Critically evaluate the process of European integration and the system of.
Illustrate your argument with reference to at least one of.
the policy areas covered in part three Which are:- Choose one.
1- Justice and Home Affairs .
3- Foreign and Security Policy.
Introduction and short history.
The shared horror of Second World War and the decline of colonial Europe from the seat of world power into an arena of competition between the United States and the Soviet Union revived the ancient dream of European unity. In modern times, all countries of Europe had all conceived of one means or another to transcend nationalism which empowered the two world wars, and after 1945 a combination of factors made the dream of unity in Europe plausible. First, the Soviet threat gave western Europeans an incentive to unite for defence and economic recovery. Second, the very scale of the superpowers suggested that Europeans must bring together their resources if they hoped to play a major role in world affairs. Third, the devastating results of the two world wars had discredited nationalism and strengthened moderate democrats to take an advanced seat in post-war Europe. Fourth, integration was a means by which German economic and military power might be safely revived. Fifth, centralized planning, which had evolved naturally with the war economies, made economic integration seem possible and attractive.
The members of the EU cooperate in three areas, often referred to as pillars. At the heart of this system is the EC pillar with its supranational functions and its governing institutions. The EC pillar is flanked by two pillars based on intergovernmental cooperation: Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and Justice and Home Affairs (JHA). These two pillars are a result of the Maastricht agreement to develop closer cooperation in these areas. However, because the members were unwilling to give up authority to supranational institutions, policy decisions in these pillars are made by unanimous cooperation between members and cannot be enforced.
