Unanimity and the EU: A Recipe for Impotence in Political Affairs

This blog is a response to the article written by Emilee Carpenter about the UN. As a Foreign Affairs major, a topic that we consistently debate in my international relations classes is whether or not international cooperation is a feasible way to promote international security and economic development given that the primary unit of modern political organization is the nation-state. Just as the UN suffers from a measure of impotence when its objectives conflict with those of individual states, the EU has historically had trouble enforcing its laws over dissenting member nations. And just as with the League of Nations and the UN, the major problem stems from the EU voting laws – a matter of direct relevance to our class discussions of voting rules. The EU is comprised of twenty-five European countries, ten of which only joined this year. When the European Community was first founded following World War II, it only consisted of six countries: France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy. The idea of European integration originated as a way to ensure the security and defense of member nations. Early integrationists hoped that through integration, European states would become so dependent upon each other economically and politically that it would be physically impossible to enter into conflict with one another. However, while the EU has been successful in integrating their economies into one common market and under one common currency, the EU remains powerless to prevent member states from acting in their own best interests. This is evident through Britain and Denmark’s decision not to adopt the euro. Also, the Common Foreign and Security Policy, one of the three main pillars of the EU and the one pillar that involves pooling international sovereignty, remains weak and intergovernmental. True to realist thought, states remain the primary actors and cooperation only occurs when states’ concerns are aligned. The EU was hopelessly divided about the war in Iraq, with Britain and Spain supporting the US and France and Germany opposing the US. There are two reasons why the EU has no teeth to enforce its policies among member states. First, There is no EU mechanism to force compliance. The European Court of Justice can only enact fines to enforce its rulings, leaving member states considerable leverage. Further, the Council of Ministers is the main deciding authority, yet this institution exists to promote the interests of member states. In contrast, institutions aimed at promoting European interests have little decisive power. While the Commission is responsible for initiating new policy and promoting integration, the Commissioners are appointed by the individual member states. In addition, the European Parliament, the most democratic of all institutions and representative of general European interests, is a weak body with little decision-making authority. Second, and more importantly, decisions on issues of high politics, or issues most tied to national interest – including issues of national security and defense under CFSP– remain subject to a unanimous vote, whereas issues of low politics are determined by a qualified majority. As we have learned in class, the more people are required to make a decision, the more opportunity there will be for strategic behavior by any one person. Moreover, decision-making costs are higher because it takes more time and resources to get decisions made. This problem is exasperated by the enlargement of the EU to 25 states, and will particularly prove problematic if these new states work to counteract the domination of France and Germany. Moreover, the relationship between Eastern Europe and the United States may affect the balance of power within the EU, as eastern supporters of the United States may join the ranks of Britain to counter anti-American France and Germany. Until member nations agree to give up a greater measure political sovereignty and allow a majority vote on more key political issues, I believe that the EU will remain as ineffective in promoting peace and stability in the political arena as both the League of Nations and UN despite the EU’s greater measure of economic interdependency. http://europa.eu.int/