Title: THE EUROPEAN UNION
1CHAPTER 10
2EU PRISMs
- Is it a mistake for Europe to try to integrate so
many different ethnic groups religions? - Should all EU members play by the same rules
standards? - Should EU leaders be elected by EU citizens?
3- Can nationalism play a constructive role in the
world? - To what extent do governments owe their citizens
social welfare benefits? - Should economically weak nations be excluded from
free trade agreements?
4THE EU VISION
5- Is the EU a model for 21st century global
government?
6WHY THE EU?
- To become a United States of Europe with one
economic/political system on par with the United
States of America. - For European nations to stop being their own
worst enemies in trade politics. - Vision Infrastructure Cooperation
Regionalism over nationalism Power
Centralization THE WORLDS LARGEST ECONOMY
MARKET (30 share of world gross product)
7ECONOMIC ADVANTAGES OF THE USA THAT THE EU WANTS
TO EMULATE
- One currency
- One banking system
- Uniform commercial laws
- No tariffs between states
- Federalism over states rights
- These are referred to as the 4 EU freedoms
freedom of goods, services, movement of labor
capital.
8 EU ECONOMIC POTENCY
- 7 of the worlds population28 of the global
GDP (larger than the USA) - 454M population 60 more consumers than the USA
- The 12 member nations using the Euro exclusively
account for 67 of the population 74 of the EU
GDP - One third of the worlds 100 largest corporations
are European
9EU vs. U.S.
- Population of 454M for EU, 1.5 times larger than
U.S. - EU gross regional product of 12.5T vs. 11.7T
for U.S.
10THE BENEFITS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
- Lowered incidence of war due to increased
economic interdependency - The EUs single market opens up a huge new sales
opportunities - Merged EU corporations are becoming the largest
in the world - Poorer member nations benefit from the economic
pull of richer members - Democracy capitalism are promoted in weaker EU
nations
11THE COSTS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
- Diminished national sovereignty of member nations
- Loss of national identity in in the EUs uniform
laws standards - Increased competition for corporations less
protected from their cross-border rivals - Increased organized crime enabled by removed
border controls - Head-butting among members over agricultural
subsidies
12EU MEMBERSHIP
13(No Transcript)
14- In order to admitted for membership, EU candidate
nations must fulfill the Copenhagen criteria - A secular, democratic government
- Corresponding freedoms institutions
- Respect for rule by law
15POLITICAL EVOLUTION OF THE EU
- The economic unification of Europe began after
WWII (1951) with 6 nations (Belgium, France,
Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands)
forming the European Coal Steel Community (the
Common Market) to prevent another war via trade
cooperation. - In 1957, the European Community (EC) was
established by the Treaty of Rome, which pledged
cooperation towards four freedoms free
movement of goods, services, capital, people
16- 3. Britain, Ireland, Norway, Denmark joined the
EC in 1972. Greece, Spain, Portugal joined in
the 1980s. - 4. The European Union emerged in 1992 with the
Maastricht Treaty. - 5. The Euro was adopted the sole currency of 11
EU members in 1999. - 6. New EU members in 2004 included Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic,
Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta, Cyrus.
Bulgaria Romania joined in 2007.
17- Conspicuous by their absence Norway (has thus
far rejected EU membership over concerns about
the Euro centralization of EU power)
Switzerland (historically a politically neutral
nation). - The political problem with Cyprus A civil war
has split the island into 2 zones
Turkish/Cypriot (north) vs. Greek/Cypriot
(south). Only the north Greek-Cypriot partition
is currently an EU member.
18PER CAPITA GDP RANKINGS OF EU NATIONS
- Luxembourg (highest per capita GDP income),
Ireland, Denmark, UK, Austria, Netherlands,
Belgium, Sweden, France, Germany, Italy, Finland,
Spain, Cyprus, Greece, Slovenia, Portugal, Malta,
Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Estonia,
Lithuania, Latvia, Poland (lowest per capita GDP
income)
19UNEMPLOYMENT RANKINGS OF EU NATIONS
- Luxembourg (lowest unemployment, around 4.5),
Netherlands, Austria, Cyprus, Ireland, UK,
Denmark, Sweden, Hungary, Portugal, Slovenia,
Czech Republic, Belgium, Malta, Italy, Finland,
Greece, France, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Spain,
Lithuania, Slovakia, Poland (highest
unemployment, 18)
20SEATS IN THE EU PARLIAMENT
- Germany 99 UK, Italy France 78 Spain
Poland 58 Netherlands 27 Greece, Belgium,
Portugal, Czech Republic Hungary 24 Sweden
19 Austria 18 Slovakia, Denmark, Finland
14 Ireland Lithuania 13 Latvia 9 Slovenia
7 Estonia, Cyprus, Luxembourg 6 Malta 5
21 22- ANGLO-SAXONS Ireland Britain
- CONTINENTALS France, Germany, Belgium, Austria,
Luxembourg - MEDITERRANEANS Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal,
Cyprus - NORDICS Demark, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands
23RECENT EU EXPANSION
24EU APPLICANTS FOR FUTURE MEMBERSHIP
- Turkey Albania Bosnia
- Macedonia Serbia Ukraine
- Moldova Belarus Georgia
It will take the former USSR nations about 50
years to catch up economically to the rest of
the EU.
25EU POPULATIONS
- Italy 58M
- Ireland 4M
- Latvia 2M
- Lithuania 3M
- Luxembourg 16M
- Poland 38M
- Portugal 11M
- Spain 42M
- Sweden 9M
- UK 60M
- Austria 8M
- Belgium 10M
- Cyprus 1M
- Denmark 5M
- Estonia 1M
- France 60M
- Finland 5M
- Germany 83M
- Greece 11M
- Hungary 10M
26- Austria (1995)
- Belgium (1950)
- Bulgaria (2007)
- Czech Republic (2004)
- Greek-Cyprus (2004)
- Denmark (1973)
- Estonia (2004)
- Finland (1995)
- France (1950)
- Germany (1950)
- Great Britain (1973)
- Greece (1981)
- Hungary (2004)
- Ireland (1973)
- Italy (1950)
- Latvia (2004)
- Lithuania (2004)
- Luxembourg (1950)
- Malta (2004)
- Netherlands (1950)
- Poland (2004)
- Portugal (1986)
- Romania (2007)
- Slovenia (2004)
- Slovakia (2004)
- Spain (1986)
- Sweden (1995)
27- The 10 newest EU member nations in the EU (mainly
former Communist Eastern European nations)
receive tens of billions or Euros in economic
subsidies (cohesion funds) annually from the EU
budget (finance primarily by Germany, France,
Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden). For
example, new member Poland received 3.4B in
2005, twice the amount of money it contributed to
the 2005 EU budget. - The overall biggest competitive advantage these
newer members have is their low labor costs
compared to Germany, France, etc.
28APPLYING FOR EU MEMBERSHIP
- Filling out the EUs Stabization Association
Agreement (SAA) is the first step toward applying
for formal membership. Macedonia submitted its
SAA in 2001 graduated to candidate status in
2005. Serbia has yet to file a SAA because it
refuses to comply with the EUs war-crimes
investigations. Bosnias SAA is currently in
limbo until it implements police reform.
29NEW MEMBER SPECIAL CHALLENGES
30STANDARD OF LIVING DISPARITIES BETWEEN EU MEMBERS
- 2003 per capita incomes
- Germany 27,600
- Poland 5,400
- Romania 4,084
- Bulgaria 3,735
- Ukraine 1,000 (potential future member)
31WHY TURKEY?
- Controversy surrounds the membership of
Muslim/Islamic Turkey in the EU because of
historical current conflict between Islam
Christendom. - The EU hopes Turkey will be a stable future
political economic buffer zone between Europe
the Middle East. The more dependent Turkey
becomes on the EU for new jobs and increased
trade, the greater the chances for peace between
these two ancient religious spheres.
32- Most EU nations worry about Turkeys possible
membership because of its large population (
hence voting clout), islamic leaning, restricted
human rights (especially for women), its
illegal government in northern Cyprus. - Fear of Turkeys possible membership was a major
factor that caused the French to reject the EU
constitution. - Europes biggest worry about Muslim Europeans is
that their high population growth rate will swamp
Europe (which is currently experiencing
population declines as a region) within 3
decades.
33- 6. Turkeys Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan,
pledged after elections in the summer of 2007 to
maintain his countrys efforts to join the EU. He
had to reassure many of Turkey's secular middle
class that his Islamic-leaning administration
would not seek to undo decades of state
religiousneutrality. However, Turkeys secular
elite feel more vulnerable than ever before.
34RUSSIA THE EU
- Russia currently has no desire to join the EU
because it continues to think of itself as an
independent global power that can go it alone
(like India China). Europe worries about
Russias lack of human rights, corrupt business
system, rogue foreign policy. - Russia has attempted to corral former satellites
Moldova Belarus into an informal economic
confederation to counteract Europes growing
unity. - The former Soviet satellite nations in Eastern
Europe would oppose Russias European entry,
fearing future re-domination. - France would like Russia to join their EU as a
foreign policy counterweight to the U.S. Germany
also is pro-Russia because of its large oil
reserves. - It is possible that Russia might align itself
more closely with Europe economically in the
future, but not politically.
35EU OUTLIERS
- Four Western European have declined to join the
EU Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland - The 3 official candidates for the next round of
enlargement Croatia, Macedonia, Turkey - Future potential candidates Albania, Bosnia,
Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia - The following 4 micro-states lack formal
membership status but are part of the Euro-zone
Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, the Vatican
36THE EUS FINANCIAL FAULT LINES
- 5 EU nations have been red-flagged as EU
PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain)
because of their unmanageable government debt
problems. - Greece and Ireland developed serious financial
problems in 2009-2010, each requiring billion
dollar bail outs from the Eurozone, European
Central Bank, and the International Monetary
Fund. - Both nations struggled with imminent national
loan default Greece due to large government
deficits that diluted its currency and Ireland
due to bank defaults stemming from
over-investment in subprime mortgages a la the US
other EU nations.
37- 16 of 27 EU members that have adopted (1999) the
Euro as their official national currency - PIIGS
- Core EU govt. deficit nations
- Portugal, Ireland, Italy,
- Greece, Spain
-
38- PIIGS governments are in financial jeopardy due
to high social welfare (vote-buying) deficits
the high value of the Euro. Their rotten
economies endanger the value of the Euro the
existence of the EU. - PIIGS economies are too poor to afford the Euro
on their own (like living in New York or Tokyo on
a Waco income).
39- Northern EU nations subsidize their use of the
Euro hence PIIGS social welfare benefits. - Germany the USA have pushed the EU to create an
emergency bailout fund to use should any of the
PIIGS go bankrupt. - EU USA leaders worry that this fund will not be
adequate that the world doubts the stability
of the Euro thus trade with the EU.
40- Should PIIGS be forced to drop the Euro reuse
their weaker former currencies? - Should the EU cancel PIIGS membership to halt
subsidies their economic baggage? - Is use of the Euro as the EUs official currency
unrealistic hence the EU itself?
41EU TREATIES
42Brussels, Belgium El capital del EU (formally
established by the Maastricht November 1, 1993)
43Belgium is partitioned into Flanders
(Dutch/Anglo-Saxon ethnicity) Walloonia
(French/Latin ethnicity). Thus Belgium is the 1
spot for test marketing of new products in Europe
with its mix of largely Anglo-Saxon Latin
citizens.
44LE TRAITÉ 1993 SUR L'UNITÉ EUROPÉENNE (MAASTRICHT)
The Maastricht treaty established 4 economic
standards European nations must meet to qualify
for EU membership 1. Manageable government
deficits 2. Stable currency 3. Mainstream
interest rates (close to the EU regional
average) 4. Inflation control
45THE 4 ONES OF EU CENTRALIZATION
1.One military 2.One foreign policy 3. One
banking system 4. One currency
46THE 2000 TREATY OF NICE
- Designed a complex weighted voting system to
determine how much influence each member nation
should - have based primarily on population, GDP,
trade volume. - 2. Initiated a dialogue regarding how much
influence the incoming 10 members should have.
47THE EU MILITARY
- 1. Since WWII, Europes main military capability
was the North American Treaty Organization
(NATO), a defense partnership with the USA. - 2. In 2003, the EU developed its own rapid
deployment military force to augment NATO. Part
of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP),
this rapid deployment force is designed to put
60,000 troops (gathered from all EU member
nations) into European battle within 60 days.
48- The EU headquarters in Brussels has an annual
budget of 140B, funded by (1) A dedicated
value-added sales tax (VAT) in each country (2)
A government support fee paid by each nations
population (which provides 68 of total
government funding) (3) Tariffs on goods
entering the EU. The bigger, richer member
nationsparticularly Germany, France, and
Britainprovide most of the funds. Inevitably,
the biggest donors want the biggest say in
determining how big the budget should be and what
it should be used for. - The European Central Bank (ECU) in Frankfort has
18 members who set interest rates for the euro
area.
49- The EU government currently receives an annual
budget equal to 1 of the EUs GDP. This will be
raised to 1.14 in 2013. The 6 biggest
contributors (who provide a quarter of the entire
annual government budget) are Germany, Britain,
France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria.
Almost 40 of the total EU budget goes to
agricultural subsidies (via the EUs Common
Agriculture PolicyCAP).
50 EU GOVERNMENT
51The EU is the prototype model for 21st century
global government which is emerging via GGOs such
as the WTO, NAFTA, the International Criminal
Court, Kyoto Climate Protocol, and the
International Standards organization. The EU is
seeking to solve such thorny governmental
problems as developing one constitution for 27
nations, managing a single currency, cobbling
together a multilateral foreign policy. Thus the
EU is blazing the trail for other new
organizations that fit into the global government
jigsaw puzzle.
52- European Council of Ministers A multiple-headed
executive branch of government (the chiefs of
state) that recommends policies to the Euro
Commission (The EU Civil Service). The Council
elects its own president to a 2 1/2 year
renewable term The current President is Jose
Barroso of Portuga.l - Euro Parliament Amends laws, controls EU budget,
approves president of Euro Commission
53- The executive (presidential) branch of the
European Unionthe entity that does most of the
work, and employs most of the fonctionnairesis
the European Commission. This is essentially the
cabinet of the European governmentthe ministers
of health, finance, agriculture, and so on who
implement the policies of the prime ministers and
the European Parliament. - The new Constitution dictates that there will be
only fifteen cabinet jobs, and the twenty-five
member countries will have to use lobbying and
leverage to land one of the slots.
54- The EU Commission is charged with proposing new
laws for the EU Parliament to consider. Each EU
member nation is represented by a single
commissioner with a 5-year renewable term who
has one vote in the Council. - The members elect one of its own members to serve
as president who oversees the day-to-day
operations of the Eurocrats in Brussels. -
55- The Council of the EU is charged with enacting EU
laws controlling the EU budget. The Council is
headed by a different nation on a rotating basis
every 6 months. - During the half year a given nation presides over
the Council, it is in the drivers seat to chair
Council meetings, set the agenda, to broker
deals between nations. The Council also is
charged with enacting new laws. - Each nations has from 3 (Malta) to 29 (France,
Germany, Italy, Britain) votes.
56- The European Parliament is the legislative branch
of the EU, an assembly of members elected to
five-year terms by the voters of each of the
member states. - Parliament passes laws, passes the final EU
budget, supervise other EU institutions. - The parliament now meets half the time in
Strasbourg and half the time in Brussels.
57- There are 732 seats in the European Parliament,
roughly one for each 600,000 people, which
creates a constituency for each member about the
same size as a congressional district in the
United States. - This means Germany, France, Britain, and Poland
have the most seats in the Parliament (about
eighty seats for each of those large countries),
and the tiny states like Malta and Luxembourg get
four or five seats apiece.
58- Voting in the Parliament, though, tends not to
follow national lines. Rather, the MEPs (MEP is
the abbreviation for Member of the European
Parliament) have formed various party groupings
along policy lines. The biggest party in the
Parliament is a combination of Christian
Democrats and Conservatives, a political
alignment that is known in Europe as
center-right, but is actually far more liberal
on most issues than left-wing Democrats would be
in the United States. - Theres also a large grouping called the party of
European Socialists (PES), which is generally
described as center-left but is not at all
centrist by U.S. political definitions. The
third largest party is a self-described Reform
camp, which consists largely of people who are
fed up with the traditional politics of both the
Left and the Right.
59- EUROZONE
- (EU 16 of 27 member nations who use the Euro as
their official currency) - Austria, Belgium, Cyprus,
- Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the
Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and
Spain
60EU PROGRESS
61EU PROGRESS CHECKThus far, the EU has
- A flag
- An anthem
- A currency
- A central bank
- A supreme court
- A parliament
- A foreign minister
- A president (of the European Commission)
- A budget
- A military
- A (non-ratified) constitution
62ECONOMIC PROGRESS
- 1. Lisbon agenda for the EU to be the worlds
strongest economy by 2010 - 2. EU integration added only 1.3 to the regions
GDP during the 1990s, but since 1992, EU output
increased 2.2, creating 2.75M new jobs. - 3. EUs competitiveness has been limited by (1)
Lower work hours vs. the USA (2) High welfare
state benefits (3) Slow population growth
63- 500B of trade between EU USA annually
- U.S. companies employ 6M EU workers vs. 4M
Americans who work for EU companies - The per capita income of Ireland went from 62 of
the EU average in 1981 to 121 in 2002
64L'EURO (official in 2002)
- 1. The EU wants the Euro to pass up the American
dollar as the worlds most used currency. The
Euro has been stronger than the dollar over the
past 2 years. 16 member nations currently use the
Euro as their official currency. - 2. The U.S. dollar fell 31
- vs. the Euro between 7/01 to
- 12/03 (when 1 Euro was
- worth 1.20)
- 3. The main cause was tied to Americas record
current account deficit (exports imports) in
2003 of ½ T (5 of GDP)
65HOW THE STRONGER EURO IS IMPACTING THE EU
- Increased off-shoring of manufacturing
- Greater reliance on exporting within the Euro
zone - Increased importing of supplies
- Seeking more non-European mergers
66- 5. Before the euro, prices for McDonalds Big Mac
varied by as much as 75 percent across the
eurozone, from roughly 3.55 in Finland to about
2.00 in Greece. Two years after the euro was
introduced, there were still national differences
in McDonalds menus, but prices had converged
dramatically. The average Big Mac price was 2.71
euros (roughly 3.30), and the difference between
Finland and Spain had dropped from 75 to 15
percent.
67THE BENEFITS OF CURRENCY UNIFORMITY
- Greater clarity of comparing prices across
European borders - Greater efficiency of conducting business
investing across borders - Greater willingness of investors to invest
regionally instead of just locally - Emergence of the Euro as a world-class currency
68EURO DAMAGE CAUSE BY THE GREEK FINANCIAL CRISIS
- The EUs efforts (in partnership with the IMF) in
the first quarter of 2010 to provide a financial
bail-out for the 150 of GDP federal deficit of
Greece caused the Euro to drop about 20.
Currency traders inside outside the EU
recognize that there is no instruction manual
for rescuing a euro-zone country nearing default.
69LOCAL OR TRULY REGIONAL MARKETING?
- Although the EU promises regional integration of
trade and business deals (reflected by EU
corporations earning almost 2/3 of their revenue
regionally), so far local consumers continue to
do most of their shopping, investing, and work at
home86 of peoples income was generated at home
only 10 across borders. 2/3 of equity
investments are with home companies rather those
in other parts of the EU.
70THE SCHENGEN NO-PASSPORT AGREEMENT
- In 1985 (in the small town of Schengen,
Luxembourg), 30 nations in Europe agreed to
create passport-free passage across borders.
Thus far, 15 of these nations have implemented
the borderless policy, the others will comply
in the near future. Security control is
maintained by requiring people to show a passport
upon leaving a signatory nation. Non-EU citizens
can obtain a special visa to use instead of a
passport.
71SCHENGEN NO-PASSPORT ZONES
- Austria , Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland
72- During 21C, the rest of the world will be
evolving in the same direction as the EU less
nationalistic regional cooperation power
centralization the 2-generation effect
73THE TWO GENERATION EFFECT
- Peoples sense of history normally extends back
only 2 generations, so over the next 20 years
Europeans are likely to become less and less
nationalistic as a result of emergent EU - regionalism.
74 75- 16 of 27 EU members that have adopted (1999) the
Euro as their official national currency - PIIGS
- Core EU govt. deficit nations
- Portugal, Ireland, Italy,
- Greece, Spain
-
76- PIIGS governments are in financial jeopardy due
to high social welfare (vote-buying) deficits
the high value of the Euro. Their rotten
economies endanger the value of the Euro the
existence of the EU. - PIIGS economies are too poor to afford the Euro
on their own (like living in New York or Tokyo on
a Waco income).
77- Northern EU nations subsidize their use of the
Euro hence PIIGS social welfare benefits. - Germany the USA have pushed the EU to create an
emergency bailout fund to use should any of the
PIIGS go bankrupt. - EU USA leaders worry that this fund will not be
adequate that the world doubts the stability
of the Euro thus trade with the EU.
78- Should PIIGS be forced to drop the Euro reuse
their weaker former currencies? - Should the EU cancel PIIGS membership to halt
subsidies their economic baggage? - Is use of the Euro as the EUs official currency
unrealistic hence the EU itself?
79THE EU'S ADMINISTRATIVE STRATEGY
80THE MODERN EUROPEAN MIXED CAPITALISM ECONOMIC
SYSTEM
- The state runs core economic sectors (public
capitalism) and private companies the other
sectors (private capitalism). - The state owns parts of private companies and
employs a significant number of people - The state regulates the private sector shapes
the overall economic system
81- 4. The state delivers an extensive welfare
system generous welfare support, strong labor
protections, single-payer health care systems,
zoning restrictions on the encroachment of
mega-retailers, subsides for child-care, pension
security, pregnancy leave. Many European
nations offer nationalized health care.
82- Germany, France, Italy are the big 3 economic
powers in the EU, accounting for 70 of the
regions total GDP.
83THE EUS LURCH MUDDLE FEDERAL POWER STRATEGY
- React to problems as they occur (such as approval
of a constitution the admission of Turkey to
membership) rather than have a principled master
plan - Get the agreement and worry about the details
later. - The nations will eventually cave in consent
84- Under the multiple-speeds EU, members
- nations that want to experimentally
- implement new policies (core Europe)
- are free to do so, while other nations can
- implement them when they are ready.
- This approach would allow coalitions of
- willing nations to work toward greater
- cooperation in controversial
- areas (such as defense the
- constitution) and move ahead of those
- nations who are uncertain.
85SELECTIVE SUPPORT OF EU POLICIES
- Only 13 of the EUs members use the Euro as their
sole currency. - Fifteen have implemented the Schengen agreement
for passport-free travel. - Sixteen nations have approved the proposed EU
constitution 2 have rejected it.
86Germany, France, the BENELUX nations
(Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands) are the
lead climbers.
87THE EUS UNOFFICIAL POLITICAL COALITIONS
- In the absence of true European unity in a
number of areas (immigration, addition of new
members, approval of the constitution, foreign
policy, etc.), EU members have aligned themselves
into several birds of a feather factions those
using the Euro vs. those who dont members of
the Schengen passport-free zone nations
participating in the Common Foreign Security
Policy (the EUs rapid response military force)
the 7-nation Prum group that seeks cross-border
police border control cooperation those who
support the membership of Turkey vs. those
opposed the institutionalists vs. the
incrementalists.
88THE EU FEDERALIST GOVERNMENT OR CONFEDERATION?
89EU INSTITUTIONALISTS vs. INCREMENTALISTS
- EU institutionalists want to seek integration
primarily through creating formal institutions
such as governmental units agencies - Incrementalists would like to see the EU evolve
slowly over time with maximum grass roots
participation of member nations. - Both factions agree that remedies for the
following temporary structural compromises of the
EU must be sought the 6-month rotating
presidency the bizarre member weighted voting
system a bloated European Commission
(parliament) muddled foreign policy.
90THE EUs FLIMSY POWER BASE
- Still in its infancy, the EU government lacks
strong federalist (centralized) power over the
member nations - Brussels must thus rely on member
cooperation/goodwill to advance its policy
initiatives. Unless, members are happy
campers, progressive change is tough to come by. - An additional power problem for the EU is whether
or not small, economically weak nations should be
extended full membership privileges.
91- 7.Thus, in 2003, the EU developed an experimental
European Neighborhood Policy originally
designed to build informal, non-membership free
trade relationships with areas outside, but
strategically close to Europe North Africa
(Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) the southern
Caucasus (former Soviet satellites Georgia,
Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine) Eastern Europe
(Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Serbia,
Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania).
92- These neighborhood nations would receive
certain trading privileges with the EU but not
become full-fledged members (due to their
political economic deficiencies). The main
benefits withheld would include passport-free
travel, free movement of labor across European
borders, agricultural subsidies, voting on
constitutional issues. - The EU government is now considering whether this
neighborhood arrangement might be Europes
future structurethe EU would become a loose
confederation of first second class nations
rather than a federation of nations all
possessing the same privileges. This might be the
best only way for Europe to continue to grow
without contending with all of the problems of
nations that are ill-matched economically
politically.
93- Under this a la carte European (confederation)
model, both full-privilege members
partial-privilege neighbors would be able to
pick choose among their benefits,
responsibilities, desired level of
self-governance. - The main drawback of a confederation EU structure
(rather than a federalist structure) would be
(1) less progressive government (2) rivalries
between first class second class nations (3)
diminished capacity of the EU government to
upgrade the standard of living in weaker
neighbor economies
94- Scandinavian nations Great Britain tend to be
confederationists, preferring that the EU be
mainly an economic free-trade agreement, but not
the political union envisioned by the
federalist-leaning Germans, French, Italians,
Dutch, etc.
95 96- In 2004, the EU put forth its first prototype
constitution consisting of 200 pages 70,000
words in length--10 times longer than the U.S.
Constitution. - In actuality, this initial constitution was a
detailed rule book procedures manual for EU
economic, governmental, and political policy
97KEY FEATURES OF THE CONSTITUTION
- Charter of fundamental rights
- Primacy of EU law over national law
- Gives the EU legal personality to sign
international agreements - Provides nations with veto rights over direct EU
taxation, foreign defense policy the EU
budget - Right for EU members to leave the EU
98ABCs of the CONSTITUTION
- Approved by EU heads of state in 6/04.
- To be adopted, they had to be ratified by all
member nations. - 3. Under the prototype constitution, legislative
policies would pass if approved by at least 15
member nations, so long as they comprise at least
65 of the 455M EU population - 4. Legislative measures can be blocked if vetoed
by at least 4 member nations with 35 of the EU
population
99- 5. Consolidates all previous EU treaties into a
single document adds a bill of rights member
expectations - 6. The constitution must be approved by ALL
member nations (6 via popular referendum) in
order to take effect - 7. Nations can re-vote as often as desired
100THE CONSTITUTIONS PROGRESS
- 16 EU nations have approved the constitution so
far, but 2 (France the Netherlands) have
rejected it. Four nations, led by Britain, have
put their pending constitutional referendums on
hold until EU leadership can figure out how to
reverse the 2 no votes re-stabilize Europes
current fractious political environment. - A period of reflection in 2006-2007 to gave EU
members more time to resolve constitutional
issues.
101THE TWO NO VOTES
- The French rejected (by a 55 no vote) the EU
competition in popular referendums in the summer
of 2005, raising the specter of governmental
paralysis as the EU hierarchy struggles to
centralize enough power to run the economy
foreign policy smoothly. - 66 of Dutch voters voted the constitution down
Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic have said
they will do the same thing. - Since all EU members must approve the
constitution, the no votes mean future
constitutional compromise is mandatorybut how
long will it take?
102EU CONSTITUTIONAL WRANGLING
- One size fits all member nations
- 470M Europeans?
- 2. Support the Constitution or leave the EU?
- 4. EU parliament levying taxes passing
federalist legislation? - 5. Popularly elected EU Commission President?
(Until the constitution is approved, nations
serve in a rotating ceremonial presidency every 6
months)
103- 6. In the current debate over the new EU
constitution, the 4 most populous nations
(Germany, France, Britain, Italy) want a
dominating 29 votes each in the EU Council of
Ministers (sorta like the Executive branch of the
USA), while Spain Portugal would get 27 each.
The other EU members would then be left with less
than 40 of the overall voting power - 7. The other nations back a proposal for laws to
be approved by a simple majority vote as long as
60 of the EUs overall population is represented
in these votes.
104- 8. Uniformity of criminal law (such as legal
drugs euthanasia - in the Netherlands)?
- 9. Uniform immigrations policies, taxes social
welfare benefits (the Scandinavian welfare
state)? - 10. How can common citizens popularly elect EU
govt. officials from diverse nations cultures?
105- Religious freedom? (No mention of religion in the
constitution) - Womens rights?
- Military inscription?
- Citizens rights to
- bear arms?
106THE CONSTITUTIONAL ANXIETY OF EUROPEANS
- 1. Worry over loss of national economic control
at a time when many EU members nations are
struggling economically and fear constitutional
centralization will further sap their economic
vitality - 2. Worry over possible diminished social welfare
benefits in richer EU nations as poorer nations
receive greater benefits under constitutional
entitlement - 3. Worry that Europes recent economic stagnation
high unemployment rate may be harder to reverse
with 25 member nations all walking lock-step
107- 4. Worries about the mythical Polish plumber (
other workers from low wage EU nations) stealing
jobs away from workers in EU nations with a
higher standard of living (especially Germany,
France, Netherlands, Italy) - 5. Worry in non-Anglo/Saxon nations that A/S
profit maximization (neo-liberal) capitalism
might run rampant over community consumer
rights social welfare benefits
108- 6. Worries about Europe's shrinking population
heavy burden of providing for the retirements of
a record number of baby boomers continued
decline of Europes standard of living. - 7. Resentment among the Dutch, Germans, French,
Swedes, Brits, Austrians that they contribute
significantly more to the EU budget than they get
back. - 8. Europeans feel geographically vulnerable due
to their close proximity to unstable Russia
Muslim nations. -
109- Several EU nations (especially Britain) growing
public opinion would prefer that the EU grow in
an organic, grass-roots (non-federalist) manner
that makes a constitution unnecessary. - Do you think Americans would
- re-approve the U.S. Constitution if voted on
today? -
110OPTIONS FOR BREAKING THE EU CONSTITUTIONAL LOG JAM
- Cherry pick which pieces of the constitution EU
members do agree on and jettison the remainder of
the document. - Let nations who back the constitution proceed to
operate under its provisions, while foot-draggers
would carry on independently. - Empower the 10 or 12 strongest EU nations to
control the constitutional approval process,
binding the other members.
111- Seek to get approval for a future revised
constitution via national parliaments instead of
the more politically volatile grassroots
referendum approach. - To hem in the potential for controversy, reduce
the number of constitutional provisions to a bare
minimum. - Abandon symbolic constitutional provisions (the
EU flag design, adopting an EU national anthem,
creation of an EU foreign minister position).
112- THE LISBON AGENDA A BACK DOOR CONSTITUTION
113The Lisbon agenda (an 2000 EU developmental plan
that calls for the EU to become the worlds
largest most dynamic economy by 2010) outlines
a political agenda for the EU to phase in between
2014-2017 that achieves much of what the proposed
constitution seeks. The Council of Ministers
(made up of representatives of national
governments) will convert to majority voting
decision-making in which decisions will be
approved if 55 or more of nations representing
at least 65 of the EU population agree.
114Majority voting will also go into effect in 50
policy areas, including immigration, criminal
justice, the policies of the European Court of
Justice. The European Council (comprised of the
heads of state) will elect their own president to
as many as 2 two-and-a-half year terms. A Charter
of Fundamental Rights will extend EU workers the
right to strike, access to preventive health
care, and governmental intervention into labor
disputes. Also a majority of national parliaments
have the right to protest any EU governmental
policy write an alternative proposal.
115IS THE LISBON TREATY ALREADY DEAD?
- Ireland rejected the Lisbon Treaty in the summer
of 2008, raising doubts that the Lisbon reversion
of the original EU constitution is viable. Even
though the Lisbon treaty sought to improve the
Brussels bureaucracy and synthesize a fairer
voting system for EU members, few EU governments
or institutions are genuine enthusiasts for the
treaty in its present form. Most nations want to
simply get it out of the way to move on to more
compelling and viable issues.
116The EU vs. AMERICA
117WHERE EUROPE HAS THE EDGE OVER AMERICA
118WHERE THE EU LEADS AMERICA IN QUALITY OF LIFE
- Better income distribution High income Americans
average 5.6 times more income than low-income
Americans vs. 3 times more in Northern Europe
3.3 times more in Central Europe. Overall, the
U.S. has the highest income inequality of the 18
wealthiest nations - During the 1980s, the U.S. had the least growth
(-0.3) in total workforce compensation among
developed nations
119- More Americans (17 8 of whites 24 of
blacks) live in poverty than in the top 16
European nations Finland 5.1 Sweden 6.6
Germany 7.5 France 8 Netherlands 8.1
Belgium 8.2 Spain 10.1 Ireland 11.1
Italy 14.2. - 37 of Americans work more than 50 hours per week
80 of male Americans work more than 40 hours.
70 of Americans say they lack quality time with
their children 61 say they rarely have excess
time. Europeans average 4-10 weeks of vacation
annually.
120- 48M (mostly working) Americans currently lack
health insurance, even though America spends more
on per person on health care (4900) than any
other nation (primarily due to higher
administrative costs associated with a complex
net of private insurers). - The premiums of corporate-provided health care
policies are rising by about 12 annually, and
Medicare recipients about 15. - Americas future Medicare costs will be a
tsunami compared to the a mere tidal surge caused
by Social Security.
121- 8. Between 1997-1999, Americas homicide rate was
6.26 per 100,000 vs. 1.7 per 100,00 for Europe.
Americas rate of childhood diseases, suicides,
and gun-related deaths are the highest of the 25
wealthiest nations in the world. The homicide
rate for American children was 5 times higher
than the combined total of the 25 nations U.S.
suicide rates for children were 2 times higher
than the combined 28 European nations.
122- The U.S. houses one quarter of all the prisoners
in the world (2M). Europe has 87 prisoners per
100,00 vs. 685 for the U.S. - The U.S. has the highest rate of senior citizen
poverty in the industrialized world. - The EUs 2003 GDP was 10.5T vs. 10.4T in the
U.S. - Average number of annual vacation days for
workers France (39) Germany (27) Netherlands
)25) Britain (23) Canada (20) USA (12) - Americas work a longer work day than Europeans
take less time for lunch (29 minutes).
123RECENT AREAS OF AMERICAN SOCIAL PROGRESS
- Successful welfare reform
- Improved racial attitudes
- Rising volunteerism charitable contributions
- Smooth absorption of recent immigration
124EU vs. THE USA IN COMPETITIVENESS
- 61 of the top 140 global corporations are
European vs. 50 for the U.S. 29 in Asia. - 14 of the 20 largest commercial banks in the
world are Euro 3 of the top 5 engineering/constru
ction firms 5 of the top 10 food drug
retailers 6 of the top 11 telecommunications
firms 5 of the top 10 pharmaceuticals (with the
U.S. having the other 5) - In a recent survey by Global Finance magazine, 49
of the 50 companies judged best in the world were
European.
125- Europe now has a larger share of small-to-medium
size entrepreneurial firms (67 of the total Euro
economy) than the U.S. economy (46). - The EU lags behind the U.S. in value-added to
high tech products, number of high tech patents,
of workers with a high school degree. The
U.S. lags behind Europe in number of
science/engineering college grads
government-financed RD in new capital raised. - The U.S. consumes 1/3 more energy than Europe.
126EU vs. THE USA IN PRODUCTIVITY
- From 1990-1995, 12 EU nations experienced higher
productivity growth than the U.S. the U.S. moved
ahead from 1996-1999, with a 1.9 productivity
increase vs. 1.3 for the EU. - In 2000, 6 European nations out-produced the U.S.
in productivity per worker. The U.S. per worker
output 38.83 vs. 45.55 for Norway 41.85
for France.
127DECLINING AMERICAN COMPETITIVENESS
- The World Economic Forums 2006 annual poll of
national showed that America fell from first
place in annual competitiveness in 2005 to 6th
place in 2006 due to the high deficits produced
by Hurricane Katrina federal government
corruption associated with the Abramoff political
scandals restrictions on immigration and debt
financing the Iraqi war. While strengths in
technological innovation and economic efficiency
explain Americas overall high ranking of 6th,
the economy suffers from significant weaknesses.
The World Economic Forum concluded that Americas
overall future competitiveness is currently at
risk, which means that the future of the overall
global economy is also at risk given Americas
dominate position in the global marketplace.
128AMERICAS FALLING LIFE EXPECTANCY
- A 2007 survey disclosed that 41 nations
(including almost all of Europe) have a longer
life expectancy than America. The average
American lifespan of 77.9 years ranks 42nd in the
world (down from 11th two decades ago). Health
experts blame the sky high American obesity rate
and luxury lifestyle available to most Americans.
Somethings wrong when on of the richest
countries in the world, and the one that spends
the most of health care, is unable to keep other
with other developed countries.
129WHERE AMERICA HAS THE EDGE OVER EUROPE
130- European markets (especially in the big 3
economies of Germany, France, Italy, which
produce 1/3 of the EUs entire regional GDP) are
over regulated inflexible due to unions, high
employee benefits, complex government
regulations.
131- Right now, Europeans seem to look to the future
with more fear than hope. The core fact is that
the European model is foundering under the fact
that billions of people are willing to work
harder than the Europeans are. The recent Western
European standard of living is about a third
lower than the American standard of living, and
its sliding. Europeans clearly love their way
of life but dont know how to sustain it.
132- Europe resembles a teenager who has just gone
through a tremendous physical growth spurt but
without a parallel growth in intellectual and
moral maturity physically an adult but
philosophically an adolescent.
133EUROPES DECLINING POPULATION
- 18 European nations have a declining population
rate. France, Britain, the Netherlands, Norway
are holding their own with a fertility rate of
over 2.0. Italy Spain have the most pessimistic
future population outlook. - Number of children per family France 1.7
Germany 1.3 Italy 1.2 Spain 1.1 - By 2050, Spains population will decline by 31M
to 40M Germany will lose more people than in
all of former East Germany. - 55 of EU workers will retire over the next 25
years its total workforce will shrink by 8. - If these population trends persist, Muslims will
emerge as the dominant ethnic group in Europe by
2050 -
134- Why is Europe committing demographic suicide,
systematically depopulating itself well beyond
what the Black Death wrought in the 14th century?
Europe is experiencing a crisis of civilization
morale today stemming from its violent wars of
the 20th century, loss of religion, and its
profound secularization. It has forgotten its
history. Europeans have convinced themselves
that in order to be modern and free, they must be
radically secular. That conviction has had
crucial, indeed lethal, consequences for European
public life and culture.
135WHAT EUROPE MUST DO IN THE FUTURE TO IGNITE MORE
ECONOMIC GROWTH
- Strengthen the work ethic
- Strengthen innovative entrepreneurship
- Rein in the cradle-to-grave social welfare
system - Increase indigenous population growth
- Keep the EU governments bureaucracy in check
136- 1. Americas population is rising more
- than twice as fast as the EUs. In the
- 20th century, Americas population
- increased by 250 vs. just 60 in
- France Britain.
- 2. America has freer markets U.S.
- companies capitalize on new
- technology at a faster rate.
- 3. America spends twice as much as Europe on
higher education.
137- New markets are easier for American companies to
penetrate in comparison with European companies. - Americas markets for financial capital are
deeper than European capital markets. - The hyper-competitive American marketplace weeds
out weak, uncompetitive companies more
efficiently than Europes competitive system.
138- ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF THE EUs 4 MEMBERSHIP
GROUPS
139- ANGLO-SAXONs High employment rates but
significant economic inequality - CONTINENTALS Good at helping people avoid
poverty (due to generous social benefits), but
sub-par job creation - MEDITERRANEANS Sub-par performance in both
elimination of poverty avoiding unemployment - NORDICS Successful in both economic performance
areas of poverty reduction achieving high
employment
140FUTURE CHALLENGES FOR THE EU
141The EU has accomplished most of the easy stuff
is currently stuck in a holding pattern waiting
for a constitution to be approved determining
where Turkey Russia fit in stabilizing its
many struggling new members. Future progress
promises to be much tougher to come by.
142THE ROADBLOCK OF LOW CITIZEN AWARENESS
- 90 of Spaniards werent aware of the EU
constitution - 25 of Brits didnt know GB belonged to the EU
- 31 of Germans had never heard of the EU
Commission (the EUs giant Civil Service)
143PERCENTAGE OF EU MEMBERS WITH A POSITIVE IMAGE OF
THE EU
- Italy 58
- Spain 56
- Portugal 55
- Turkey 53
- France 45
- Slovakia 42
- Poland 38
- Germany 36
- Netherlands 33
- Britain 27
144 OF EUROPEANS WHO FEEL THE EU SHOULD BE A SUPER
POWER LIKE THE USA
- France 82
- Netherlands 77
- Spain 75
- Germany 71
- Italy 71
- Poland 68
- Portugal 66
- Britain 58
- Turkey 40
145SOCIALISM THE EUs ARTERIOLOSCLEROSIS
- Bloated welfare/pension/health-care system
- Rigid labor market regulations unionism, short
work week, early retirements - Sweden/Denmark/Finland spend 33 of GDP on social
benefits (vs. 25 for Germany France 14 for
USA). - For every 100 working Europeans, 35 are on
pensions by 2050, there will be 75 on pensions
for every 100 working
146ONE-UPMAN-SHIP vs. THE USA
- The EU is gunning to surpass America as the
worlds largest economy by 2010 - The EUs political rivalry with the U.S. is
reflected in its post 9/11 anti-American foreign
policy stances
147THE EU WANTS ONLY EUROPEAN COMPANIES TO HAVE THE
RIGHT TO USE THE FAMOUS NAMES OF THE FOLLOWING
REGIONAL EUROPEAN FOOD PRODUCTS
- Champagne
- Cognac
- Burgandy
- Chianti
- Madeira
- Port
- Mozzarella
- Roquefort
- Feta
- Bologna
- Nougat
- Saffron
- Parmagian
148 EU-USA TRADE TENSIONS
- Unresolved disputes over U.S. tariffs, ag.
subsidies, U.S. airline subsidies, EU beef
hormones, genetically modified foods - EU trade commission fined Microsoft 613 million
(500M Euros) in 2004 for monopolistic practices
in Europe an additional 357M in 2006 for
failing to comply with the 2004 antitrust order.
149- 3.In the summer of 2005, the EU broke up
Coca-Colas dominance (50 market share twice
the sales of the nearest soft drink competitor)
of the European market by outlawing exclusive
contract arrangements Coke forced its retailers
into. Coke can longer require retailers to give
shelf space preference to Coke products or to ban
certain products of competitors. The EU ruled
that Cokes competitive practices were unfair and
in restraint of trade.