The European Union

1
The European Union

• Ankara April 20 21, 2004

2
PART ONE

• Some historical Milestones

3
Why the European Union?

• Peace
• The idea of a united Europe was once just a dream
  in the minds of philosophers and visionaries.
• Victor Hugo, for example, imagined in the 19th
  century, a peaceful 'United States of Europe'
  inspired by humanistic ideals.
• The dream was shattered by the two terrible World
  Wars.
• But from the rubble of World War II emerged a new
  kind of hope. People who had resisted
  totalitarianism during the war were determined to
  put an end to hatred and rivalry between European
  nations and to build a lasting peace between
  former enemies.

4
The Founding Fathers

• Between 1945 and 1950, a handful of courageous
  statesmen including Konrad Adenauer, Winston
  Churchill, Alcide de Gasperi and Robert Schuman
  set about persuading their peoples to enter a new
  era.
• There would be a new order in western Europe,
  based on the interests its peoples and nations
  shared together, and it would be founded upon
  treaties guaranteeing the rule of law and
  equality between all countries.

Jean Monnet, Luxembourg, 1952. The European Coal
and Steel Community (ECSC) The First Common
Market,the first European team

• Robert Schuman (French Foreign Affairs Minister)
  took up an idea originally conceived by Jean
  Monnet and, on 9 May 1950, proposed setting up a
  European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). In
  countries that had once fought each other, the
  production of coal and steel would be pooled
  under a shared authority - the 'High Authority'.
  In a practical but also richly symbolic way, the
  raw materials of war were being turned into
  instruments of reconciliation and peace.

5
Historic steps

• The first step in European integration was then
  taken when six countries (Belgium, the Federal
  Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg
  and the Netherlands) set up a common market in
  coal and steel
• Treaty of Paris, which set up the European Coal
  and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951
• The six member states then decided to build a
  European Economic Community (EEC) based on a
  common market in a wide range of goods and
  services
• the Treaties of Rome, which set up the European
  Economic Community (EEC) - and the European
  Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) - in 1957
• Hence,we spoke at the time of the European
  Communities and not yet of the European Union.

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The first Enlargement

• Customs duties between the six countries were
  completely removed on 1 July 1968 and common
  policies - notably on trade and agriculture -
  were also set up during the 1960s.
• In 1973, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom
  decided to join the Communities. At the same
  time, the Communities took on new tasks and
  introduced new social, regional and environmental
  policies.
• To implement the regional policy, the European
  Regional Development Fund (ERDF) was set up in
  1975.
• Community leaders then first realised that they
  had to bring their economies into line with one
  another and therefore, the need for monetary
  union. After the United States decision to
  suspend the dollar's convertibility into gold,
  the introduction of the European Monetary System
  (EMS) in 1979 helped stabilise exchange rates and
  encouraged the Community member states to
  implement strict policies that allowed them to
  maintain their mutual solidarity and to
  discipline their economies.

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Map 1
1973
Source DG Enlargement
8
The next two Enlargements

• In 1981 Greece joined the Communities, followed
  by Spain and Portugal in 1986.
• This made it all the more urgent to introduce
  'structural' programmes such as the first
  Integrated Mediterranean Programmes (IMP), aimed
  at reducing the economic development gap between
  the 12 member states.
• A world-wide economic recession in the early
  1980s brought with it a wave of 'euro-pessimism'.
  But hope sprang anew in 1985 when the European
  Commission, under its President Jacques Delors,
  published a 'white paper' setting out a timetable
  for completing the European single market by 1
  January 1993. The Communities adopted this
  ambitious goal and enshrined it in the Single
  European Act, which came into force on 1 July
  1987 and was the first amendment of the Founding
  Treaty of Rome.

9
Map 2
1981
1986
Source DG Enlargement
10
The first 'internal' Enlargement

• After the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989,
  Germany was reunified on 3 October 1990.
• At the meantime, the member states negotiated a
  new treaty that was adopted by the European
  Council (i.e. their presidents and/or prime
  ministers) at Maastricht in December 1991.This
  'Treaty on European Union' came into force on 1
  November 1993. The EEC was renamed simply 'the
  European Community' (EC). Moreover, by adding
  areas of intergovernmental co-operation to the
  existing Community system, the Treaty created the
  European Union (EU).The Treaty of Maastricht
  also set new ambitious goals for the member
  states monetary union by 1999, European
  citizenship, new common policies - including a
  common foreign and security policy (CFSP) - and
  arrangements for internal security.

11
Map 3
1995

• The new European dynamism and the continent's
  changing geopolitics led three more countries -
  Austria, Finland and Sweden - to join the EU on 1
  January 1995. The Union now had 15 member states.

12
A common Currency Euro

• February 1992 The Treaty on European Union and
  Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) is agreed in
  Maastricht is signed and comes into force in
  November 1993. Under this treaty, the national
  currencies will be replaced by a single European
  currency - provided the countries concerned meet
  a number of economic conditions.The most
  important of the 'Maastricht criteria' is that
  the country's budget deficit cannot exceed 3 of
  its gross domestic product (GDP) for more than a
  short period. Public borrowing must not exceed
  60 of GDP. Prices and interest rates must also
  remain stable over a long period, as must
  exchange rates between the currencies concerned.
• June 1997 The Amsterdam European Council agrees
  the 'stability and growth pact' and the new
  exchange rate mechanism designed to ensure stable
  exchange rates between the euro and the
  currencies of the 11 EU countries that remain
  outside the euro area.
• 1 January 1999 birth of the euro the 11
  currencies of the participating countries
  disappear and are replaced by the euro, which
  thus becomes the shared currency of Austria,
  Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland,
  Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands Portugal and
  Spain. (Greece joins them on 1 January 2001).
• 1 January 2002 euro coins and notes are
  introduced

13
Accession Treaty New Enlargements

• (Photo European Commission)
• In order to join the EU, would-be member states
  sign an accession treaty with the current member
  states. Ten countries did so on the 16th April
  2003, in Athens. The accession treaties state
  that new member states have the same rights and
  obligations as the existing member states. Some
  obligations, laid down in special protocols, will
  only enter into force after the accession. The
  accession treaties and acts of accession have to
  be adopted unanimously by the existing Member
  States and by every new member state.There have
  been referenda in all current applicant
  countries, except Cyprus, to permit national
  ratification of the accession treaty.
• Enlargement of the Union to 25 member states has
  gone ahead, keeping to the timetable set by the
  EU institutions. As a politician from one of the
  new member states put it "Europe has finally
  managed to reconcile its history with its
  geography".
• The period 2007 to 2015 should see further
  enlargements of the European Union.

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• Accession countries
• Ratification by referendum in 9 countries
• Parliamentary ratification in Cyprus
• Positive results in all 10 accession countries
• Malta, 8 March 03 Yes 53.6 No 46.4
• Slovenia, 23 March 03 Yes 89.2 No 10.3
• Hungary, 12 April 03 Yes 83.8 No 16.2
• Lithuania, 10-11 May 03 Yes 89.95 No 8.8
• Slovakia, 16-17 May 03 Yes 92.5 No 6.2
• Poland, 7-8 June 03 Yes 77.45 No 22.55
• Czech Republic, 13-14 June 03 Yes 77.3 No
  22.7
• Cyprus, 14 July 03 (Parliamentary vote) Yes
  100
• Estonia, 14 September 03 Yes 66.8 No 33.2
• Latvia, 20 September 03 Yes 67 No 32.3

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Ratification of EU Enlargement

• In the existing EU-15
• European Parliament
• Vote took place on 9 April 2003 (before signature
  of Treaty)
• Parliament gave its assent to the accession of
  all 10 accession countries with between 489 and
  522 votes in favour (individual vote for each
  country).
• Member States
• Ratification expected to be a formality
• So far completed only by Denmark Ratification on
  11 June 2003

16
 biz are degil yapi koalisyon arada ülke , ama
birlesme ortasinda insanlar Jean Monnet
17
PART TWO

• Institutions and Decision-making

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How does the Union work?

• The European Union is more than just a
  confederation of countries, but it is not a
  federal State. It is, in fact, something entirely
  new and historically unique. Its political system
  has been constantly evolving over the past 50
  years and it is founded on a series of treaties -
  from those signed in Paris and Rome in the 1950s
  to the treaties of Maastricht, Amsterdam and
  Nice, agreed in the 1990s.
• As article 1 of the recent draft Constitution
  states Europe is a union of independent
  countries.
• The treaties constitute what is known as
  'primary' legislation the member states of the
  Union delegate some of their national sovereignty
  to institutions they share and that represent not
  only their national interests but also their
  collective interest.
• A large body of 'secondary' legislation has a
  direct impact on the daily lives of European
  Union citizens mainly of regulations, directives
  and recommendations equivalent of laws

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The Three Pillars

• The first pillar was established with the
  original European Communities and is dealing with
  the  four freedom of movement  (persons, goods,
  capital and services, single market and
  competition) and covers also a number of other
  issues including agriculture, trade, visa and
  asylum policies.
• The second pillar includes the Common Security
  and Foreign Policy.
• The third pillar, Justice and Home Affairs, now
  includes mostly police and judicial co-operation
  in criminal matters.
• There is a fundamental difference between the
  first pillar and the other two the EU
  legislation is directly applicable and has
  primacy over individual members law for the
  first pillar issues.Decision concerning the
  other two pillars requires unanimity and must be
  approved by national Parliaments to become
  applicable in member states.

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European Union
European Community
Common Foreign and Security Policy
Justice and Home Affairs

• Common Policies (e.g. agricultural, social,
  commercial, environmental,
  competition, development, etc.)
• Monetary Union
• Citizenship of the Union

• All areas of foreign policy
• European Security and Defence Policy

• Asylum and Immigration
• External border control
• Judicial co-operation
• Police co-operation and Europol

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The institutional triangle

• EU policies are the result of decisions taken by
  three main institutions
• the Council of the European Union (representing
  the member states),
• the European Parliament (representing the
  citizens)
• the European Commission (a politically
  independent body that upholds the collective
  European interest).
• This institutional triangle can function only if
  the three institutions work closely together and
  trust one another. "In order to carry out their
  task and in accordance with the provisions of
  this Treaty, the European Parliament acting
  jointly with the Council and the Commission shall
  make regulations and issue directives, take
  decisions, make recommendations or deliver
  opinions". (Article 249 of the Treaty of
  Maastricht).

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The Council of the European Union

• The Council of the European Union is the EU's
  main decision-making institution. It was formerly
  known as the 'Council of Ministers', and for
  short it is simply called 'the Council'.
• Each EU country in turn presides over the Council
  for a six-month period. Every Council meeting is
  attended by one minister from each of the member
  states. Which ministers attend a meeting depends
  on which topic is on the agenda.
• The preparatory work for Council meetings is done
  by the Permanent Representatives Committee
  (Coreper), made up of the member states'
  ambassadors to the EU, assisted by officials from
  the national ministries.
• The Council and European Parliament share
  legislative power as well as responsibility for
  the budget. The Council has to take its decisions
  either unanimously or by a majority or 'qualified
  majority' vote - in other words, a decision
  cannot be taken unless a specified minimum number
  of votes is cast in its favour. The number of
  votes each EU country can cast roughly reflects
  the size of its population.

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Qualified Majority Voting

• The Council decides by unanimity in the most
  sensitive areas (including some first pillar
  issues), and in most cases by Qualified Majority
  Voting i.e. a certain number of votes to member
  states as function of their population size, but
  weighted in a way that favours small countries
  relative to strict proportionality.
• Until 1 May 2004, the numbers are as follows
• Germany, France, Italy, the UK 10
• Spain 8
• Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal 5
• Austria, Sweden 4
• Denmark, Ireland, Finland 3
• Luxembourg 2 TOTAL 87
• The minimum number of votes required to reach a
  qualified majority is 62 out of the total of 87
  (i.e. 71.3).

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After the next enlargement

• When new member states join the EU, the number of
  votes each country can cast will be as follows
• Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom 29
  
• Spain and Poland 27
• Netherlands 13
• Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary and
  Portugal 12
• Austria and Sweden 10
• Denmark, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Finland
  7
• Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg and Slovenia
  4
• Malta 3 TOTAL 321
• A minimum of 232 votes (72.3) will be required
  to reach a qualified majority. In addition,
• a majority of member states (in some cases two
  thirds) must approve the decision, and
• any member state can ask for confirmation that
  the votes cast in favour represent at least 62
  of the EU's total population.

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The European Council

• The European Council, which should not be
  confused with the above mentioned Council of the
  European Union, is the forum where the heads of
  state (Presidents and/or Prime Ministers) of the
  EU countries and the President of the European
  Commission meet to discuss general issues.
• It also discusses current world problems. Its aim
  is to speak with one voice on international
  issues, developing a Common Foreign and Security
  Policy (CFSP).
• It has no formal decision-making power, yet it is
  the most influential body it is here that all
  the major policy guidelines are set and that all
  decisions on big issues are taken.
• The European Council meets at least every 6
  months and it takes all decisions unanimously.
• Its presidency rotates every six months between
  all the EU members (we are now and until June 30
  2004 under Irish Presidency, next will be the
  Netherlands).

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The European Parliament

• The European Parliament is the elected body that
  represents the EU's citizens and takes part in
  the legislative process. Since 1979, members of
  the European Parliament (MEPs) have been directly
  elected, by universal suffrage, every five years
  (next election on June 5).
• Until the 2004 elections there are 626 MEPs.
  Thereafter, enlargements of the EU will increase
  that number. The number of MEPs from each country
  is as follows

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• Parliament and the Council share legislative
  power, and they do so using three different
  procedures (in addition to simple consultation).
• First, there is the 'co-operation procedure',
  introduced by the Single European Act in 1986.
  Under this procedure, Parliament gives its
  opinion on draft directives and regulations
  proposed by the European Commission, which can
  amend its proposal to take account of
  Parliament's opinion.
• Second, there is the 'assent procedure', also
  introduced in 1986. Under this procedure,
  Parliament must give its assent to international
  agreements negotiated by the Commission, to any
  proposed enlargement of the European Union and to
  a number of other matters including any changes
  in election rules.
• Third, there is the 'co-decision procedure',
  introduced by the Treaty of Maastricht (1992).
  This puts the Parliament on an equal footing with
  the Council when legislating on a whole series of
  important issues including the free movement of
  workers, the internal market, education,
  research, the environment, health, culture and
  consumer protection. Parliament has the power to
  throw out proposed legislation in these fields if
  an absolute majority of MEPs vote against the
  Council's 'common position'.

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• The Treaty of Amsterdam added another 23 and the
  Treaty of Nice a further seven to the number of
  fields in which the co-decision procedure
  applies.
• Parliament and the Council also share equal
  responsibility for adopting the EU budget. The
  European Commission proposes a draft budget,
  which is then debated by Parliament and the
  Council. Parliament can reject the proposed
  budget. Then, the entire budget procedure has to
  be re-started. Parliament has made full use of
  its budgetary powers to influence EU
  policymaking. However, most of the EU's spending
  on agriculture is beyond Parliament's control.
• Parliament played a key role in drawing up the EU
  Charter of Fundamental Rights (proclaimed in
  December 2000) and in setting up the European
  Convention following the Laeken European Council
  in December 2001.
• Parliament is the body that exercises democratic
  control over the Union. It has the power to
  dismiss the Commission by adopting a motion of
  censure. (This requires a two thirds majority).
  It checks that EU policies are being properly
  managed and implemented - for example by
  examining the reports it receives from the Court
  of Auditors and by putting oral and written
  questions to the Commission and Council. The
  current President of the European Council also
  reports to Parliament on the decisions taken by
  the EU's political leaders.

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• Pat Cox was elected President of the European
  Parliament in 2002.
• Parliamentary debates are dominated by the
  political groups. The largest of these are the
  European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and
  European Democrats - the EPP-ED group the
  Party of European Socialists - PES.

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The European Commission

• The Commission has several roles. Among the most
  important are1) Right to initiate legislation
  The Council and the EP cannot approve any piece
  of legislation if it has not been proposed by the
  Commission.
• 2) Executive power The Commission monitors the
  implementation of the main legislation adopted by
  the EU.
• 3) Regulatory power Mostly in the area of
  public undertakings and public service
  undertaking.
• 4) Power of surveillance of European law The
  Commission is the Guardian of the Treaty if it
  detects infringements to the Treaties, after some
  attempts at resolving them it refers the matter
  to the European Court of Justice.
• 5) Watchdog of the EMU The Commission monitors
  compliance with the economic policies agreed on
  at the beginning of each year, and recommends
  various types of actions to the Council in case
  of non-compliance.

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• The Commission and its President (currently
  Romano Prodi) are first nominated and then
  appointed by member states after approval by the
  EP. Currently, each country has 1 commissioner,
  except that the 5 largest countries have 2, for a
  total of 20 commissioners. From 1 May 2004, when
  new member states join the EU, there will be one
  commissioner per country.
• A common view is that the Commission is an
  unelected, unaccountable body, the quintessential
  technocratic institution. This picture is only
  partially correct. The Commission was designed
  initially as a European think-tank, whose role
  was precisely to propose legislation to the
  bodies with true legislative power. As a
  think-tank, its independence was paramount (the
  Commission has its own financial resources ), and
  the lack of accountability a plus.
• The Commission is accountable collectively to the
  EP if the latter passes a motion of censure, the
  Commission must resign en bloc. It was when faced
  with just such a motion of censure that President
  Jacques Santer tendered the collective
  resignation of his Commission on 16 March 1999.
• The Commission is assisted by a civil service
  made up of 36 "Directorates-General" (DGs) and
  services, based mainly in Brussels and
  Luxembourg.

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35
The Co-decision Procedure
The Commission presents its proposals
The European Parliament (EP) gives its opinion
and proposes amendments
The Council adopts a Common Position
The EP accepts or proposes amendments to the
Common Position
The Commission gives an opinion
The Council adopts the act or sends it to
conciliation committee for final decision
The EP, With an absolute majority, can reject
the proposal
36
The European Court of Justice

• Located in Luxembourg, the Court of Justice is
  made up of one judge from each EU country,
  assisted by eight advocates-general, appointed by
  joint agreement of the governments of the member
  states, appointed for a term of six years, after
  which they may be reappointed for one or two
  further periods of three years. They can be
  relied on to show impartiality.
• The EU Court of Justice can interpret EU laws
  and seek its application. Court cases can be
  initiated both by governments and private
  citizens. Contrary to the American practice, its
  judicial rulings do not have legal stature in the
  EU. Still, the Court of Justice has acquired a
  considerable status within the EU bodies, as it
  is the only institution that can, at the request
  of the national courts, give a ruling on the
  interpretation of the treaties and on the
  validity and interpretation of EU law.This
  system ensures that EU law is interpreted and
  applied in the same way throughout the European
  Union.
• It can find any EU member state guilty of failing
  to fulfil its obligations under the treaties. It
  can check whether EU laws have been properly
  enacted and it can find the European Parliament,
  the Council or the Commission guilty of failing
  to act as required.

37
Other Institutions

• The Court of Auditors, set up in 1977, has one
  member from each EU country. The Court of
  Auditors checks that all the European Union's
  revenue has been received and all its expenditure
  incurred in a lawful and regular manner and that
  the EU budget has been managed soundly. It has
  the right to audit the accounts of any
  organisation that is handling EU funds and, where
  appropriate, to refer matters to the Court of
  Justice.
• When taking decisions in policy areas covered by
  the EC and Euratom treaties, the Council and
  Commission consult the European Economic and
  Social Committee (EESC). Its members represent
  the various interest groups that collectively
  make up 'organised civil society', and are
  appointed by the Council for a four year term.
  The EESC has to be consulted before decisions are
  taken in a great many fields (employment, the
  European Social Fund, vocational training, etc.)
  On its own initiative it can also give opinions
  on other matters it considers important.
• The Committee of the regions (CoR), set up under
  the Treaty on European Union, consists of
  representatives of regional and local government,
  proposed by the member states and appointed by
  the Council for a four-year term. Under the
  Treaty, the Council and Commission must consult
  the CoR on matters of relevance to the regions,
  and the Committee may also adopt opinions on its
  own initiative.

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Conclusion

• The construction of the EU is the result of a
  delicate balance between two types of
  institutions and decision making methods
  intergovernmental institutions, like the European
  Council and the Council of Ministers, that
  provide a forum for each countrys demand, and
  super national institutions, like the Commission,
  the EP, and the Court of Justice, whose mandate
  and authority transcend the individual
  countries.
• This dichotomy runs parallel to that between
  Community and intergovernmental methods, and
  between small and large countries. Usually, small
  countries see the Council and the European
  Council as dominated by the large countries
  hence they tend to be staunch supporters of the
  Commission.
• The distinction also parallels closely that
  between first pillar on one hand and second and
  third pillars on the other, and that between
  Qualified Majority Voting and unanimity. Super
  nationalists typically would like to extend the
  areas covered by the Community method and by QMV,
  at the expense of unanimity. However there are
  issues, like agriculture where, although formally
  not subject to unanimity, no major decision would
  be taken without the consensus of France and
  Germany.

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• The new member states will each appoint a
  commissioner who will take up his or her duties
  on 1 May 2004, when the accession treaties come
  into force.
• Once a new European Parliament is elected in June
  2004 it will vote on the proposed members of
• the new Commission, which will take up its duties
  on 1 November 2004.

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PART THREE

• The Budget of the EU

41
Timetable

• In the year preceding the budget
• January Commission prepares budget proposal.
  Each institution analyses its own budget
  requirements.
• April/May Commission to adopt and publish draft
  budget
• June/July The budget is adopted and possibly
  amended - by the Council of Ministers
• October First reading in the European Parliament
  (EP)
• November Second reading in the Council
• December Parliament and Council adopt the budget
  
• Year of the budget the budget is carried out
• November Court of Auditors carries out detailed
  audit of the previous budget
• Following year
• March Council of Ministers adopts the Court of
  Auditors report and makes a recommendation to
  the European Parliament
• Spring The EPs budgetary committee discusses
  the Auditors report. MEPs grant or refuse
  discharge in the plenary.

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EU Budget 2000-2006
Source European Commission
Pre-accessionstrategy
Agriculture
Internal policies
Administration
External policies
Reserves
Structural operations
43
National contributions to the EU budget (EU-25,
in , 2004)
Source European Commission
Acceding Countries
44
Net contributors and recipientsContributions and
receipts in of total own resources/payments to
MS (2002)
Source European Commission
45
Internal Policies 2004
46
PART FOUR

• Europe, whats next?

47
The Convention

• EU Constitution Convention of the Future of
  Europe, working on the EU Constitution
• (Photo European Convention)
• The Convention on the Future of Europe has
  produced an EU Constitution to replace the
  existing EU and EC treaties. The text was agreed
  upon by 'consensus' in the Convention June 13
  2003. No voting took place.It was presented by
  Valéry Giscard dEstaing to the heads of
  governments and states at the Thessaloniki Summit
  (Greece) on 20th June 2003.
• The Constitutional Treaty is divided into four
  parts
• Part I Objectives, values, institutions,
  competences finances, etc. of the Union.
• Part II Charter of Fundamental Rights
• Part III Assembles and amends the present EU and
  EC Treaties.
• Part IV Final provisions
• At present, a country can only leave the EU after
  a unanimous decision (or by breaching EU law).
  The EU Constitution has a clause allowing Member
  States to leave after negotiating an agreement
  with the EU or on their own accord after two
  years.
• The Intergovernmental Conference has negotiated
  on this EU Constitution since October 2003. If
  all the Member States and acceding countries sign
  this constitution, it has to be ratified through
  the national parliaments or through referenda and
  will probably enter into force by 2006.

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Draft constitution

• The EU faces two main challenges
• Enlargement over the next decade or two will
  bring the total number of member states to
  perhaps 30 or 35. Can the Council be expected to
  reach unanimous agreement on anything with so
  many ministers around the table? Will EU
  decision-making not simply grind to a halt? How
  will the Union be governed? Who will speak for
  Europe on the world stage? Where will the final
  frontiers of the European Union be drawn?
• Second, the EU's citizens want to have a greater
  say in shaping EU policies, but they find it hard
  to understand the EU's highly complex
  decision-making system and they perceive
  'Brussels' as too remote from their daily lives.
  Hence the need for a Constitution that clearly
  sets out who is responsible for doing what in the
  European Union. A Constitution that specifies the
  powers and responsibilities of each EU
  institution and what should be left to the
  authorities at regional and national level.
• The EU needs to invent a new form of 'governance'
  that is simpler, more democratic and brings
  Europe closer to its citizens. The future
  Constitution should meet these needs.
• The Constitution will be of huge importance for
  the future of the Union. It was the main subject
  of discussion at the intergovernmental conference
  (IGC) that began on 4 October 2003, and it will
  be a major topic of debate in the run-up to the
  European parliamentary elections in June 2004.

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Towards a European Constitution

• The draft Constitution proposes, among other
  things
• The President of the European Council should be
  elected by qualified majority for a term of two
  and a half years, renewable once.
• The President of the Commission should be elected
  by a majority of members of the European
  Parliament. He or she should be proposed by the
  European Council, taking into account the
  European parliamentary elections.
• An EU Minister for Foreign Affairs should be
  appointed. He or she should be both a Commission
  Vice-President and a member of the European
  Council.
• The Charter of Fundamental Rights should be
  incorporated into the Treaty.
• The European Union should be given legal
  personality.
• There should be more qualified majority voting in
  the Council.
• The European Parliament should be given greater
  legislative and budgetary powers.
• The powers and responsibilities of the Union and
  its member states should be spelt out more
  clearly.
• National parliaments should play a part in
  ensuring that the EU complies with the principle
  of subsidiarity.

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PART FIVE

• Structural Funds Programme examples

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Structural Funds

• ESF (European Social Fund) DG Employment
  Social Affairs
• EAGGF (European Agriculture Guidance Guarantee
  Fund) DG Agriculture, Rural development
  Fisheries
• ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) DG
  Regio
• FIFG (Financial Instrument for Fisheries
  Guidance) DG Agriculture, Rural development
  Fishery
• Cohesion Fund

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European Social Fund (ESF)
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European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
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Regional Action

• The EU's regional policy consists essentially of
  making payments from the EU budget to
  disadvantaged regions and sections of the
  population, to boost development in backward
  regions, to convert old industrial zones, to help
  young people and the long-term unemployed find
  work, to modernise farming and to help
  less-favoured rural areas.The money is paid
  through specific funds - the European Regional
  Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund
  (ESF), the Financial Instrument for Fisheries
  Guidance (FIFG) and the European Agricultural
  Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF).
• The total amount allocated in 2000-2006 is 213
  billion euro
• These payments stimulate investment by the
  private sector and by national and regional
  government. To target the payments where they
  will have the greatest effect, the EU has set
  itself three priority objectives
• Objective 1 is to help develop regions where the
  wealth produced divided by the number of
  inhabitants - or 'gross domestic product (GDP)
  per capita' - is less than 75 of the EU average.
  This aid, amounting to 135 billion euro, is two
  thirds of all the money allocated to regional
  policy in 2000-2006. It goes to benefit about 50
  regions, representing 22 of the EU's population.
  It is used to get the economy moving in these
  regions by creating the infrastructure they lack,
  providing better training for local people and
  stimulating investment in local businesses.
• Objective 2 is to help other regions in
  difficulty. They may be areas where the economy
  is being restructured, declining rural areas,
  fishing communities in crisis or urban areas with
  serious problems.
• Objective 3 is to combat unemployment by
  modernising training systems and helping to
  create jobs.

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• Specific programmes aimed at these objectives
  include Interreg, which promotes co-operation
  across borders and between regions, and Urban -
  which supports the sustainable development of
  cities and urban areas in crisis.
• In addition to these 'structural' funds there is
  a 'Cohesion Fund'. This is used to finance
  transport infrastructure and environmental
  projects in EU countries whose per capita GDP is
  less than 90 of the EU average. The countries
  concerned until now have been Greece, Ireland,
  Portugal and Spain (the 10 new Member States will
  benefit from the Cohesion Fund).
• Thanks to structural schemes such as these,
  financed by the European Union, EU countries have
  been better able to bring their economies into
  line with one another. This economic
  'convergence' is also the result of action by EU
  governments to meet the requirements for economic
  and monetary union.

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Structural Operations 2004
Source European Commission
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Extending structural policy to new member states

• Enlarging the Union to take in new member states
  will pose a major challenge for economic and
  social cohesion, because development in some
  regions of these countries lags well behind the
  rest of the EU. Enlargement will, in fact, make
  the Union more diverse and require further
  efforts at sectoral and regional adjustment.
• A number of 'instruments' are already being used
  to help the candidate countries. First there is
  the Phare programme, which channels aid to the
  candidate countries in central and eastern
  Europe. Over the period 2000 to 2006 they will
  receive a total of 10.9 billion in
  'pre-accession' aid.
• Then there is ISPA (Instrument for Structural
  Policies for Pre-Accession), which finances
  environmental and transport projects and has a
  budget of 7.2 billion.
• Thirdly, Sapard (an instrument for financing
  agriculture) has a budget of 3.6 billion.
• After accession, the structural fund programmes
  and Cohesion Fund projects will take over from
  pre-accession aid.

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The social dimension

• Financial aid of the ESF is not the only way in
  which the EU seeks to improve social conditions
  in Europe.
• Social progress is also supported by legislation
  that guarantees all EU citizens a solid set of
  basic rights. Some of these rights are enshrined
  in the Treaties - for example, the right of men
  and women to equal pay for equal work. Others are
  set out in directives about the protection of
  workers (health and safety at work) and essential
  safety standards.
• In December 1991, the Maastricht European Council
  adopted the Community Charter of basic social
  rights, setting out the rights all workers in the
  EU
• free movement,
• fair pay,
• improved working conditions,
• social protection,
• the right to form associations and to undertake
  collective bargaining,
• the right to vocational training,
• equal treatment of women and men,
• worker information, consultation and
  participation,
• health protection and safety at the workplace,
• protection for children, the elderly and the
  disabled.
• At Amsterdam in June 1997, this Charter became an
  integral part of the Treaty and is applicable in
  all the member states.

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Employment policy

• In 1997, a new chapter on employment was inserted
  into the Treaty of Amsterdam, making job creation
  a priority for the EU's economic policy.
• At the European Council in Luxembourg in November
  1997, the leaders of the 15 member states agreed
  a co-ordinated strategy for making their
  individual national policies more effective. It
  was a strategy for better vocational training,
  for helping start up new businesses and for
  improving 'social dialogue' - i.e. relations
  between employers and employees.
• This was later strengthened and given a broader
  scope by the European Council in Lisbon in March
  2000. It became the 'Lisbon strategy', and it was
  directed towards a new and very ambitious goal
  to make the EU, within a decade, "the most
  competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy
  in the world, capable of sustainable growth with
  more and better jobs and greater social
  cohesion".

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The European Employment Strategy

• Active and preventative measures for the
  unemployed and inactive
• Foster entrepreneurship and promote job creation
• More and better investment in human capital and
  strategies for lifelong learning
• Address change and promote adaptability in work
• Increase labour supply and promote active ageing
• Gender equality
• Promote the integration of and combat the
  discrimination against people at disadvantage in
  the labour market
• Make work pay through incentives to enhance work
  attractiveness
• Transform undeclared work into regular employment
  
• Promote occupational and geographical mobility
  and improve job matching

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The EES a Key Component of the Lisbon Strategy

• The Lisbon strategy was designed to enable the
  Union to regain the conditions for full
  employment and to strengthen cohesion by 2010.
  The Council also considered that the overall aim
  of these measures should be to raise the overall
  EU employment rate to 70 and to increase the
  number of women in employment from an average to
  more than 60 by 2010.
• The Stockholm European Council (March 2001) added
  two intermediate and one additional target the
  employment rate should be raised to 67 overall
  by 2005, 57 for women by 2005 and 50 for older
  workers by 2010. The Barcelona Council (March
  2002) confirmed that full employment was the
  overarching goal of the EU and called for a
  reinforced Employment Strategy to underpin the
  Lisbon strategy in an enlarged EU.

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The Co-ordination of Employment Policies at EU
Level

• The EES must ensure co-ordination of the
  employment policy priorities to which Member
  States should subscribe at EU level.
• Heads of State and Government agreed on a
  framework for action based on the commitment from
  Member States to establish a set of common
  objectives and targets for employment policy.
  This co-ordination of national employment
  policies at EU level was to be built around
  several components
• Employment Guidelines following a proposal from
  the Commission, the European Council shall agree
  every year on a series of guidelines setting out
  common priorities for Member States' employment
  policies.
• National Action Plans every Member State shall
  draw up an annual National Action Plan which
  describes how these Guidelines are put into
  practice nationally.
• Joint Employment Report The Commission and the
  Council shall jointly examine each National
  Action Plan and present a Joint Employment
  Report. The Commission shall present a new
  proposal to revise the Employment Guidelines
  accordingly for the following year.
• Recommendations The Council may decide, by
  qualified majority, to issue country-specific
  Recommendations upon a proposal by the
  Commission.

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The EQUAL Community Initiative

• The EQUAL Community Initiative operates within
  the broad framework of the European Employment
  Strategy (EES). Running from 2000-2006, it
  promotes new ways of combating all types of
  labour market discrimination and inequalities.
• EQUAL is based on the following Principles
• A thematic approach reflecting the priorities
  European Employment Strategy. The EES is not
  concerned with asylum seekers, so this theme has
  been added and added to the other priority EQUAL
  themes selected by Member States.
• EQUAL exists to test, develop and validate
  innovative approaches to local, national and
  European policy development. Its purpose is to
  integrate solutions that work into policy and
  practice.
• EQUAL co-finances the work of strategic
  partnerships known as Development Partnerships,
  which bring organisations, agencies, businesses
  and educators together to identify the causes of
  problems and to combine their efforts and
  resources to find innovative integrated
  approaches to solving them.
• Transnationality is integral to EQUAL. The
  promotion and transfer know-how and good practice
  between partnerships and between Member States is
  a key objective.

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EQUAL vs other EU Programmes

• EQUAL requires a joint national and transnational
  approach to its work programmes, whereas
  mainstream ERDF and ESF Structural Funds
  Programmes do not require any transnational
  element.
• In EQUAL the selection of transnational partners
  is relatively open, but in INTERREG transnational
  co-operation is focused on cross-border actions.
• Unlike EQUAL, projects in the LEONARDO programme
  have to be conceived from the beginning as
  transnational projects with a promoting body or
  contractor, responsible for managing all the
  activities.
• Unlike most other EU programmes, which require
  co-operation between individual projects, EQUAL
  will encourage and promote multi-actor and
  multi-level transnational collaboration between
  Development Partnerships.

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Programmes

• Most EU funding is not paid directly by the
  European Commission but via the national and
  regional authorities of the Member States. This
  is the case for payments under the Common
  Agricultural Policy and most payments under the
  structural policy financial instruments (European
  Regional Development Fund, European Social Fund,
  European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund
  and Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance),
  which make up, in money terms, the great bulk of
  EU funding.
• The Commission pays direct grants to
  beneficiaries (public or private legally
  constituted bodies - universities, businesses,
  interest groups, NGOs - and, in some exceptional
  cases, individuals) in pursuance of other common
  policies in such fields as research and
  development, education, training, the
  environment, consumer protection, and
  information. It also pays direct grants in
  pursuance of EU external policies.
• Hence, each DG of the Commission is implementing
  specific European Programmes, meeting precise
  objectives and priorities under the various
  common policies of the EU.

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LEONARDO DA VINCI

• In today's economic climate Europe is facing a
  twofold challenge.
• First, there is a need to prepare European
  citizens better for entering the labour market,
  thereby reducing the number of unemployed.
• Second, companies need a skilled workforce to
  cope with rapid scientific and technological
  changes in an increasingly competitive world. To
  meet this challenge the European Commission's
  Leonardo da Vinci programme serves as a
  laboratory of innovation in the field of lifelong
  learning.

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• Following its initial phase, from 1995 to 1999,
  the Community's Leonardo da Vinci vocational
  training programme is now in its second phase,
  covering the seven-year period from 2000 to 2006.
  The programme promotes transnational projects
  based on co-operation between the various players
  in vocational training - training bodies,
  vocational schools, universities, businesses,
  chambers of commerce, etc. - in an effort to
  increase mobility, to foster innovation and to
  improve the quality of training.The Leonardo da
  Vinci programme aims at helping people improve
  their skills throughout their lives.
• Community funds for the first phase of the
  programme amounted to 793.8 million,
  approximately 40 of which was used for mobility
  projects. This meant that from the end of 1995 to
  early 2001 about 125 000 people received a grant
  for a work-related stay abroad.In addition, a
  total of over 3 000 pilot and other projects were
  funded producing an eclectic range of training
  products in a variety of media. Funding has
  increased in the second phase and in the year
  2001 around 38 000 people benefited from a
  Leonardo da Vinci grant. The budget for the
  second phase is just under 1.4 billion and the
  programme is open to 31 countries.
• (Turkey will participate in LdV from 1 January
  2004 subject to conclusion of a formal agreement
  between the European Commission and the Turkish
  Government).

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Useful Links

http//europa.eu.int
Leonardo Da Vinci National Agency Devlet
Planlama TeskilatiAvrupa Birligi Egitim ve
Gençlik Programlari Merkezi (ABEGPM)Necatibey
Cad. No10806100 Bakanliklar - ANKARATel 90
312 294 64 17Fax [phone]e-mail
ulusalajans_at_dpt.gov.tr Mr Emin Senver
(Coordinator LdV)
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http//www.deltur.cec.eu.int/
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http//www.deltur.cec.eu.int/english/eu-funded2004
-en.html
http//www.deltur.cec.eu.int/eu-funded2004-tr.html