This clear and comprehensive introduction to the European Union considers its development through the theme of crisis and renewal. John Van Oudenaren describes EU institutions and policies, both historically and as they relate to current events. He traces the renewal of the EU that was underway at the end of the 2010s following the euro, migration, and Brexit crises and the health, economic, and political crisis that subsequently hit the Union with unexpected force in the coronavirus pandemic of 2020–2021. Exploring how institutions and policies are adapting to unprecedented political, economic, and geopolitical challenges, the author focuses on two key EU priorities—digitization and the transition to a carbon neutral future. These, he argues, are both intrinsic policy goals and the means by which the Union hopes to ensure its revitalization and its emergence as a “sovereign” power, taking its place alongside the United States and China as one of the big three players in global politics. Explaining the different theoretical perspectives used to understand the EU, the book gives students the tools they need to assess whether the Union is on a path to recovery and renewal.

Table of Contents:

List of Boxes
List of Tables
List of Abbreviations
Chronology
1 Introduction: The EU in an Age of Crisis
A Decade of Triumph
Deepening and Widening
A European Identity
A Decade of Crisis
The Eurozone Crisis
The Ukraine Crisis
The Refugee Crisis
Brexit
Anti-EU Populism
The Specter of Disintegration
Resilience and Recovery
The Coronavirus Crisis
The Quest for Renewal
Key Issues
History and Theory
Outline of the Book
Suggestions for Further Reading | Online Sources of Information about the EU | Notes
2 European Integration in Historical Perspective
The Early Postwar Years
The Marshall Plan and the OEEC
The Brussels Treaty and NATO
The Council of Europe
The Federal Republic of Germany
Supranational versus Intergovernmental Approaches to Integration
The European Coal and Steel Community
The Schuman Declaration
The European Defense Community
The European Economic Community and Euratom
The Spaak Committee and the Treaties of Rome
The Institutional Framework
1958–1969: Formative Years
A “Europe of the Nations”
Britain and EFTA
The Empty Chair Crisis
Great Expectations: The Hague Summit and the 1970s
The Hague Summit
The European Council and Direct Elections to the European Parliament
The Mediterranean Enlargement and the EMS
Relaunch in the 1980s
The Single Market Program
Institutional Reform
Economic and Monetary Union
Breakthroughs in the 1990s
The Treaty of Maastricht
The EFTA Enlargement
Preparing for Eastern and Southern Enlargement
The Treaty of Amsterdam
The Euro
The Treaty of Nice and Enlargement
The Constitutional Convention and the Treaty of Lisbon
Conclusions
Suggestions for Further Reading | Notes
3 Institutions and the Constitutional Order
Values and Aims
The Institutions
The European Council
The Council of Ministers
The European Commission
The European Parliament
The Court of Justice of the European Union
The Court of Auditors
Other EU Bodies
The Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions
The European Investment Bank
EU Agencies
Conclusions
Suggestions for Further Reading | Notes
4 Legislation and the Budget
EU Law
Principles of Union Law
How Laws Are Made
Regulations, Directives, and Decisions
The Budget
The Multiannual Financial Framework
Proposals for Reform
Responding to the Pandemic
Next Generation EU
The 2021–2027 MFF
Rebates
Own Resources
Conditionality and the Rule of Law
Finalizing the Package
The Role of the European Parliament
Hungary and Poland Balk
Moving Forward
Conclusions
Suggestions for Further Reading | Notes
5 The Single Market
The Customs Union
The Single Market Program
The 1985 White Paper
The Commission’s Strategy
Implementing 1992
Goods
Services
Capital
Persons
Overall Results
The Single Market after 1992
Targets and Campaigns
Enforcement
The Single Market in the 2020s
Implementation and Enforcement
New Areas
The Single Market and the EU and the World
Conclusions
Suggestions for Further Reading | Notes
6 Internal Policies
The Common Agricultural Policy
The Community and the CAP
Early Reforms
The 2013 Reform
The 2020 Reforms
The Common Fisheries Policy
Competition Policy
Anticompetitive Practices by Firms
Anticompetitive Practices by Governments—State Aids
Competition and Industrial Policy in the 2020s
The Common Transport Policy
Trans-European Networks
Environmental Policy
Climate Change
The European Green Deal
Cohesion Policy
Cohesion and Enlargement
The Funds and Their Objectives
Controversy and Conditionality
Social Policy
Research and Development
Other Policy Areas
Conclusions
Suggestions for Further Reading | Notes
7 The Euro and Its Discontents
Background
The European Monetary System
Europe Responds to the Dollar
Toward a Fixed Regime
Toward EMU
Delors Leads the Way
Economic Pros and Cons
The Maastricht Negotiations
Stage 2 and Convergence
The Stability and Growth Pact
The Birth of the Euro
The Lisbon Strategy
Economic and Monetary Policy
Economic Policy
Monetary Policy
The Eurozone Crisis
Origins and Underlying Causes
The Crisis Breaks
The Changing Role of the ECB
Reform of EMU Governance
The Economic Consequences of the Coronavirus Crisis
Conclusions
Suggestions for Further Reading | Notes
8 Citizens, Immigrants, and Refugees: The Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice
From Economic Community to a Citizens Union
The Trevi Group and Schengen
Maastricht and the Third Pillar
The Amsterdam Reforms
The Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
The Tampere and Hague Programs
The Treaty of Lisbon
The Stockholm Program and Beyond
Europol and Frontex
Immigration as an Enduring Challenge
The New Pact on Migration and Asylum
Citizenship and Nondiscrimination
Article 7 and the Rule of Law Mechanism
The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
Conclusions
Suggestions for Further Reading | Notes
9 Enlargement and Wider Europe
Enlargement
Process
The Western Balkans
Prospects
The 2020 Enhanced Accession Process
Turkey
EU-Turkey Relations
Unintended Consequences and Lessons Learned
The European Neighborhood Policy
The “Ring of Friends”
Eastern Partnership
Union for the Mediterranean
The ENP Meets Reality
The EEA, Switzerland, and the Post-Brexit UK
Brexit
The 2020 Negotiations
The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement
Conclusions
Suggestions for Further Reading | Notes
10 The EU as a Global Actor I: Trade, Regulation, and the Euro
The EU and International Trade
The Common External Tariff and the Common Commercial Policy
GATT and the WTO
Dispute Settlement
The Doha Round
Preferential Trade Agreements
The OACP Countries
Conditionality in EU Trade Policy
The EU as a Regulatory Power
Anti-Trust
Taxation
Privacy and Cross-Border Data Flows
The International Role of the Euro
Conclusions
Suggestions for Further Reading | Notes
11 The EU as a Global Actor II: Foreign Policy and Defense
The Common Foreign and Security Policy
Multilateralism and the 2003 and 2016 Global Strategies
Russia
China
The Strategy for Africa
Other Regions
The EU as a Security and Defense Actor
From ESDP to CSDP
The Declaration on European Defense
The Treaty of Lisbon and PESCO
The European Defense Fund
Results to Date
Cooperation with NATO
Conclusions
Suggestions for Further Reading | Notes
12 EU-U.S. Relations
The United States and European Integration
Shifting U.S. Attitudes
Institutionalizing of Ties
Economic Relations
Trade and Investment
Bilateral Trade and Investment Initiatives
TTIP—Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
Trade Relations under Trump
Disputes and the Judicialization of Trade Relations
Data Issues and the Digital Economy
Mutual Grievances
Foreign and Security Policy Cooperation
Areas of Cooperation
The Debate over Multilateralism
Cooperation against International Terrorism
Climate Change and Iran
A New Start? EU-U.S. Relations under the Biden Administration
Conclusions
Suggestions for Further Reading | Notes
13 The EU and the Member States: Four Cases
France
Germany
Italy
Poland
Conclusions
Suggestions for Further Reading | Notes
14 Crisis versus Renewal: What Future for the EU?
Notes
Index