2 - 7 - 4b deepening of the eu

[MUSIC]. In the previous parts of this video, we looked primarily at the early years of the European integration process. Both with its successes and its failures. In this second part of this video, we will start with the single European act that brought a new impetus to the European integration process, and we will also look at the most important changes. That wore about, brought about by the successive treaty amendments since Maastricht. Now this period of relative Euro Sclerosis, as one referred to it, ended more or less with the adoption of the Single European Act. In 1986 which provided a new impetus to the European integration process, focusing primarily on the completion of the common market which was rebaptized as the internal market. The Single European Act. Would be, would signal the first of a number of treaty changes which would follow each other in relatively quick succession. And in which the focus was, in all of them, invariably, on transferring more competences. To the European level whereby one would also transfer competences beyond the purely economic sphere. Secondly, the focus on more qualified majority voting and less voting by unanimity, and thirdly, more involvement of the European parliament. Examples of new competences that were granted to the, to the communities in the Single European Act were, for example, environmental policy, social policy, research and development, and economic and social cohesion. Five years after the adoption of the Single European Act, another treaty change was already concluded in the important Treaty of Maastricht. The Maastricht Treaty first of all introduced for the first time the concept of the European Union. It also set up a rather complex structure, a pillar structure, which reflected this dilemma between on the one hand decision making by, by qualified majority voting, the more supernational way of acting, and the more intergovernmental approach. The intergovernmental approach was reflected in the circle second and third films. On common foreign security policy. And justice and home affairs the super national [UNKNOWN] was the the previous European economic community now the European communities. As it had moved beyond the mere economic sphere. Important changes introduced in, in the Maastricht Treaty involved, amongst others, the introduction of the concept of European citizenship and the paving of the way for the introduction of the European single currency in successive stages. Throughout the 90's. So new competences introduce in the Maastricht treaty, were amongst others, education, culture, consumer protection, and public health. The treat of Maastricht entered into force in 1993. By that time the political climate in the European union had drastically changed. And then we had several Central and Eastern European countries knocking at the door of the European Union. Now in order to prepare for EU membership of all these countries, it was felt necessary to revise the institutional structure of the union. Which still dated back to the original days. The European communities in the 50's. And we all that it is one thing to take decisions with six member states. It's an entirely different thing to come to decisions with 25 or 27 member states. This adaptation. Of the institutional strain, framework of the Union was the main goal of the treaties of Amsterdam and Nice. In Amsterdam, one didn't really manage to get the job done so, the hot potato was passed onto the treaty of Nice at the change of the century. In the Nice Treaty the, one managed to work out a new institutional framework but it wasn't a very satisfactory one. So soon after the, the, the Treaty of Nice was concluded. It was already thought that a new, major overhaul would be necessary. In addition, the Laeken Declaration was adopted under the Belgian presidency one year later, in which it was officially proclaimed that the Union needed to become more transparent, more accessible more flexible, in other words had to come closer to its citizens. For these purposes a convention on the future of Europe was established. A meeting of Representatives of the European institutions, the member states of the European Union and also some candidate countries to discuss about a new treaty. These negotiations quickly proved successful and barely a couple of years later a constitutional treaty was adopted. Now, this constitutional treaty failed to be to enter into force as the ratification process was halted. After the rejection of the treaty in the popular referendum in France and the Netherlands in 2005. These rejections projected or plunged the union in a severe identity crisis, after which, which it would solve or overcome only after a period. Of reflection. After that period of reflection one started renegotiating a new treaty heavily modeled on this reform treat on on this constitutional treaty. The treaty of Lisbon would ultimately be adopted in 2007. It would only enter into force in 2009, after the ratification process proved rather problematic with obstacles being created in, not only in Ireland, but also in Poland, the Czech Republic and by the Constitutional Court. In Germany, this, by the way didn't prove the first time that a treaty was confronted with ratification problems, this had already happened at [UNKNOWN] when the Danish opposed to it and in Nice, when the Irish opposed to it for the first time already. Ultimately. These these problems were overcome and the treaty could enter into force on the first of December 2009. The Lisbon Treaty managed to revise the institutional framework of the treaties, and it seems that the machinery works. So that is bonus points for Lisbon. At the same, it is also clear that Lisbon didn't manage to realize all the objectives from the Lockin declaration. The Union has not become very much more transparent or accessible, and it remains to be seen whether the gap between Union and the citizens have, has over, has been overcome. Now this may be problematic, because a Union needs the popular support. It took ten years to change this treaty. This is simply too much, and it may very well be that the ordinary treaty revision procedure has reached its outer limits. In the aftermath of Lisbon, it was predicted that this could very well be the, the final hold of the European integration train for a very long time to come. Now, by now, events have proven this predicition already wrong. And there has already been a small ulterior treaty change in the, in the midst of the government depth crisis, the Euro-crisis, as we will we see. In the, in, in, in the last week. Ultimately, the European integration process is like the Procession of Echternach. You move gradually forwards but only in small steps and if we reflect upon these last decades it is clear that this move forward is mainly realized in periods of crisis. [MUSIC]