European Union Lecture Notes: Week 9-13

Week 9 → The How and Why of Brexit ● Questions for Thursday Guest Lecture, British Deputy Consul General Tammy Sandhu ○ Questions about Brexit ○ Impact of COVID with the NHS on Brexit ● The How and Why of Brexit? ○ Why would the UK want out? ○ What were the issues at play? ○ Why did the Conservative Prime Minister decide to hold such a referendum? ○ Myths and Misinformation circulating about the EU ○ Consequences of Brexit thus far ● Advantages and Disadvantages in for UK to stay in the EU ○ More independent trade, more control over trade, the EU negotiates trade utilizing economies in scale, better deals with a larger base ■ The UK does 70-80% of its trade with the EU currently ○ Policies and Agreements with refugees, EU policies are all adapted across the Union ○ The UK has its own borders, excluding Irelands, never a member of the Schengen zone in Europe ○ The EU provides funding to different aspects of communities, rural and remote areas, in particular, jobs are lost with this as well ■ Losing access to all EU funds and programs, including Erasmus ○ Employment shortage → the EU NEEDS IMMIGRANTS, they don’t have enough nurses, doctors, and manual workforce populations ○ Influence, a major loss of influence in Europe and in the EU, the US used the UK as a bridge to the EU, since Brexit the UK is of less importance to not only the EU but the US as well ● The History of the UK in Europe ○ Tried to join the EU 3 times, finally accepted in 1973 along with Ireland and Denmark because Charles De Gaulle had died and couldn’t veto it ■ Churchill originally wanted the EU for the defeated, struggling powers on the continent from WWII ■ After the European economic community was signed, the UK wanted in ○ UK is the “awkward state”, it felt the EU was for defeated countries, not great empires like the UK ○ In 2012, it was noted that there was a moving majority of UK that wanted to leave the Eu ○ David Cameron (conservative, different though from Boris Johnson) inserted this into his 2015 manifesto, therefore allowing the UK to have a referendum on whether to leave the EU, though, Cameron worried that the party would leave him if he didn’t advocate for a referendum, he assumed nothing would happen … ○ David Cameron won the 2015 general election and discussion of a referendum was instantly put in place ○ UKIP - United Kingdom Independence Party (Nigel Farage) ○ David Cameron resigns the day after the vote on June 23, 2016 ● Public Opinion on Immigration in the UK ○ Public attitudes on immigration in general are: ■ Negative: approx 75% of people in Britain favor reducing immigration ■ Salient: immigration is consistently one of the top two most important issues ○ Public attitudes to the EU free movement are negative: ■ 51% of the British public want to end the free movement of people in the Eu ■ 59% want to stop EU migrants from accessing the NHS for free ■ 68% favor reducing EU migrants’ access to welfare benefits ■ 47% think the EU is undermining Britain’s distinctive identity ○ “Island mentality”, “winner mentality” “US’s BFF”, the UK doesn’t want to consort itself with “lesser” powers or “losers” of conflicts ● Margret Thatcher’s British Rebate ○ She demands, successfully, to receive all funds paid in excess to the EU to be returned, the rebate has been in place since she negotiated it in the 1980s ● Effect of Brexit on the NHS ○ In England, 145,200 NHS and adult social care workers risk losing their right to live and work in the UK after Brexit, shortage of medical caregivers ○ The European Health Insurance Care, care for UK pensioners and other citizens who live in Europe and vice versa for EU citizens in the UK, no benefits for Europeans hurt in the UK where funds from the EU provided ● The Brexit travel paradox ○ A hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland is VERY problematic ○ IRA, the Troubles in the 1980s ○ Good Friday Agreement of 1998, promised no borders, the EU erased the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, people there could live like it was a single island, both states were members of the EU so there were no problems ○ With Brexit, there has to be a hard border, which is a direct violation of the Good Friday Agreement, all trade from Scotland and Ireland will no be seen as international trade ○ Hard borders with Brexit are established throughout the British Isles ○ A majority of people in Northern Ireland VOTED AGAINST Brexit ● Generally, old people wanted to leave, young people wanted to stay, but young people don’t always vote as reliably … ● The long difficult Brexit process is only starting … - Unable to access the UK, France is committed to Ireland continuing to be a part of the single market The unexpected loss of funds from transit in the UK is exponential as well 58% now want to stay in the EU, from the UK The EU doesn’t want the UK to use them like a yo-yo, going in and out and in and out Week 10 → Migration in the European Union (Mason’s presentation) ● Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, sustainable is if it is equitable, lack of infrastructure/resources Week 11 → Populism & Euroskepticism ● Populism: ○ Giving power back to the people ■ Anit-elite ■ ‘Common people’ ■ Us versus them ■ Crisis → the “others” (migrants, Jewish, etc.) ● Populism and Euroskepticism go hand in hand ● Globalization ○ Increasing stress on the traditional nation-state model ● Mediatization ○ The increasing importance of media for politics ○ Media coverage is increasingly ‘spectacularized’ Week 12 → The Continuing Eurozone Crisis ● Five lessons: ○ 1) The economics and politics of the euro crisis have been largely predictable. ○ 2) Monetary union has amplified the political stakes. ○ 3) The underlying problems of the EMU never went away. ○ 4) Monetary Union without fiscal and regulatory coordination is untenable. ○ 5) The euro has staying power, beyond its economic power, because of its symbolic and political significance. ● What is the EMU (European monetary union)? ○ The agreement among the participating member states of the European Union to adopt a single hard currency and monetary system. ○ With the European commission’s 3 stage plan, the monetary policies of participating countries become more closely entwined, culminating in full convergence in the EMU. Week 13 → The Evolution of the EU’s Foreign and Security Policy ● CFSP - Common Foreign Security Policy ● WEU- Western European Union (1948) ○ First collective, self-determination organization in the post-war era ○ Made as a way to show the US European determination ○ Members were the original six members of the EU who first signed on ○ Automatic trigger, originally aimed at Germany ○ The core objectives of the WEU were defined as follows: ■ To create a firm basis for European economic recovery in Western Europe ■ To offer mutual assistance to member countries in resisting any policy of external aggression ■ To promote unity and encourage positive integration in Europe ● NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (1949) ○ Includes the US and Canada ○ No automatic trigger, the US was war of starting a nuclear war ■ If Article 5 is invoked (a country is attacked), there is an immediate meeting with discussion before launching an attack ○ NATO’s essential and enduring purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of all its members by political and military means ○ Collective deference is at the hear of the Alliance and creates a spirit of solidarity and cohesion among its members ○ The US is the defacto-leader ● OSCE - Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (1975) ○ Includes Canada and Russia ○ Designed after the Helsinki Accords ○ Is a forum for political dialogue on a wide range of security issues and a platform for joint action to improve the lives of individuals and communities ○ The organization uses a comprehensive approach to security that encompasses the politico-military, economic, environmental, and human dimensions ○ Every country has veto powers, soft-organization ● Leo Tindemans’ Report of the European Union of 1975 ○ “Why has the European concept lost a lot of its force and initial impetus? I believe that over the years the European public has lost a guiding light … Europe must find its place again among the major concerns of public opinion ... We must listen to our people … What do they expect from a united Europe? ● Historical Progression: ○ 1973 - European Political Cooperation ○ 1984 - Western European Union ○ 1991 - Maastricht Treaty ● Europe changes its security policy and integration based off of what the United States is doing: ● Theories: ○ A.) Kissinger: The Troubled Partnership (1966) ■ The US pays too much money and the Europeans pay too much in human cost. They feel like they are being bargained over and want more say in their defense. Solution: reform NATO so that Europe feels like it has more of a say in its own security ○ B.) Calleo: Beyond American Hegemony (1987) ■ The US has addicted Europe to cheap defense. NATO existence has precluded the possibility of Europe forming its own security and defense identity ○ c.) Mearsheimer: “Back to the Future” (1990) ■ The end of the Cold War, eventually Germany will acquire nuclear weapons when NATO and joint European defense fails. ● D.) Risee-Kappen, Syner, Sivonen, et.al. (1990-1992) ○ The EC is a stabilizing economic and political force and will create an institutional network for a “European Peace Order”, in other words, the EC/EU is a civilian power, not a military one ● E.) Martine Feinstein (1997) ○ Argues that the formation of a common currency will lead to an integrated Europe ● F.) Foster and Wallace (2001-2002) ○ NATO will be changed from essentially a military organization to a political organization ● G.) Howorth (2002) ○ After 9/11 “with us or against us”, the US is back to unilateralism, so the EU needs their own security ● Ontological Questions: ○ Is an EU security policy helpful or hurtful to NATO? ○ Is the EU a military power, a civilian power, a civilian power with teeth, a normative power? ● The Europeans invoked ARTICLE 5 FOR THE UNITED STATES and called a meeting to offer the US help in any way they desired, the French: “We are all Americans” ● Everyone loves to shit on the US for being imperialists, but when it comes down to it people obviously care about and respect the US. ● Hypothesis: (actually wrong) anti-Americanism the spur for European security policy