Chapter 1 — Institutions of the European Union
This chapter establishes what kind of entity the EU is, traces the history of European
integration from the post-war period to the Treaty of Lisbon and Brexit, explains the
rules and process for EU membership and withdrawal, and describes the
composition, powers, and decision-making rules of each of the four political
institutions plus the Court of Justice. It forms the constitutional bedrock for
everything else in the course: competences, policy-making procedures, the single
market, the EMU, and EU external relations all presuppose a working knowledge of
the institutional architecture analysed here.
1. What Kind of Entity Is the EU?
1.1 International Organisations — Basic Concepts
The EU is an international organisation. International organisations share four
defining features: they are established by states through a founding treaty; they
pursue common goals set out in that treaty; they operate through common organs
(secretariat, council, assembly, etc.); and they possess international legal
personality, meaning they hold rights and duties under international law and their
headquarters are inviolable.
Common examples include the UN, WTO, WHO, NATO, IMF, World Bank, ASEAN,
and Mercosur. All are established by states. The EU belongs to this family but is
exceptional within it because it combines supranational and intergovernmental
elements simultaneously.
1.2 Supranational vs Intergovernmental
This distinction is the single most important conceptual tool in the course. It runs
through every chapter and recurs in almost every exam question.
📌 Key distinction: Supranational organisation vs Intergovernmental
organisation
In a supranational organisation, member states transfer sovereignty — decision-
making powers — to the organisation for specific policy areas. Decisions can be
taken by majority vote and are legally binding on all members, including those that
voted against. An independent organ (judges, commissioners) can also bind
member states without their individual consent. In an intergovernmental
organisation, no sovereignty is transferred. Legally binding decisions require
unanimity; a state cannot be bound against its will. Decisions taken by majority
are only binding on states that voted in favour.
The EU is unique because it contains both features. Most economic policy areas
(customs union, single market, competition, trade, monetary policy for the eurozone)
are supranational: QMV in the Council can bind a dissenting member state. The
Rania El Ghalbzouri 1
MBA – Bridging Programme
,Common Foreign and Security Policy remains purely intergovernmental: all
decisions require unanimity and no legislative acts can be adopted. No other
international organisation combines these two dimensions at the EU's level of depth
and legal integration.
⚠ Exam warning: Almost all major international organisations outside the EU are
predominantly intergovernmental (UN, NATO, WTO, WHO, IMF). The EU is
exceptional precisely because it is substantially supranational. Be ready to
explain the exact consequences: majority voting, legally binding decisions, and
the ability to bind a dissenting member state.
2. Historical Overview of European Integration
The EU emerged from two urgent post-war challenges: rebuilding destroyed
European economies and preventing future large-scale conflict. Economic
integration was used deliberately as an instrument of peace — embedding former
enemies in a web of mutual dependency that would make war materially impossible.
2.1 Post-War Foundations (late 1940s) — All Intergovernmental
Three organisations were created in rapid succession after 1945. All were purely
intergovernmental.
• Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC, 1948): Established
to coordinate economic recovery and distribute Marshall Plan aid from the
United States. Later evolved into the OECD (Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development), still based in Paris.
• Council of Europe (1949): Founded on Churchill's initiative to promote
democracy, rule of law, and human rights. Its main instrument is the
European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), enforced by the European
Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Currently 46 member states —
significantly larger than the EU. Has nothing to do with EU institutions or EU
law.
• NATO (1949): Military collective-defence alliance. Article 5 makes an armed
attack against one member an attack against all, entitling a collective armed
response. Includes the USA and Canada; purely intergovernmental; decisions
by consensus.
⚠ Exam warning — Council of Europe ≠ European Council ≠ Council of the EU.
The Council of Europe is a separate international organisation (46 members,
founded 1949, no link to EU). The European Council and the Council of the EU are
both EU institutions, but with entirely different compositions and powers. This
distinction is tested every year.
Rania El Ghalbzouri 2
MBA – Bridging Programme
,2.2 The 1950s — First Supranational Steps
In 1950, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman proposed placing the Franco-
German coal and steel industry under a supranational authority. The strategic logic
was explicit: coal and steel are the raw materials of military production; pooling
them would make war between France and Germany materially impossible.
Economic integration as an instrument for peace — a theme that runs through the
entire history of the EU.
The six founding states — France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands,
and Luxembourg — agreed to the Treaty of Paris (1951), establishing the European
Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). This was the first genuinely supranational
organisation in history: the High Authority could take legally binding decisions over
the coal and steel sector without requiring unanimous agreement.
In 1952, the same six states attempted a European Defence Community (EDC) — a
supranational military organisation to manage West German rearmament in the
context of Cold War tensions. France refused to ratify, fearing a supranational
command over its armed forces just seven years after the war. A purely
intergovernmental alternative, the Western European Union (WEU), was established
instead.
The Treaties of Rome (1957, in force 1 January 1958) created the European Economic
Community (EEC) — with a common market covering goods, services, capital, and
labour, plus common agricultural, competition, and trade policies — and EURATOM
for civilian nuclear energy. The six founding states had committed to the most
ambitious economic integration project the world had seen.
2.3 The 1960s–1980s: Enlargements, Crises, and the SEA
The 1960s and 1970s were marked by political friction (de Gaulle's 'empty chair'
policy paralysing Council decisions) and steady enlargement. The UK, Denmark, and
Ireland joined in 1973 (first enlargement); Greece in 1981 (second); Portugal and
Spain in 1986 (third). Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined in 1995 (fourth).
The decisive renewal came in the 1980s. Commission President Delors published the
1985 White Paper 'Completing the Internal Market', identifying three categories of
barriers — physical (border checks), technical (divergent product standards), and
fiscal (different VAT and excise duties) — and proposing a package of roughly 300
legislative measures to be adopted by 31 December 1992. To make this possible, the
Single European Act (1986) introduced qualified majority voting (QMV) in the Council
for single-market measures (removing the unanimity blockage), the concept of
mutual recognition, and a strengthened role for the European Parliament.
2.4 The 1990s: The Maastricht Treaty and the Three-Pillar EU
The fall of the Berlin Wall (1989), German reunification (1990), and the collapse of
the Soviet Union (1991) transformed European politics. The Treaty on European
Union, signed at Maastricht in 1992 and in force November 1993, created the
European Union and introduced a three-pillar structure.
Rania El Ghalbzouri 3
MBA – Bridging Programme
, Pillar Content Character
First Pillar EC (ECSC + EEC + Predominantly
EURATOM) + new supranational: QMV, co-
competences: EMU, social decision with EP
policy, education, culture
Second Pillar Common Foreign and Purely intergovernmental:
Security Policy (CFSP) unanimity, no legislative
acts
Third Pillar Cooperation in Justice and Purely intergovernmental:
Home Affairs unanimity
Maastricht also extended QMV and introduced the co-decision procedure (later
renamed the ordinary legislative procedure), significantly strengthening
Parliament's role.
2.5 Nice (2001), the Constitutional Treaty (2004), and the Treaty of Lisbon
(2009)
The fifth enlargement (2004) brought in ten new member states — Czech Republic,
Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia
— followed by Bulgaria and Romania in 2007 (sixth enlargement) and Croatia in 2013
(seventh enlargement). Institutional reforms to prepare for this expansion were
made at Nice (2001).
The Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe (2004) failed after rejection by
French and Dutch voters in 2005. The Treaty of Lisbon (signed 2007, in force 1
December 2009) preserved its key institutional innovations while abandoning the
constitutional framing. It replaced the three-pillar structure with two equal treaties
— the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union (TFEU) — and introduced several major democratic and
institutional changes.
Key Lisbon Treaty innovations
Permanent European Council President: Full-time, appointed for 2.5 years
(renewable once) by QMV, replacing the six-monthly rotating presidency.
High Representative for Foreign Affairs: Merged post of HR for CFSP and
Commissioner for External Relations; also VP of the Commission; chairs the
Foreign Affairs Council.
European External Action Service (EEAS): EU diplomatic service, operational
from 2012.
European Citizens' Initiative: One million signatures from at least seven
member states can invite the Commission to propose legislation.
Rania El Ghalbzouri 4
MBA – Bridging Programme
This chapter establishes what kind of entity the EU is, traces the history of European
integration from the post-war period to the Treaty of Lisbon and Brexit, explains the
rules and process for EU membership and withdrawal, and describes the
composition, powers, and decision-making rules of each of the four political
institutions plus the Court of Justice. It forms the constitutional bedrock for
everything else in the course: competences, policy-making procedures, the single
market, the EMU, and EU external relations all presuppose a working knowledge of
the institutional architecture analysed here.
1. What Kind of Entity Is the EU?
1.1 International Organisations — Basic Concepts
The EU is an international organisation. International organisations share four
defining features: they are established by states through a founding treaty; they
pursue common goals set out in that treaty; they operate through common organs
(secretariat, council, assembly, etc.); and they possess international legal
personality, meaning they hold rights and duties under international law and their
headquarters are inviolable.
Common examples include the UN, WTO, WHO, NATO, IMF, World Bank, ASEAN,
and Mercosur. All are established by states. The EU belongs to this family but is
exceptional within it because it combines supranational and intergovernmental
elements simultaneously.
1.2 Supranational vs Intergovernmental
This distinction is the single most important conceptual tool in the course. It runs
through every chapter and recurs in almost every exam question.
📌 Key distinction: Supranational organisation vs Intergovernmental
organisation
In a supranational organisation, member states transfer sovereignty — decision-
making powers — to the organisation for specific policy areas. Decisions can be
taken by majority vote and are legally binding on all members, including those that
voted against. An independent organ (judges, commissioners) can also bind
member states without their individual consent. In an intergovernmental
organisation, no sovereignty is transferred. Legally binding decisions require
unanimity; a state cannot be bound against its will. Decisions taken by majority
are only binding on states that voted in favour.
The EU is unique because it contains both features. Most economic policy areas
(customs union, single market, competition, trade, monetary policy for the eurozone)
are supranational: QMV in the Council can bind a dissenting member state. The
Rania El Ghalbzouri 1
MBA – Bridging Programme
,Common Foreign and Security Policy remains purely intergovernmental: all
decisions require unanimity and no legislative acts can be adopted. No other
international organisation combines these two dimensions at the EU's level of depth
and legal integration.
⚠ Exam warning: Almost all major international organisations outside the EU are
predominantly intergovernmental (UN, NATO, WTO, WHO, IMF). The EU is
exceptional precisely because it is substantially supranational. Be ready to
explain the exact consequences: majority voting, legally binding decisions, and
the ability to bind a dissenting member state.
2. Historical Overview of European Integration
The EU emerged from two urgent post-war challenges: rebuilding destroyed
European economies and preventing future large-scale conflict. Economic
integration was used deliberately as an instrument of peace — embedding former
enemies in a web of mutual dependency that would make war materially impossible.
2.1 Post-War Foundations (late 1940s) — All Intergovernmental
Three organisations were created in rapid succession after 1945. All were purely
intergovernmental.
• Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC, 1948): Established
to coordinate economic recovery and distribute Marshall Plan aid from the
United States. Later evolved into the OECD (Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development), still based in Paris.
• Council of Europe (1949): Founded on Churchill's initiative to promote
democracy, rule of law, and human rights. Its main instrument is the
European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), enforced by the European
Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Currently 46 member states —
significantly larger than the EU. Has nothing to do with EU institutions or EU
law.
• NATO (1949): Military collective-defence alliance. Article 5 makes an armed
attack against one member an attack against all, entitling a collective armed
response. Includes the USA and Canada; purely intergovernmental; decisions
by consensus.
⚠ Exam warning — Council of Europe ≠ European Council ≠ Council of the EU.
The Council of Europe is a separate international organisation (46 members,
founded 1949, no link to EU). The European Council and the Council of the EU are
both EU institutions, but with entirely different compositions and powers. This
distinction is tested every year.
Rania El Ghalbzouri 2
MBA – Bridging Programme
,2.2 The 1950s — First Supranational Steps
In 1950, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman proposed placing the Franco-
German coal and steel industry under a supranational authority. The strategic logic
was explicit: coal and steel are the raw materials of military production; pooling
them would make war between France and Germany materially impossible.
Economic integration as an instrument for peace — a theme that runs through the
entire history of the EU.
The six founding states — France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands,
and Luxembourg — agreed to the Treaty of Paris (1951), establishing the European
Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). This was the first genuinely supranational
organisation in history: the High Authority could take legally binding decisions over
the coal and steel sector without requiring unanimous agreement.
In 1952, the same six states attempted a European Defence Community (EDC) — a
supranational military organisation to manage West German rearmament in the
context of Cold War tensions. France refused to ratify, fearing a supranational
command over its armed forces just seven years after the war. A purely
intergovernmental alternative, the Western European Union (WEU), was established
instead.
The Treaties of Rome (1957, in force 1 January 1958) created the European Economic
Community (EEC) — with a common market covering goods, services, capital, and
labour, plus common agricultural, competition, and trade policies — and EURATOM
for civilian nuclear energy. The six founding states had committed to the most
ambitious economic integration project the world had seen.
2.3 The 1960s–1980s: Enlargements, Crises, and the SEA
The 1960s and 1970s were marked by political friction (de Gaulle's 'empty chair'
policy paralysing Council decisions) and steady enlargement. The UK, Denmark, and
Ireland joined in 1973 (first enlargement); Greece in 1981 (second); Portugal and
Spain in 1986 (third). Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined in 1995 (fourth).
The decisive renewal came in the 1980s. Commission President Delors published the
1985 White Paper 'Completing the Internal Market', identifying three categories of
barriers — physical (border checks), technical (divergent product standards), and
fiscal (different VAT and excise duties) — and proposing a package of roughly 300
legislative measures to be adopted by 31 December 1992. To make this possible, the
Single European Act (1986) introduced qualified majority voting (QMV) in the Council
for single-market measures (removing the unanimity blockage), the concept of
mutual recognition, and a strengthened role for the European Parliament.
2.4 The 1990s: The Maastricht Treaty and the Three-Pillar EU
The fall of the Berlin Wall (1989), German reunification (1990), and the collapse of
the Soviet Union (1991) transformed European politics. The Treaty on European
Union, signed at Maastricht in 1992 and in force November 1993, created the
European Union and introduced a three-pillar structure.
Rania El Ghalbzouri 3
MBA – Bridging Programme
, Pillar Content Character
First Pillar EC (ECSC + EEC + Predominantly
EURATOM) + new supranational: QMV, co-
competences: EMU, social decision with EP
policy, education, culture
Second Pillar Common Foreign and Purely intergovernmental:
Security Policy (CFSP) unanimity, no legislative
acts
Third Pillar Cooperation in Justice and Purely intergovernmental:
Home Affairs unanimity
Maastricht also extended QMV and introduced the co-decision procedure (later
renamed the ordinary legislative procedure), significantly strengthening
Parliament's role.
2.5 Nice (2001), the Constitutional Treaty (2004), and the Treaty of Lisbon
(2009)
The fifth enlargement (2004) brought in ten new member states — Czech Republic,
Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia
— followed by Bulgaria and Romania in 2007 (sixth enlargement) and Croatia in 2013
(seventh enlargement). Institutional reforms to prepare for this expansion were
made at Nice (2001).
The Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe (2004) failed after rejection by
French and Dutch voters in 2005. The Treaty of Lisbon (signed 2007, in force 1
December 2009) preserved its key institutional innovations while abandoning the
constitutional framing. It replaced the three-pillar structure with two equal treaties
— the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union (TFEU) — and introduced several major democratic and
institutional changes.
Key Lisbon Treaty innovations
Permanent European Council President: Full-time, appointed for 2.5 years
(renewable once) by QMV, replacing the six-monthly rotating presidency.
High Representative for Foreign Affairs: Merged post of HR for CFSP and
Commissioner for External Relations; also VP of the Commission; chairs the
Foreign Affairs Council.
European External Action Service (EEAS): EU diplomatic service, operational
from 2012.
European Citizens' Initiative: One million signatures from at least seven
member states can invite the Commission to propose legislation.
Rania El Ghalbzouri 4
MBA – Bridging Programme
