The Court of Justice, a National or International Tribunal?
Alexandra BOGDAN
Abstract: There has always been a dispute regarding the nature of the European institutions, especially between the federalists and the intergovernmentalists or the intergovernmentalists and the supranationalists. One of the institutions that can be subject of such a debate is the Court of Justice of the European Communities, that is a supranational institutions, with intergovernmentalist coordinates. Its status is still unclear: is it a national, international or supranational institution? To answer this question, I’ll use the Court’s jurisdiction and other organizational aspects.
Keywords: Institutions, Court of Justice, intergovernmentalism, supranationalism, national/international/supranational court, jurisdiction, legitimacy, transfer of power
The Council of the European Union between Intergovernmentalism and Supranationalism
Alexandru CLAIN
Abstract: The aim of this essay is to test the hypothesis that the Council has a dual nature, it can be perceived both as an intergovernmental conference and as a supranational institution. To do this, in the first part of the paper we will review the main characteristics and functions of the Council, while in the second half we’ll try to analyze its workings from the perspective of two theories of integration, namely the liberal interguvernamentalism of Moravcsik and neofunctionalism.
Keywords: Union Council, supranational institutions, intergovernmental conference, neofunctionalism, intergovernmentalism, spillover
Council of the European Union from a Rational Choice Institutionalist Perspective
Daniela DĂNILĂ
Abstract: This paper’s aim is to analyze the EU’s Council and the European Council as a whole from the rational choice institutionalism’s point of view. I’ll try to demonstrate through the mentioned theory that the EU’s Council has a status of a “government of the United Europe”. I’ll bring off a presentation of the EU’s Council and of the European Council and of their activity, I’ll present the “game” that goes on in the two councils (having in mind the rational choice institutionalism’s theory) and the one from the European institutions.
Keywords: The EU’s Council, The European Council, the rational choice institutionalism’s theory, the United Europe’s government, the EU’s institutions, international actors
Council of the European Union, a Classic Intergovernmental Conference
Ana-Maria GHIMIŞ
Abstract: Among the international relations’ subjects there has always been a debate between those who support the intergovernmentalism and those who defend the (neo)functionalist view of the Union. An important hypothesis, that will be the central part of our paper, is that the compromise is the base of the European Union, which has developed both the supranational part, through the European Commission, and the intergovernmental one, through the EU’s Council, which is seen from this point of view as a classic intergovernmental conference.
Keywords: The EU’s Council, intergovernmental conference, intergovernmentalism, supranationalism, sovereignty, the member states’ interests, unanimity, diversity
The Evolution of the Competences of the European Commission
Monalisa GIUGLEA
Abstract: This paper aims to present the evolution of the European Commission from 1965, of the Merger Treaty in Brussels until 2000 with the signing of the Treaty of Nice. I begin by presenting the Commission’s role within the institutional system of the European Union, define the notion of ‘competence’ and explain how the institution has evolved in parallel with the need for progress of the European Union. Present theory in the scientific literature on this subject was, finally, exposed to potential changes made by the Treaty of Lisbon as regards the powers of the Commission. I consider this theme relevant in that it helps in understanding the relationship between the enlargement of the EU treaties and amendments and, implicitly, the European Commission in particular.
Keywords: Institutions, power, reform, European Commission, merger/fusion treaty, The Single European Act, Treaty on European Union, Amsterdam, Nice, Lisbon, legislation, community building, supranational character
European Commission, a Typical Supranational Actor?
Ionela Alina MOGOŞ
Abstract: This paper’s aim is to investigate if the essential elements of the European Commission are complementary of those of a classic supranational institution. I consider that the supranationality of the Commission can be analyzed from three points of view: the normative one, the commissioner’s behavior’s one and the state’s one. I think that this institution is not yet a tipical supranational actor, so I won’t analyze the elements that confirm the supranationalism of the Commission, but the ones which infirm it.
Keywords: The European Commission, supranational institution, treaties, commissioners, national interests, the competence transfer, the decision making mechanism, governance
The Democratic Deficit in the European Union – the Case of the European Parliament
Andra-Carmen RUSU
Abstract: The theme of this review is the democratic deficit in the institutional structures of the European Union with a case study of the European Parliament. I introduce the necessary notions of legitimacy, democracy, democratic deficit and present the arguments of some of the theorists in field. Following the hypothesis that the European Parliament, through its structure and development, is the institution that tries to reduce the democratic deficit in the European Union, I analyze to what extent this is being done.
Keywords: European Union, European Parliament, the democratic deficit, legitimacy, European elections, the public sphere, citizens
What if Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine Would Adopt the Euro as Their Currency?
Bianca Mihaela CONE
Abstract: This article aims to evaluate the states of Eastern Europe: Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine which may express a desire in 2011 to replace their national currencies with the Euro. In addition is presented the economic and political circumstances of these three states and their relationships with the European Union. The potential risks caused by the unilateral implementation of the euro in the three states are also evaluated. The expression of solutions in this respect is needed for the drafting of an Agreement between the European Union and those countries that employ appropriate measures to implement European legislation on banking supervision and institutions concerned.
Keywords: The European Union, The Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, euro, economic and political conditions, agreement
The Democratic Deficit in the EU Institutional Structure
Mihaela COPREAN
Abstract: This paper’s aim is to analyze the democratic deficit of the European Union. This study will not examine the structure and the functioning of the European institutions, but the way that the three major institutions (the European Parliament, the European Commission, the EU’s Council) interact and how they influence the so called European citizenship, an essential aspect for the defining and explaining the democratic deficit.
Keywords: Democratic deficit, the European Parliament, the European Commission, the EU’s Council, legitimacy, a European Constitution, the EU’s legal status, international organization, federal state, the European institutional balance
The Provisions of the ECSC, EEC, EAEC Treaties and of the Fusion Treaty Regarding the High Authority / Commission. A Comparative Analysis
Alexandru MUNTEANU LUCINESCU
Abstract: This paper’s aim is to demonstrate that the European Commission is a supranational institution. The debate consists in the fact that some authors say that the Commission is a supranational institution and others that it’s an intergovernmental one. My arguments are based on the fact that the Commission’s status is indicated by the treaties themselves and on the comparative analysis between the provisions that the treaties have regarding the Commission, it’s member’s number, the conditions they have to fulfil, the procedures that are made before naming it’s members, the states’ and the commissioners’ obligations and the sanctions they are exposed to.
Keywords: The European Commission, The High Authority, the commissioners, EU treaties, supranational institutions, obligations, sanctions
European Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – Application of the Theory of Multilevel Governance
Andra POPA
Abstract: This paper’s aim is to demonstrate that the European Commission and other institutions, like the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, represent the application of the multilevel governance model. I’ll start by exposing the theoretic elements of the governance and the multilevel one in particular. Then, I’ll refer to the three institutions from the multilevel governance point of view.
Keywords: The European Commission, The Economic and Social Committee, Committee of the Regions, (multilevel) governance, the integration theories, the public and the private sector
The Electoral System for the European Parliament Elections
Delia-Elena STAN
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to present the impact of the different electoral systems used for the European Parliament on the later functioning of the EP and on the way that it represents the European citizens. Will the homogenization of the electoral system at an European level have as a result a new EP, with a structure that represents the citizens’ interests in an equal manner? This is the questions I’ll try to answer.
Keywords: European Parliament, elections, electoral systems, legitimacy, citizens, representation
