What is the nature of the EU as a political entity?

What is the EU?

According to our friend Nigel, "This EU is the New Communism. It is Power without Limits. It is creating a tide of human misery and the sooner it is swept away the better." But not everyone sees it that way. Liberals see the EU as an unique and positive international organisation, as it allows states to remain independent sovereign nations while allowing them to pool their sovereignty to gain strength and influence over global politics. Influence that none of the member states could have achieved on their own.

Origins of the EU

The idea of closer European integration was around long before 1945, but until after the second world war this ideas were dismissed as Utopian. The aftermath of the war created a situation in which a European process of integration could occur, what Churchill termed a "United States of Europe". For example, the need for economic reconstruction which cooperation and a larger market would accommodate. Safeguarding Europe from Soviet expansionism was also a key aim alongside economic cooperation. The US advocated European integration on the grounds of preventing the spread of communism- but also to have a united Europe as a market for goods. 

How has the EU developed?

Jean Monnet and Jacques Delors are the two influential federalists who initiated major steps towards a federal Europe. They were committed to creating a European political entity that effectively dealt with the common interests of member states and their citizens. Monnet was responsible for drafting the Schuman declaration, which proposed the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community. The ECSC gave way to the EEC, the EC, and eventually the EU. There have been other changes as well, such as the creation of a single market, monetary union, and the establishment of the EU as a single legal entity through the 2009 Lisbon Treaty. Most significantly, the EU has experienced a process of widening, in that it has grown from 6 member states (France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, Netherlands) to 28- the last being Croatia which joined in 2013. It has also deepened in that waves of intergration have transferred some decision making powers from member states to EU bodies.

Nature of the EU?

The image of the EU is one of both intergovernmentalism and supranationalism. While the 'Luxembourg compromise' of 1966 ensured each member state could veto decisions that would threaten vital national interests, there are supranational elements within the union. For example, EU law is binding on all member states- surpassing national law.

While figures such as Thatcher (who, as we all know, I have the utmost respect for...) have resisted cooperation that goes beyond intergovernmental decision making (for various reasons e.g. the belief that democracy is only feasible within the nation state and not beyond it) the fact is the EU has grown beyond your typical intergovernmental organisation- although it is not quite the "United States of Europe".