Germany in Europe: the Europeanization of German politics

Transcription

1 Timm Beichelt Germany in Europe: the Europeanization of German politics MA Seminar, Winter Semester 2008/09 Session: Political Institutions I: Government

2 Seminar schedule Accession test Intermediary institutions I: Interest Groups Introduction, planning Intermediary institutions II: political parties No session 8.1. Political institutions I: Government Culture I: Germany s long road to the West Theory I: The European Policy Cycle Theory II: Dimensions of Europeanization Culture II: The Germans view on the nation Culture III: The Germans view on Europe Political institutions II: Parliamentiarism and Bundestag Excursion to Berlin (Foreign Ministry, Bundestag) Political institutions III: Federalism and Bundesrat 5.2. Europeanization and Democracy Presentation of term paper projects

3 Field trip to Berlin Takes place on january 22!! 9:00 Deutscher Bundestag (EU-Ausschuss): The German Bundestag and European Policy 10:00 Meeting with a MdB (tbc) 11:30 Auswärtiges Amt (EU coordination unit): German EU policy from the government perspective

4 Student presentations Accession test Intermediary institutions I: N.N Introduction, planning Intermediary institutions II: Erin Schafranek No session 8.1. Political institutions I: N.N Culture I: Germany s long road to the West Theory I: The European Policy Cycle Theory II: Dimensions of Europeanization Political institutions II: N.N Excursion to Berlin (Foreign Ministry, Bundestag) Political institutions III: Nathan Droesch Culture II: N.N Europeanization and Democracy: Frances Hill Culture III: Tiago Brandt Presentation of term paper projects

5 Thought Paper topics Culture I: Germany s long road to the West Thought Paper Topic I: Is there a conception of "the West" that serves as a main reference for German society? Theory I: The European Policy Cycle Thought Paper Topic II: Discuss the policy cycle concept from a critical perspective Theory II: Dimensions of Europeanization Thought Paper Topic III: The Erasmus Student Exchange Program what type of Europeanization does it represent? Culture II: The Germans view on the nation Thought Paper Topic IV: The film Der Baader-Meinhof-Komplex what does it tell us about contemporary conceptions of the German nation? Culture III: The Germans view on Europe Thought Paper Topic V: Critically examine the official positions of German political parties concerning Europe what do they tell us about the German parties views on the EU and European integration? Intermediary institutions II: political parties Thought Paper Topic VI: Party opposition to the Lisbon Treaty comes from the Radical Left as well as the Radical Right. Discuss the coincidence that critique of European integration is articulated only on the extreme edges of the German party system Political Institutions I: Government Thought Paper Topic VII: In the political system of the EU, the Council acts as a major legislative body. As a result, many laws are in fact both designed and decided by the executive. Discuss the normative implications of this development Political Institutions II: Parliamentiarism and Bundestag Thought Paper Topic VIII: National parliaments are said to have lost much institutional weight during the course Europeanization. Discuss the hypothesis with a special focus on the character of decision-making in European politics.

6 Today s session I. National Interest(s) and EU policy II. EU policy coordination: the transmission of domestic preferences into European issues III.Conclusion

7 Ia. National interests in the EU Discussion: What are major concerns of your home country (Germany, Poland, ) in EU politics? - general interests - issue related preferences

8 Ib. National interests in the EU - General interests - Lines of conflict between EU members - The German position - Issue related preferences - Conflicts between MS and between MS and community institutions - The German position

9 Ic. National interests in the EU Discussion: How can you determine if a given EU policy of a MS government is oriented at a) National interests b) European interests

10 Id-1. Transmission of community directives into national law, in % Rank State Percentage of transmitted directives Litauen Belgien Slowakei Lettland Niederlande Frankreich Großbritannien Dänemark Estland Deutschland

11 Id-2. Transmission of community directives into national law, in % Ungarn Irland Slowenien Zypern Finnland Malta Schweden Österreich Polen Bulgarien Tschechie n Spanien

12 Id-3. Transmission of community directives into national law, in % Italien Griechenland Luxemburg Portugal Rumänien EU-15/27 total

13 Ie-1. Annual Actions for failure to fulfill obligations at ECJ Sum Italien Griechenland Frankreich Luxemburg Spanien Deutschland Österreich Irland Belgien Portugal

14 Ie-2. Annual Actions for failure to fulfill obligations at ECJ Großbritannien Niederlande Finnland Schweden Dänemark Tschechien Estland Polen Malta Slowakei Sum

15 II. EU policy coordination Discussion: Imagine you are a government official of a EU member state. Your aim is defend your national interests and preferences on the EU level. How would you organize internally in order to reach the most effective output, e.g. regarding directives?

16 European Policy Cycle: EU level decision-making Dominant Processes EU level institutions involved Nation level institutions involved Interest articulation agenda setting, lobbying Interest Groups Commission Interest Groups National Governments Interest aggregation bargaining, problem solving, coordination - Interest Groups - Council (working groups) Interest Groups National Governments Decision taking debating, finalizing - Interest Groups - Council -EP Interest Groups National Governments

17 II. EU policy coordination Discussion: Imagine you are a government official of a EU member state. Your aim is defend your national interests and preferences on the EU level. How would you organize internally in order to reach the most effective output, e.g. regarding directives?

18 The German model of EU coordination Level 1: Unit ( Referat ) of the leading ministry ( federführendes Ministerium ) Level 2: Delegates of the ministries for European Issues Level 3: Committee of heads of European departments in their respective ministries ( Europa-Abteilungsleiter ) Level 4: Committee of Secretaries of State for European affairs ( Staatssekretärsausschuss für Europafragen ) Level 5: Cabinet