The European Union An Overview Law European Essay

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

The European Union: An Overview

In 1951, six countries; Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg, signed the Treaty of Paris, effectively starting the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), a union proposed in 1950 by the French foreign minister Robert Schuman in the Schuman Declaration (4). In 1957, these same six European countries agreed that it would be in their best interest that a common market should be formed, and this led to the signing of the Treaty of Rome. This common market, an economic zone, would be a zone where people and products can be moved freely. This agreement between these six countries, led to the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC). On the same day as the signing of the Treaty of Rome, the six founding countries also sign another treaty that led to the establishment of the European Atomic Energy Community (Eurotom). (3)

In 1973 the United Kingdom, Denmark and Ireland opted to join this community. Greece opted to join the European Union and was followed by Spain and Portugal in 1985. In 1986, the Single European Act was signed, which was a treaty aimed at creating the Single Market, which would allow the free-flow of trade to occur in member territories. In 1993 the single market comes into effect, which results in the free movement of goods, people, services and money. These are known as the four freedoms. Also the Maastricht Treaty is signed in 1993. The next expansion of member states occurs in 1995 as Austria, Finland and Sweden join the Union. The next treaty to be signed is the Amsterdam Treaty in 1999. (5) The euro notes and coins, the official currency of the European Union are printed and minted in 2002, thereby creating the single currency. In 2004, the largest expansion of the European Union took place as no less than ten countries, being, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia. In 2007, Romania and Bulgaria also join the Union, bringing the number of member states to its current amount of 27. (6) The number of member nations is set to increase once again, as Croatia is set join the Union on the 1st of July 2013, bringing the total number of member states to 28.

What are Interest Groups and Lobbyists?

An interest group is a group made up of people with the intention of working together through the group to achieve a goal or accomplishment which would be common to all its members, or to tackle a common concern or problem. Interest groups can be more clearly defined as "non-profit and usually voluntary organisations whose members have a common cause for which they seek to influence public policy, without seeking political control. Their primary activities are lobbying the members of legislative bodies through contribution to political parties, working to elect sympathetic or pliable politicians, and conducting covert or open propaganda campaigns." (1) An interest group would get its agenda recognized by partaking in lobbying.

Lobbying refers to "the advocacy of an interest that is affected, actually or potentially, by the decisions of government leaders. Individuals and interest groups alike can lobby governments, and governments can even lobby each other". (2) Another way to define lobbying is the "attempting to influence the outcome of legislation or administrative rules and regulations." (9) Along with interest groups, lobbyists also partake in lobbying.

By the previously mentioned definitions, it may seem that interest groups and lobbyist appear to the same sort of organisation, just under a different name. This is not the case however, as interest groups tend to stay devoted to their ideals or objectives whereas a lobbyist would be a paid employee, occasionally even employed by interest groups, who would be tasked to push forward the point of view and interest of his employers to a government official. Interest groups can lobby at a European level or at a national level. There are certain factors which lead to the need to distinguish between those groups that opt to lobby at a national and European level, the latter being referred to occasionally as Euro-groups. One such factor is that there exist differences between the forms of organisation and constituencies of both national level and European level interest groups. Another difference between these two types of interest groups is that the methods, strategy and processes are different when they are pursuing their interests. (8) (Cini, p. 210, 2007)

Before lobbying can commence, a strategy should be devised by the interest group or lobbyist. Such strategies may consist of whether they should operate alone, or should they join forces with other groups or even with their respective European level. After this is agreed upon, the next on the agenda should be for the groups to decide and agree on their targets, what they hope to achieve. At a European level, two principle targets emerge. These are national actors and European actors. (10)

Interest Groups and Lobbyists: at a National Level.

National interest groups "tend to represent their interests to national members of EU institutions as well as to their national administrations and governments, and in so doing tend to emphasize the national character of their interests."(8) An interest group lobbies at a national level when they take their concerns to their own national government. There are a number of factors that an interest group need to consider before deciding whether lobbying their respective national governments would have the desired effects or not. One factor which is to be considered is whether or not a national government would be in a position to be effective when comes to local implementations of EU policies and whether a national government would have a co-ordinated system for the development of EU positions. Also, interest groups or lobbyist must select which person or group on the national scene would be the best target to lobby, whether it would be a minister, bureaucrat, businessman or even the prime minister. (10)

Lobbying at a national level would tend to be more effective in a peripheral country. (10) A country or nation would be classified as a peripheral country if it plays only a marginal role in the world economy and therefore be dependent on the core countries and states. (7) Interest groups which lack sufficient funds and resources to lobby at a European level would also opt to lobby on the national level as this would be the main way to get their interest heard. Also lobbying at a national level may be conducted by interest groups that enjoy a disproportional role in the domestic political system or structure in a country.

National Interest Groups Lobbying at a European Level: Opportunities and Challenges

Interest Groups and Lobbyists: at a European Level.

"Typically, EU interest groups are composed of national associations, rather than having a direct membership of individuals." (8) (Cini, p. 210, 2007) It can be seen that the strength and influence lobbying has at a European level is linked to number of member states part of the EU. As the number of states increased over time, so has the voice of interest groups and lobbyists have also increased. Over time the European Union has broadened its jurisdiction to include policies related to the consumer, society and environment. In addition to these previously mentioned areas of policy, there are also the various issues, both economically and monetary, within the EU zone brought on since the creation and implementation of the Euro, the currency of the EU. These reasons, along that with most national laws in EU member states are devised and originated by the European Union, has led to the growth of lobbying at the European Level. (9)

With regards to lobbying at an EU level, interest groups and lobbyists can take three routes. They can choose to lobby the European Commission, the European Parliament or the Council of the European Union.

The European Commission is one of the main institutions of the European Union. It can be said that the European Commission is the executive arm of the Union. (9) It has a unique role and is tasked with representing the interests of the Union as a whole and upholding these interests. Additionally it is also responsible for drafting proposals for new European laws, and the managing of the implementation of policies thought up and accepted by the EU and it is also responsible for the spending of EU funds. (11) Since the Commission is a key part of the drafting phase of any proposal, it is therefore a prime target for interest groups and lobbyists who would hope to be have their opinions heard before a policy or legislation is drafted. The Commission itself would actively seek to obtain feedback and opinions regarding the drafting of proposals. This is because it is in the Commission’s best interest to establish and nurture a receptive civil society, with the intention of devising generally accepted proposals which would be implemented at a national level by the governments of each member state. (10) The European Commission offers the best access of interest groups and lobbyists through the Directorates General. The directorates general are distinct departments which are made up of staff members of the Commission. These staff would be left responsible for specific tasks in policy areas. Due to this responsibility, the Directorates General would usually consult with interest groups and lobbyists regarding issues which tend to fall under the jurisdiction of the European Union. (9)

The European Parliament is one of the main law-making institutions of the European Union. Members of the European Parliament are elected with the purpose to represent the people of the Unions’ member states. Members of the European Parliament are elected by EU voters every five years. As an entity, the European Parliament has three roles it must perform. The European Parliament is to pass laws after debating them with the Council of the European Union. It should also provide scrutiny towards other institutions of the European Union, such as the European Commission, to ensure they are working efficiently and democratically. The last role entrusted with the European Parliament is to debate and adopt the budget of the EU, another task which is performed with the Council of the European Union. (12) A proposal in 2008 was put forward by the European Parliament whereby there would only be one single register of lobbyists and interest groups, which would be common to the European Commission, European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, and not that each of these actors keep separate individual registers. It can be said that the European Parliament is "a directly elected body that co-legislates with the Council". (9) The European Parliament has often been considered to be one of the most open institutions in the European Union. This is due of course to the fact that it is generally relatively easy to get into contact with Members of the European Parliament, who themselves have a vested interests to genuinely listen to the concerns of interest groups and lobbyists as their own careers lie in the hands of the electorate, and seeming to be willing to listen to concerns and attempting to assists interest groups and lobbyists when lobbying an agenda, especially one that is within public interest, would certainly be of benefit to them. Theoretically, it would be ideal for interest groups and lobbyists to employ a tactic which is referred to as ‘lobby everyone at all times.’ As its name suggests this tactic would require that lobbying would be carried out on all suitable actors and agents. However this model would not work in practical as this tactic would require a potentially limitless supply of resources, such as funding and human labour, and no interest group or lobbyists has such an abundance of resources. (10) Lobbying the European Parliament may be an option available to interest groups and lobbyists if lobbying other actors did not yield the desired results. If left unsatisfied by the proposals drafted by the European Commission, interest groups and lobbyists may opt to lobby the Members of the European Parliament. In this case, instead of lobbying the initial terms of a proposal, when lobbying the European Parliament interest groups and lobbyists would lobby for the inclusion of amendments to the original text. (13)

References

1) http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/interest-group.html (4th January 2013)

2) http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Lobbying (4th January 2013)

3) http://europa.eu/about-eu/eu-history/1945-1959/1957/index_en.htm (4th January 2013)

4) http://europa.eu/about-eu/basic-information/symbols/europe-day/schuman-declaration/index_en.htm (4th January 2013)

5) http://europa.eu/about-eu/eu-history/index_en.htm (7th January 2013)

6) http://europa.eu/about-eu/eu-history/2000-2009/index_en.htm (7th January 2013)

7) http://sociology.socialsciencedictionary.com/Sociology-Dictionary/PERIPHERY_COUNTRIES (8th January 2013)

9) http://www.eurunion.org/News/eunewsletters/EUInsight/2008/EUInsight-Lobbying-Sept08.pdf (12th January 2013)

10) Notes taken during "Politics of the European Union" lectures

11) http://europa.eu/about-eu/institutions-bodies/european-commission/index_en.htm (14th January 2013)

12) http://europa.eu/about-eu/institutions-bodies/european-parliament/index_en.htm (16th January 2013)

13) http://www.cultureactioneurope.org/lang-en/advocate/advocacy-and-lobbying-at-eu-level?p=1-know-your-target&e4b73c3745ac4bc374714928e835769b=87e01a198b2f4704e08bddfcfc4ae6ea (16th January 2013)