Session 7: The Institutions of the European Union

I. Basic History of the European Union (Basic Facts) (Milestones) (Evolution)

A. Predecessors

B. The Treaty of Rome (1957) (graphic)

C. Enlargement (graphic) (graphic)

II. Policymaking Within the European Union

A. Major Institutions (graphic)

1) The Commission

2) The Council

3) The Parliament (membership) (composition)

B. Voting Procedures (Weighted Voting) (Co-decision)

C. Budget (Revenues) (Spending) (Financing) (Net Transfers) (CAP (EAGGF) Spending) (Structural Funds)

D. Problems of Governance (graphic)

III. The Maastricht Convergence Agenda and Domestic Interests (Intra-EU Trade)

A. The European Monetary System (The Snake) (ECU)

B. Pre-Maastricht Agenda (SEA)

C. The Maastricht Treaty (Overview of Treaty) (Countries in Eurozone) (Timetable) (ECB Structure) (Criteria (1)) (Criteria (2))

D. The Amsterdam Treaty

E. The Nice Treaty

Simulation: Negotiating Change in a Multiple-Level Game: The EU Commission, the Council of Ministers, and the Parliament

Role Assignments

The Legislative Docket

Key Concepts: supranational organizations, the Benelux Customs Union, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), common external tariff (CET), the Treaty of Paris (1951), High Authority, the European Economic Community (EEC), the Treaty of Rome (1957), the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Luxembourg Compromise (1966), treaties of accession, the European Commission, the Council of Ministers, the European Parliament, the European Court of Justice, the European Council, Court of Auditors, European Central Bank (ECB), Inter-Governmental Conferences (IGCs), qualified majority voting, blocking minorities, co-decision, the principle of subsidiarity, own resources, value-added tax (VAT), cohesion funds, the democratic deficit, the "snake," the European Monetary System (EMS), the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), the Single European Act (SEA), the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), cooperation procedure, consultation procedure, assent or withholding of assent, the ecu, the Maastricht Treaty (1992), the euro, capital controls, the Maastricht convergence criteria (also, the "growth and stability pact"), conversion rates for the euro, optimal currency area, non-tariff barriers, the Amsterdam Treaty.

Key Individuals: Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer, Charles de Gaulle, Jacques Santer, Jacques Delors, Oskar Lafontaine, Gerhard Schröder, Jean-Claude Trichet, Wim Duisenberg, Romano Prodi.