Introduction
The concept of European integration was created in the post-Second World War period. The initial objective was to encourage countries to unite by building stronger economic and industrial cooperation. Originally, the European Union (EU) was created as a common market, but it eventually evolved into a political alliance. The origin of the EU has been marked by two key components, namely, the formation of a common market devoid of internal boundaries between the cooperating member states and political alliance. The birth of European integration roughly five decades ago was centered on the formation of a common market. The formation of a common market must ultimately lead to a political alliance. Rather than framing an encompassing constitution for the entire European region, the purpose was to initially carry out actual measures in the economic sector so as to boost the wider political goal. This idea is conclusively stated in the foreword of the original European Treatises, establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) by the Treaty of Paris on April 18, 1951. As stated:
Recognizing that Europe can be built only through practical achievements which will first of all create real solidarity, and through the establishment of common bases for economic development Resolved to create by establishing an economic community, the basis for a broader and deeper community among peoples.
The EU has its roots in the ECSC. The actual political objective of the ECSC was to prevent the threat of potential dispute between Germany and France by bringing the two fundamental components in their economies-- steel manufacturing and coal production-- together in a more integrated way.
In 1870, the conflict between Germany and France had resulted in the only large-scale European war to occur between 1815, which marks the finale of the Napoleonic wars and the advent of World War I almost a century afterward. From 1914 to 1918, such conflict had been a key aspect in World War I, and the main driving force for the next. The most promising way to prevent another major dispute or war, it was claimed, was to bring the French and German economies firmly together that it would be absolutely absurd or impractical for them to oppose each other once more. Given that it is unimaginable today that a war should erupt between Germany and France-- or, in fact, between any of the EU member states-- its original political objective has been fully attained.
In the agricultural sector, the South mirrors developing nations more than developed ones. The manufacturing segment also verifies this dualism, with the fact that the North has a lead in the accumulation of human capital, whereas the South focuses in resource-exhaustive goods and services. Ultimately, in the service area the South and the North encounter qualitative disparities, particularly in commercial services. These structural gaps have a tendency to orient the drive and the makeup of the capitalist class in the EU.
The subject matter is examined by Kees Van der Pijl and Otto Holman, who assert that capital stands for a capably world-enveloping political and economic force, organizing functions and patterns of awareness and behavior. Nevertheless, the contexts where in a bourgeoisie develop and forms into a conscious political and economic force are real. In an integrated and historically informed model, the authors began their study with an explanation of the ‘postwar corporate-liberal restructuring of capitalist relations’ generally and particularly, the power of the bourgeois. Afterwards, they proceed to the emergence of global neoliberalism as a reorganizing force on current, primarily countrywide, power compositions.
Lastly, they focus on the most powerful global business group, the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT), and its function as a policy-forming organization. The authors explain that this association has been serving a significant function in strengthening a particular level of cohesion among the dominant social institutions in Europe. This essay will discuss explain the level of integration of the EU in terms of economy and politics.
Of primary importance to this subject matter has been the task performed by the petty bourgeoisie. Vassilis Pesmazoglou and Antigone Lyberaki study just a sector of this social level, the small- and medium-sized industrialists of the business sector, emphasizing the position that the examination of this group should be situated within wider macroeconomic developments. The intention at this point is to analyses the diversity of initiatives and policy proposals related to the continuation and propagation of small- and medium-sized businesses, both as a reaction to the depression and as a way of surpassing it. Having elaborated the most prominent current theoretical paradigm for small and medium- sized businesses, the researchers then analyses the information at hand, contending more particularly with concerns regarding work conditions, compensation, and employment production, as well as the operation of business districts.
Their claim is that the context of the EU provides some relevant ideas regarding the policy matters concerned in the reinforcement of smaller organizations. Nevertheless, the authors argue that small- and medium-sized businesses within the EU will confront some challenging difficulties, such as competition with and adjustment to bigger companies, corporations, and multinationals. This discussion about the petty bourgeoisie will demonstrate how the group serves as a contributing force to the political and economic integration of the EU.
The relevance of the petty bourgeoisie can be situated in EU’s agricultural sector. Napoleon Maraveyas studies this by claiming that substantial disparities among the agricultural hierarchies, and the agricultural structures of all the member states, remain in the EU. The researcher ascribes this diversity to the distinct historical, political and social developments and to the climactic and natural features of these societies. The study focuses initially on the agricultural disparities and inequalities among the member states of the EU. Afterwards the researcher analyses the processes and the changes initiated to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in order to explain the oppositions concerned in the expression of the interests of the farmers in Europe, as articulated through the agricultural groups in Europe. These oppositions have contributed to the apparent, specifically, the preservation of the social inequalities between member states and regions. As stated by Maraveyas, after thirty years of the use of the CAP, the reality exists that there has not been a significant integration of the agricultural structures among the member states.
Social inequalities are also present among the urban working class of the EU, a sizeable fraction of which comprise ‘third world’ or foreign locals. Patrick Ireland studies the difficulties these foreign nationals encounter in attempting to take part in the EU, claiming that European integration has certainly had a political impact on immigrant groups, with the fact that they are creating novel, European-ranked types of organisation and patterns of unity. Nevertheless, the reality exists that foreign-born nationals, even more than native Europeans, have stumbled upon obstacles when attempting to take part in the policy-making process of the EU. The social diversity involved also influences the outlooks of individuals toward European integration.
George A. Kourvetaris and Andreas G. Kourvetaris study the ethnic and cultural aspects of this subject matter, employing information from interviews with delegates and representatives from the EU member states and available literature. The researchers claim that although economic and, somewhat, political integration has been the primary emphasis of EU, ethnic and cultural concerns, such as nationalism, language, integration, and related concepts, have not been answered by most Europeans. The researchers assume that even though majority of Europeans have common values, they recognize themselves originally as members of individual ethnic or racial groups and second as Europeans. The authors discerned that the contrary is an attribute in the United States. The researchers argue that while the development toward political and economic integration will unite Europeans, only time will divulge the level to which cultural and ethnic integration will occur.
An issue which has broadly been studied in the EU is the manner social interests are voiced and manifested. The work of Philippe C. Schmitter and Wolfgang Streeck explains this issue from a particular perspective: the researchers study the mechanisms of pluralist interest expression and corporatism, claiming that the European Union contributes to the progress of the former. The explanation for this is that, organized labor in the European Union not merely has been weakly organized but there has never been an actual likelihood of an equally organizing relationship impact between labor and the other two primary forces in the political economy as well—the state and capital. This implies that in the European Union there is no machinery available to justify the political structure and set up corporatist absolute control of representation.
Social interests are articulated at the political stage as well, through political parties. The morphology and development of the political parties of the EU are studied by Karl Magnus Johansson. His study explains the characteristic of transnational party collaboration within the EU and the center between political parties, transnational and national, and the process of integration. The assumption is that generally the party federations and particularly the political groups are experiencing regular mergers and alignments. The author thinks that in order to make sense of the characteristic of political parties in Europe, one has to become aware of the characteristic of local and national politics. Furthermore, he claims that the surfacing parties in Europe are not mass parties, and that they failed to mobilize public opinion. Rather, they bear a resemblance to the political parties in America in the sense that they are active mainly regarding elections and function as media for rivaling elites.
The political parties of Europe express and voice out political, economic, and social interests mostly within the institutionalized instrument of the European Parliament (EP). The roles, development, history, and influence of this institution are studied by Juliet Lodge. She claims that the functions and duties of the EP, and alongside those of its political parties, have altered remarkably since the late 1970s, when the initial Euro-elections took place. In reality, the mutual relationship between the EP and the parties has become more and more substantial, and will become one of the primary attributes of institutional growth throughout the 1990s. The provisions of the Maastrict Treaty have certainly reinforced the task of the EP in the institutional structure of the European Union. And as remarked by Lodge, small progressive changes have possible major repercussions for the use of power and influence by the progressive bicameral legislature of the EC: the ‘Council and the European Parliament’.
The interesting argument stated by the author is that an accurate knowledge of the institutional developments in progress necessitates an analysis of the structural changes taking place in the societies and economies of Europe in a period of internationalization and integration. The major premise is that the justification for the creation of the regional-local authorities in the period of economic reorganization and depression depends in the necessity to cultivate the progress of the domestic forces of the territories. Hence the integration of Europe, established by the Maastrict Treaty, is an immediate reaction to these political and economic demands.
Social interests are articulated at the political stage as well, through political parties. The morphology and development of the political parties of the EU are studied by Karl Magnus Johansson. His study explains the characteristic of transnational party collaboration within the EU and the centre between political parties, transnational and national, and the process of integration. The assumption is that generally the party federations and particularly the political groups are experiencing regular mergers and alignments. The author thinks that in order to make sense of the characteristic of political parties in Europe, one has to become aware of the characteristic of local and national politics. Furthermore, he claims that the surfacing parties in Europe are not mass parties, and that they failed to mobilise public opinion. Rather, they bear a resemblance to the political parties in America in the sense that they are active mainly regarding elections and function as media for rivalling elites.
This discussion evokes a wider debate on the integration of Europe and the challenge for economic and political merger. The work of Gianni Bonvicini provides a general idea of the historical procedure which resulted in the arrangements of the European Union. Bonvicini focuses on the characteristic and procedure of the integration of Europe by examining the integration conditions. Particularly, he examines the Maastricht Treaty and the weakening of public advocacy which destabilizes the 1986 Single European Act. He studies the explanations for the weakening of public support and presents potential solutions for the integration process. More particularly, the researcher underlines the actual implications and the informal experiences gained from the use of particular strategies and decision-making tools to the formation of Europe.
Two states of affairs are suggested for the future: ‘one is the consolidation of the Maastricht arrangements, and the other is the quick and sharp revision of Maastricht’. The conclusion of the researcher is that Europe’s future will be the outcome of an informal fusion of various standards, such as a combination of institutional processes, the use of the premise of subsidiarity, and the belief of the public about the guarantees given by the involvement in the integration process. The process toward political unity and institutional formation does not occur within predetermined external borders, since the EU still confronts the issue of enlargement.
The restrictions of the European Union in the perspective of enlargement are an issue studied by Nicholas V. Gianaris. He claims that, even though there are profoundly entrenched ethnic and cultural differences, and numerous uncertainties and disputes may seem in the enlargement process, the thrust should stay permanent. This is because, in order for the European Union to realize its major objectives, specifically, “peace and the refusal to decline,” it should be expanded to an absolute membership of all the countries in Europe. He further suggests that enlargement will rely on the success of the integration of Europe. His primary argument is that a steady enlargement of the European Union will generate more trade, which will result in political and economic strength.
The correlation between European security and enlargement, and issues of civil-military generally, are additionally explained by Kostas Messas. He argues that European integration has provided its core components important experience in forming a paradigm within which nationalist ambitions are reduced. Hence the EU should take into account accepting several countries in Eastern Europe interested in becoming members. Moreover, the researcher claims that Europe requires a wide-ranging paradigm of stability and security for European integration to be successful. A realization of this enormity can merely be achieved through military, economic, and political cooperation among the main players in the region.
Conclusions
In conclusion, it must be clarified that the discussions here are not all on issues initially required, and hence the general consistency is not as inclusive as the author aimed it to be. Nevertheless, there is an apparent pluralism in the discussion with regard to diversity of arguments articulated and the different frameworks used. There is also a deliberate attempt to use political and economic analysis in the investigation of major issues of the integration of Europe. However, one thing is apparent from the different scholastic arguments: the political and economic integration of Europe is still underway.
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