distribute the oral presentations. The students will have the opportunity to ask questions about the course and clarify expectations about the oral presentations and the literature involved. Second, the seminar will include an introductory lecture on key concepts and current controversies in the study of European integration. Among other things, the lecture will cover concepts such as sovereignty, hegemony, governing without government, polity sui generis, federalism and political integration. After the lecture, students will have the opportunity to discuss the issues at hand. Questions: What key concepts are used in the study of European integration? To what extent 1

can these concepts explain the reality of the EU politics? What are the major dilemmas and pitfalls of European integration discussed in the scholarship? What are the present controversies and debates in EU politics and in the study of EU politics? 1. G. Majone (2005) Dilemmas of European Integration: The Ambiguities & Pitfalls of Integration by Stealth, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2. S. Hix (2008) What s wrong with the European Union & How to fix it, Cambridge: Polity Press. Week 2: Actors, institutions and the decision-making processes of the European Union: Who are the key players? This seminar will give an overview of actors and EU institutions, while it will focus on the relationship between them. Furthermore, it will discuss the decision-making process in the EU, in particular the changes provided for by the Lisbon Treaty (2007) regarding the power relations between the actors. In addition, it will problematize the institutional and political developments after the Nice Treaty (2000) and the Eastern enlargement of the EU (2004). In particular, the seminar will discuss aspects of decision-making in the EU after the Lisbon Treaty. Questions: What is the institutional set-up of the EU? How are the EU institutions interrelated? What is the decision-making process in the EU? What are the characteristics of the qualified vs. double majority? Are large Member States becoming more powerful in the EU? 1. J. McCormick (2011) Understanding the European Union: A Concise Introduction, 5th ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, chapter 4. 2. A. Moberg (2013) Is the double majority really double? The voting rules in the Lisbon Treaty, in M.A. Cichocki and K. Zyczkowski (eds.) Institutional Design and Voting Power in the European Union, Aldershot: Ashgate, 19 34. Week 3: Theoretical debates in the study of European integration: Do we really need a grand theory of European integration? This seminar introduces the students to the debate between intergovernmentalism and neofunctionalism. Next, it will focus on Andrew Moravcsik s liberal intergovernmentalism and multilevel governance approach as the newer version of the controversy. The seminar will also discuss the explanatory power of both theories and point to their difficulties in explaining the current EU politics and accounting for the legitimacy problems of the EU. Furthermore, the seminar will focus on more recent theoretical debates involving expert decision-making and deliberation processes in the EU. Questions: What is the core of the intergovernmentalism-neofunctionalism controversy? What are the features of the liberal intergovernmentalism and the EU multilevel governance? What are the potentials and problems of the expert decision-making in the EU? What theories are useful for the explanation of EU governance? 1. A. Moravcsik (1998) The Choice for Europe, Boulder: Cornell University Press, chapter 1. 2. L. Hooghe and G. Marks (2001) Multi-Level Governance and European Integration, Lanham, 2

Rowman & Littlefield, chapter 1. 3. I.P. Karolewski (2011) Pathologies of Deliberation in the European Union European Law Journal 17 (1). Week 4: Economic governance in the EU: New economic institutions as a remedy for the crisis? This seminar will discuss the key aspects of the Single Market and the Economic and Monetary Union, in particular since the introduction of the euro. Furthermore, the seminar will look at the new institutions that have emerged since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2008, including the European Fiscal Compact, the European Stability Mechanism and the emerging Banking Union. The seminar will focus on Member States diverging ideas about the relationship between the market and the government in the EU and discuss the tension between the Eurozone members and the remaining Member States. Questions: What are the origins of the EU s Single Market and the Economic and Monetary Union? What is the role of the European Central Bank and other institutions in the EU s economic policy? What new institutions have been established as a response to the economic crisis? What clusters of states are building within and outside the Eurozone and how does this influence economic governance of the EU? 1. S. Hix (2005) Economic and Monetary Union in The Political System of the European Union, Basingstoke: Palgrave. 2. D. Adamski (2012) National power games and structural failures in the European macroeconomic governance, Common Market Law Review 49(4), 1319 1364. 3. D. Adamski (2013) Europe s (misguided) constitution of economic prosperity, Common Market Law Review 50(1), 47 86. Week 5: The EU s Justice and Home Affairs: Domestic security or human rights? This seminar will discuss the field of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) of the EU, in particular the developments after 9/11. It will look at the controversial issues concerning the citizenship, migration and counterterrorist policies of the EU. Especially, it will explore the tensions in the areas surrounding homeland security on the one hand and human rights on the other. Moreover, it will analyze the institutional and legislative dynamics of JHA and engage with the controversies including the executive escape thesis. Questions: What are the dynamics of JHA after 9/11? What are the institutional and legislative developments in this area? What type of controversies is present in the EU s immigration policy? What is the EU s involvement in policy on terrorism? Is there an executive escape from democratic accountability in this area? 1. J. Monar (2013) Justice and Home Affairs, Journal of Common Market Studies 51, Annual Review, 124 138. 2. I.P. Karolewski (2012), Caesarean citizenship and its anti-civic potential in the European Union, in I.P. Karolewski and V. Kaina, Civic resources and the future of the European Union, London: Routledge. 3

Week 6: The EU s Security and Defence Policy: Defence (In)capabilities of the EU? This seminar will look at the developments and the main challenges in the EU s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). In particular, it will focus on the uneasy relationship between the defense capabilities of the EU in relationship to NATO. The seminar discusses various EU missions abroad and attempts to evaluate if they can be viewed as successful. It will also ask about the role of the traditional military threats in the CSDP including the Russian Federation. Questions: What are the origins of the CSDP? How successful are the CSDP missions? What is the decision-making process in the CSDP? What is the relationship between the EU and NATO in this area? What traditional military threats are framed in the CSDP? 1. M. Wilga and I.P. Karolewski (eds.) (2014) New Approaches to EU Foreign Policy, London: Routledge. 2. C.J. Bickerton, B. Irondelle and A. Menon (2011) Security Cooperation beyond the Nation State: the EU s Common Security and Defence Policy Journal of Common Market Studies 49(1), 1 21. Week 7: Centrifugal politics in the EU: Integration or disintegration? This seminar introduces the students to the sub-state dynamics of European integration. It will discuss both the phenomenon of regional minority nationalism and political initiatives resulting from increasing difficulties in relating to the EU s processes of political, economic and societal integration. The seminar will focus on three types of centrifugal politics that have recently gained particular strength: re-nationalization in the context of a multispeed Europe; reinforced regional self-governance movements from Scotland to Catalonia, from Flanders to Upper Silesia and social movements or parties contesting the accountability and legitimacy of the EU s political establishment. Questions: What are the types of centrifugal politics in the EU? What are the cases of regional minority nationalism in the old and new Member States? What are the difficulties of citizens in relating to European integration? What are the new social movements and political parties challenging the EU? 1. M. Keating (2013) Rescaling the European State: The Making of Territory and the Rise of the Meso, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2. I.P. Karolewski and A.M. Suszycki (2007) Nationalism and European integration, New York: Continuum, chapter 12. Week 8: Central and Eastern Europe in the EU: New role or marginalization? The seminar deals with the role of the Central and Eastern European countries in the EU. It will begin by discussing the Eastern enlargement of the EU and point to the problèmatique of simultaneous political/economic transition and regional integration. Afterwards, it will explore the 4

role of the CEE Member States in EU politics nowadays. In particular, the seminar will discuss the controversy surrounding the image of old and new Europe as well as the impact of CEE on the internal and external functioning of the EU. Questions: What was the rationale for the EU Eastern enlargement? What are the characteristics of the CEE countries joining the EU? What is the difference between the Southern and the Eastern EU enlargement? What were the controversies surrounding the accession negotiations? What is the role of CEE in current EU politics? 1. C.J. Schneider (2009) Conflict, Negotiation and European Union Enlargement, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, chapters 2 and 3. 2. I.P. Karolewski, T. Mehlhausen and M. Sus (eds.) (2014) Poland s EU-Council Presidency under Evaluation: Navigating Europe Through Stormy Waters, Baden-Baden: Nomos, chapter 1. Week 9: The external governance: The transformation potential of the EU revisited. The seminar deals with the ability of the EU to transform countries in its neighborhood, in terms of liberalization, democratization and Europeanization. It looks at the expected effects of European integration beyond the EU including the transfer of EU rules to third countries as well as the promotion of democracy and human rights. Special attention will be given to the Union for the Mediterranean and to the Eastern Partnership of the EU. Regarding the latter, the seminar will deal with its geostrategic dimension (including Russian countermeasures regarding Ukraine, Armenia, Moldova), inconsistent impact of the EU (the rise of authoritarianism in Ukraine, liberalization in Georgia, resistance to democratization in Azerbaijan) and civil society aspects thereof (e.g. pro-european societal mobilization in Ukraine). Questions: 1) What are the main expectations regarding the EU s external governance? Which tools and policies have been used for external governance to date? What are the specifics of the Union for the Mediterranean and the Eastern Partnership? How successful has the EU s Neighborhood Policy been so far? 1. T. Börzel and K. Böttger (eds.) (2012) Policy Change in the EU s Immediate Neighborhood: A Comparison in Practice, Baden-Baden: Nomos. 2. T. Dietz, M. Albert and S. Stetter (2006) The European Union and Border Conflicts: The Transformative Power of Integration, International Organization 60 (3), 563 593. 3. I.P. Karolewski, (2011) European identity making and identity transfer, Europe-Asia Studies 63(6): 935 955. Week 10: European identity: What holds the EU together? The seminar deals with the notion of European identity, viewed by some scholars as cement for the EU in times of crisis. It looks at the problems of disagreement between European citizens and their elites as well as the lack of a European demos. In addition, the seminar discusses the expected functions of collective identity including the legitimation function and solution of collective dilemmas. Here, two perspectives pertaining to these functions are depicted: first, the issue of European public space and second, the integrative workings of European citizenship. 5

Against this background, the relevance of European identity will be discussed in the context of EU politics. Questions: How has the European identity been framed both by the EU itself and EU scholars? What conditions does European identity need to fulfill to cement the EU? What are the expected functions of a European identity? What are the structural problems of the collective identity in Europe today? 1. T. Risse (2010) A Community of Europeans? Transnational Identities and Public Spheres, Boulder: Cornell University Press. 2. I.P. Karolewski (2010) Citizenship and Collective Identity in Europe, London: Routledge. 3. N. Fligstein (2008) Euroclash: The EU, European Identity and the Future of Europe, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 6