More integration, less federation: the European integration of core state powers

ABSTRACT

We map the pattern and extent of the European integration of core state powers (coercive force, public finance and public administration) and analyse causes and consequences. We highlight two findings: First, in contrast to historical examples of federal state-building, where the nationalization of core state powers precipitated the institutional, territorial and political consolidation of the emerging state, the European integration of core state powers is associated with the institutional, territorial and political fragmentation of the European Union. Second, in contrast to European market integration, state élites and mass publics, not organized business interests, are the prime drivers of integration.

KEY WORDS:

• core state powers
• differentiated integration
• integration theory
• new intergovernmentalism
• politicization
• state élites

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Thomas Christiansen, Swen Hutter, Gary Marks, Henning Schmidtke, Philippe Schmitter, Andy Smith, the participants of the ‘Foundation in the Study of EU Integration’ class at EUI, autumn 2014, two anonymous reviewers and the editors of this journal for their helpful comments.

Notes

1 Source: adopted budget for the financial year 2014; OJ L51 of 21/02/2014 available at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/budget/www/index-en.htm (accessed 5 February 2015).

2 See especially TFEU (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) Art. 119(2) forcing EU institutions to prioritize price stability to other macroeconomic goals, and TFEU Arts. 123 and 125 prohibiting the monetary financing of public debt, and the bail-out of public institutions respectively.

3 The figures for 2014: European Commission (24,781 people); EU regulatory and executive agencies and joint undertakings (5,636); European Parliament (6,786); Council (3,101); Court of Justice (1,991); External Action Service (1,661); ECB (1,907); European Investment Bank (EIB) (2,124); civilian and military missions (5,029); and other bodies including the Economic and Social Committee, Committee of the Regions, etc. (2,605).

4 Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

5 Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Ireland, Romania and the United Kingdom.

6 However, the rules of the Two Pack also only apply to eurozone member states.

7 The Athena funding mechanism, to which all 27 participating members states contribute, in relation to their gross domestic product (GDP), only covers about 10 per cent of a mission's operation costs (Mérand and Angers 2014: 54).

8 Mass publics is a general term for a complex phenomenon including mediatized public debates, party competition and the mobilization of civil protest (Hutter et al. forthcoming).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Philipp Genschel

Biographical notes

Philipp Genschel is professor of European public policy at the European University Institute, Florence.

Markus Jachtenfuchs

Markus Jachtenfuchs is professor of European and global goverance at the Hertie School of Governance, Berlin.