Alec Stone Sweet, Wayne Sandholtz, and Neil Fligstein (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199247967
- eISBN:
- 9780191601088
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924796X.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
In 1950, a European political space existed, if only as a very primitive site of international governance. Now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the European Union governs in an ...
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In 1950, a European political space existed, if only as a very primitive site of international governance. Now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the European Union governs in an ever-growing number of policy domains. Increasingly dense networks of transnational actors representing electorates, member state governments, firms, and specialized interests operate in arenas that are best understood as supranational. At the same time, the capacity of European organizations – the European Central Bank, the European Commission, and the European Court of Justice – to make authoritative policy decisions has steadily expanded, profoundly transforming the very nature of the European polity. This book, a companion volume and extension to European Integration and Supranational Governance (which was published in 1998), offers readers a sophisticated theoretical account of this transformation, as well as original empirical research. Like the earlier book, it was basically funded by a grant from the University of California (Berkeley) Center for German and European Studies, with additional support from the University of California (Irvine) Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies, and the Robert Schumann Centre for Advanced Study at the European University Institute, San Domenico di Fiesole (partly through the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs). The authors, a small group of social scientists, collaborated for three years and met in four workshops, with penultimate versions of the papers presented at the final conference (at the Schumann Centre) forming the chapters of the book. The editors elaborate an innovative synthesis of institutionalist theory that contributors use to explain the sources and consequences of the emergence and institutionalization of European political arenas. Some chapters examine the evolution of integration and supranational governance across time and policy domain. Others recount more discrete episodes, including the development of women’s rights, the judicial review of administrative acts, a stable system of interest group representation, and enhanced cooperation in foreign policy and security; the creation of the European Central Bank; the emergence of new policy competences, such as for policing and immigration; and the multi-dimensional impact of European policies on national modes of governance.Less
In 1950, a European political space existed, if only as a very primitive site of international governance. Now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the European Union governs in an ever-growing number of policy domains. Increasingly dense networks of transnational actors representing electorates, member state governments, firms, and specialized interests operate in arenas that are best understood as supranational. At the same time, the capacity of European organizations – the European Central Bank, the European Commission, and the European Court of Justice – to make authoritative policy decisions has steadily expanded, profoundly transforming the very nature of the European polity. This book, a companion volume and extension to European Integration and Supranational Governance (which was published in 1998), offers readers a sophisticated theoretical account of this transformation, as well as original empirical research. Like the earlier book, it was basically funded by a grant from the University of California (Berkeley) Center for German and European Studies, with additional support from the University of California (Irvine) Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies, and the Robert Schumann Centre for Advanced Study at the European University Institute, San Domenico di Fiesole (partly through the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs). The authors, a small group of social scientists, collaborated for three years and met in four workshops, with penultimate versions of the papers presented at the final conference (at the Schumann Centre) forming the chapters of the book. The editors elaborate an innovative synthesis of institutionalist theory that contributors use to explain the sources and consequences of the emergence and institutionalization of European political arenas. Some chapters examine the evolution of integration and supranational governance across time and policy domain. Others recount more discrete episodes, including the development of women’s rights, the judicial review of administrative acts, a stable system of interest group representation, and enhanced cooperation in foreign policy and security; the creation of the European Central Bank; the emergence of new policy competences, such as for policing and immigration; and the multi-dimensional impact of European policies on national modes of governance.
Alec Stone Sweet, Neil Fligstein, and Wayne Sandholtz
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199247967
- eISBN:
- 9780191601088
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924796X.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
This introductory chapter starts by summarizing the main conclusions of the earlier companion volume (European Integration and Supranational Governance), and describes the current volume as focusing ...
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This introductory chapter starts by summarizing the main conclusions of the earlier companion volume (European Integration and Supranational Governance), and describes the current volume as focusing on the institutionalism of Europe per se, rather than the question of how supranational arenas emerged and were institutionalized. It looks at the sources and consequences of institutionalization, i.e. the process through which European political space – supranational policy arenas or sites of governance, structured by European Union (EU) rules, procedures, and the activities of the EU’s organizations – has evolved. The five main sections of the chapter look at the institutionalist challenge, discuss institutions and institutionalization (institutional change, social and political space, institutions in relation to power, and rule-making and legitimacy), attempt to explain institutional change in the European Union (examining institutional innovation and its assessment), provide a brief overview of the book, and offer conclusions on the dynamics of institutionalization and the future of the European Union. The next nine chapters of the book are described as falling into three groups: the first set addresses the processes of institutionalization (Chs 2–4); the second set explores how specific European policy spaces have emerged, mutated, and stabilized through ‘endogenous’ processes of institutionalization (Chs 5–7); and the third set is concerned with the processes of institutional innovation – the creation of new policy spaces (Chs 8–10). A final chapter concludes by discussing the institutional logic of integration.Less
This introductory chapter starts by summarizing the main conclusions of the earlier companion volume (European Integration and Supranational Governance), and describes the current volume as focusing on the institutionalism of Europe per se, rather than the question of how supranational arenas emerged and were institutionalized. It looks at the sources and consequences of institutionalization, i.e. the process through which European political space – supranational policy arenas or sites of governance, structured by European Union (EU) rules, procedures, and the activities of the EU’s organizations – has evolved. The five main sections of the chapter look at the institutionalist challenge, discuss institutions and institutionalization (institutional change, social and political space, institutions in relation to power, and rule-making and legitimacy), attempt to explain institutional change in the European Union (examining institutional innovation and its assessment), provide a brief overview of the book, and offer conclusions on the dynamics of institutionalization and the future of the European Union. The next nine chapters of the book are described as falling into three groups: the first set addresses the processes of institutionalization (Chs 2–4); the second set explores how specific European policy spaces have emerged, mutated, and stabilized through ‘endogenous’ processes of institutionalization (Chs 5–7); and the third set is concerned with the processes of institutional innovation – the creation of new policy spaces (Chs 8–10). A final chapter concludes by discussing the institutional logic of integration.
Berthold Rittberger
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199273423
- eISBN:
- 9780191602764
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199273421.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
Why have national governments of EU member states created and, over the past fifty years, successively endowed the European Parliament with supervisory, budgetary, and legislative powers? This book ...
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Why have national governments of EU member states created and, over the past fifty years, successively endowed the European Parliament with supervisory, budgetary, and legislative powers? This book presents a three-staged argument to explain how the European Parliament acquired this power ‘trias’. First, it is argued that the construction of a supranational polity induces political elites in the member states to reflect on the implications posed by transfers of national sovereignty for domestic processes of democratic accountability and interest representation. It is shown empirically that there exists a strong correlation between national governments’ decisions to transfer sovereignty and political elites’ perception of a ‘democratic legitimacy deficit’ that triggers a search for institutional solutions for its remedy. In a second step, it is argued that political elites, first and foremost, domestic political parties, advance different proposals to alleviate the perceived ‘legitimacy deficit’. These proposals are derived from ‘legitimating beliefs’ that vary cross-nationally and across political parties. Consequently, the creation and empowerment of a supranational parliamentary institution plays a prominent but not exclusive role as potential remedy to the ‘democratic legitimacy deficit’. Third, the book illuminates the mechanisms through which ‘legitimating beliefs’ expressed by political elites and the behaviour of national governments who negotiate and decide on the creation and potential empowerment of the European Parliament are linked. What logic of action best captures national governments’ decisions to empower the European Parliament? The explanatory power of the theoretical argument will be explored by looking at three landmark cases in the European Parliament’s history: its creation as ‘Common Assembly’ of the ECSC Treaty and the concomitant acquisition of supervisory powers vis-à-vis the High Authority, the acquisition of budgetary powers (Treaty of Luxembourg of 1970) and of legislative powers (Single European Act signed in 1986). The developments ranging from the Maastricht Treaty to the adoption of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe will also be analysed in the light of the theory.Less
Why have national governments of EU member states created and, over the past fifty years, successively endowed the European Parliament with supervisory, budgetary, and legislative powers? This book presents a three-staged argument to explain how the European Parliament acquired this power ‘trias’. First, it is argued that the construction of a supranational polity induces political elites in the member states to reflect on the implications posed by transfers of national sovereignty for domestic processes of democratic accountability and interest representation. It is shown empirically that there exists a strong correlation between national governments’ decisions to transfer sovereignty and political elites’ perception of a ‘democratic legitimacy deficit’ that triggers a search for institutional solutions for its remedy. In a second step, it is argued that political elites, first and foremost, domestic political parties, advance different proposals to alleviate the perceived ‘legitimacy deficit’. These proposals are derived from ‘legitimating beliefs’ that vary cross-nationally and across political parties. Consequently, the creation and empowerment of a supranational parliamentary institution plays a prominent but not exclusive role as potential remedy to the ‘democratic legitimacy deficit’. Third, the book illuminates the mechanisms through which ‘legitimating beliefs’ expressed by political elites and the behaviour of national governments who negotiate and decide on the creation and potential empowerment of the European Parliament are linked. What logic of action best captures national governments’ decisions to empower the European Parliament? The explanatory power of the theoretical argument will be explored by looking at three landmark cases in the European Parliament’s history: its creation as ‘Common Assembly’ of the ECSC Treaty and the concomitant acquisition of supervisory powers vis-à-vis the High Authority, the acquisition of budgetary powers (Treaty of Luxembourg of 1970) and of legislative powers (Single European Act signed in 1986). The developments ranging from the Maastricht Treaty to the adoption of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe will also be analysed in the light of the theory.
Neil Fligstein and Alec Stone Sweet
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199247967
- eISBN:
- 9780191601088
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924796X.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
The general process of institutionalization in the European Union is examined from a macro perspective, building on the theoretical materials developed in the earlier book European Integration and ...
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The general process of institutionalization in the European Union is examined from a macro perspective, building on the theoretical materials developed in the earlier book European Integration and Supranational Governance, and examining the extent to which linkages between rule-making (legislation), dispute resolution, and different forms of transnational activity have created a dynamic, inherently expansionary system. The process is evaluated from the standpoint of institutionalist theory by testing specific hypotheses against relatively comprehensive quantitative measures of integration: trading, legislating, litigating, and lobbying within the context of the Treaty of Rome. The main findings are that (1) increasing economic transactions, (2) the construction of the Brussels complex, (3) the capacity of supranational authorities to produce legislation, and (4) the operation of the European Commission (EC) legal system have become linked through a complex set of feedback loops that binds them together in a self-reinforcing system that broadly determines the course of integration. Although the perspective used is a macro one, the authors emphasize actors and agency: as increasing numbers of actors learn how to be effective in the EC, they build and consolidate new arenas for political activity, thereby bolstering the centrality of supranational governance.Less
The general process of institutionalization in the European Union is examined from a macro perspective, building on the theoretical materials developed in the earlier book European Integration and Supranational Governance, and examining the extent to which linkages between rule-making (legislation), dispute resolution, and different forms of transnational activity have created a dynamic, inherently expansionary system. The process is evaluated from the standpoint of institutionalist theory by testing specific hypotheses against relatively comprehensive quantitative measures of integration: trading, legislating, litigating, and lobbying within the context of the Treaty of Rome. The main findings are that (1) increasing economic transactions, (2) the construction of the Brussels complex, (3) the capacity of supranational authorities to produce legislation, and (4) the operation of the European Commission (EC) legal system have become linked through a complex set of feedback loops that binds them together in a self-reinforcing system that broadly determines the course of integration. Although the perspective used is a macro one, the authors emphasize actors and agency: as increasing numbers of actors learn how to be effective in the EC, they build and consolidate new arenas for political activity, thereby bolstering the centrality of supranational governance.
Gerard Strange and Owen Worth (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780719085734
- eISBN:
- 9781781704615
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719085734.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union
Written against a background of global economic and political turmoil, including crisis and uncertainty surrounding the European Union, European Regionalism and the Left offers new critical insights ...
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Written against a background of global economic and political turmoil, including crisis and uncertainty surrounding the European Union, European Regionalism and the Left offers new critical insights into a range of fundamental problems facing the project of European integration. Issues covered include: the limits and possibilities of European Monetary Union; the impact of European regionalism on the political organisations of the European left; European regionalism and the crisis of social democracy; Russia and the limits to EU regionalism; and the contradictions of Eurocentric politics in an age of globalisation. The book brings together contributions from international scholars drawing on a rich diversity of critical approaches to international political economy, European integration studies, European politics and social theory. Unlike many earlier critical studies of this subject, European Regionalism and the Left consciously eschews any specific radical theoretical narrative or research programme in favour of an open-ended critical engagement with the political economy of contemporary Europe. As such it attempts to open up left analyses of Europe to broader traditions of critical inquiry.Less
Written against a background of global economic and political turmoil, including crisis and uncertainty surrounding the European Union, European Regionalism and the Left offers new critical insights into a range of fundamental problems facing the project of European integration. Issues covered include: the limits and possibilities of European Monetary Union; the impact of European regionalism on the political organisations of the European left; European regionalism and the crisis of social democracy; Russia and the limits to EU regionalism; and the contradictions of Eurocentric politics in an age of globalisation. The book brings together contributions from international scholars drawing on a rich diversity of critical approaches to international political economy, European integration studies, European politics and social theory. Unlike many earlier critical studies of this subject, European Regionalism and the Left consciously eschews any specific radical theoretical narrative or research programme in favour of an open-ended critical engagement with the political economy of contemporary Europe. As such it attempts to open up left analyses of Europe to broader traditions of critical inquiry.
Michael Lister and Emily Pia
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748633418
- eISBN:
- 9780748671977
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748633418.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This book seeks to analyse the impact of globalisation, European integration, mass migration, changing patterns of political participation and welfare state provision upon citizenship in Europe. ...
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This book seeks to analyse the impact of globalisation, European integration, mass migration, changing patterns of political participation and welfare state provision upon citizenship in Europe. Uniting theory with empirical examples, the central theme of the book is that how we view such changes is dependent upon how we view citizenship theoretically. The authors analyse the three main theoretical approaches to citizenship: [1] classical positions (liberal, communitarian, and republican), primarily concerned with questions of rights and responsibilities; [2] multiculturalist and feminist theories, concerned with the question of difference; and [3] postnational or cosmopolitan theories which emphasise how citizen rights and behaviours are increasingly located beyond the nation state. Using these theoretical perspectives, the second section of the book assesses four key social, economic and political developments which pose challenges for citizenship in Europe: migration, political participation, the welfare state and European integration. These, it is argued, represent the most significant challenges to and for citizenship in contemporary Europe.Less
This book seeks to analyse the impact of globalisation, European integration, mass migration, changing patterns of political participation and welfare state provision upon citizenship in Europe. Uniting theory with empirical examples, the central theme of the book is that how we view such changes is dependent upon how we view citizenship theoretically. The authors analyse the three main theoretical approaches to citizenship: [1] classical positions (liberal, communitarian, and republican), primarily concerned with questions of rights and responsibilities; [2] multiculturalist and feminist theories, concerned with the question of difference; and [3] postnational or cosmopolitan theories which emphasise how citizen rights and behaviours are increasingly located beyond the nation state. Using these theoretical perspectives, the second section of the book assesses four key social, economic and political developments which pose challenges for citizenship in Europe: migration, political participation, the welfare state and European integration. These, it is argued, represent the most significant challenges to and for citizenship in contemporary Europe.
Gábor Tóka, Andrija Henjak, and Radoslaw Markowski
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199602346
- eISBN:
- 9780191739163
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199602346.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union, Comparative Politics
This chapter deals with the impact of citizenship attitudes on popular support for European integration, an issue that has been extensively investigated in previous research. The distinctiveness of ...
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This chapter deals with the impact of citizenship attitudes on popular support for European integration, an issue that has been extensively investigated in previous research. The distinctiveness of the new analysis in this chapter is that it allows a comprehensive empirical testing of a wide set of theoretical claims advanced in the literature that, due to data limitations, have seldom been comparatively assessed on their own, and never against the competing impact by the dimensions of citizenship explored in this volume. The modelling of systemic-level features, and of their interactions with individual level variables, is carried out to adjudicate between rival theoretical perspectives. The findings show that citizenship attitudes are important determinants of people’s overall evaluations of EU integration, without any significant variation across Western, Southern or Eastern Europe.Less
This chapter deals with the impact of citizenship attitudes on popular support for European integration, an issue that has been extensively investigated in previous research. The distinctiveness of the new analysis in this chapter is that it allows a comprehensive empirical testing of a wide set of theoretical claims advanced in the literature that, due to data limitations, have seldom been comparatively assessed on their own, and never against the competing impact by the dimensions of citizenship explored in this volume. The modelling of systemic-level features, and of their interactions with individual level variables, is carried out to adjudicate between rival theoretical perspectives. The findings show that citizenship attitudes are important determinants of people’s overall evaluations of EU integration, without any significant variation across Western, Southern or Eastern Europe.
Paul Copeland
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780719088254
- eISBN:
- 9781781707470
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719088254.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Conflict Politics and Policy
At the heart of the European integration process is the political economy debate over whether the EU should be a market-making project, or if it should combine this with integration in employment and ...
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At the heart of the European integration process is the political economy debate over whether the EU should be a market-making project, or if it should combine this with integration in employment and social policy. What has been the impact of the 2004 and 2007 rounds of enlargement upon the political economy of European integration? EU enlargement, the clash of capitalisms and the European social dimension analyses the impact of the 2004 and 2007 enlargements upon the politics of European integration within EU employment and social policy. This book analyses the main policy negotiations in the field and analyses the political positions and contributions of the Central and Eastern European Member States. Through an analyses of the negotiations of the Services Directive, the revision of the Working Time Directive and the Europe 2020 poverty target, the book argues that the addition of the Central and Eastern European states has strengthened liberal forces at the EU level and undermined integration with EU employment and social policy.Less
At the heart of the European integration process is the political economy debate over whether the EU should be a market-making project, or if it should combine this with integration in employment and social policy. What has been the impact of the 2004 and 2007 rounds of enlargement upon the political economy of European integration? EU enlargement, the clash of capitalisms and the European social dimension analyses the impact of the 2004 and 2007 enlargements upon the politics of European integration within EU employment and social policy. This book analyses the main policy negotiations in the field and analyses the political positions and contributions of the Central and Eastern European Member States. Through an analyses of the negotiations of the Services Directive, the revision of the Working Time Directive and the Europe 2020 poverty target, the book argues that the addition of the Central and Eastern European states has strengthened liberal forces at the EU level and undermined integration with EU employment and social policy.
Michael Lister
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748633418
- eISBN:
- 9780748671977
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748633418.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
In this chapter we will reflect on how the ongoing process of European integration affects citizenship. There are at least two ways we can think about this. The first is to assess the effects that ...
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In this chapter we will reflect on how the ongoing process of European integration affects citizenship. There are at least two ways we can think about this. The first is to assess the effects that European Integration has upon citizenship at the state level. In some ways, we have thought about this as we analysed changes to migration, the welfare state, and political participation. A second way we can think about it is by reflecting on a burgeoning European, post-national citizenship. Formally, citizens of the individual EU member states are also citizens of the European Union. This chapter examines what form EU citizenship takes, and how this interacts with existing (and for the EU treaties, dominant) national citizenship. For classical conceptions of citizenship, this relationship is much more problematic than for postnational, cosmopolitan theories.Less
In this chapter we will reflect on how the ongoing process of European integration affects citizenship. There are at least two ways we can think about this. The first is to assess the effects that European Integration has upon citizenship at the state level. In some ways, we have thought about this as we analysed changes to migration, the welfare state, and political participation. A second way we can think about it is by reflecting on a burgeoning European, post-national citizenship. Formally, citizens of the individual EU member states are also citizens of the European Union. This chapter examines what form EU citizenship takes, and how this interacts with existing (and for the EU treaties, dominant) national citizenship. For classical conceptions of citizenship, this relationship is much more problematic than for postnational, cosmopolitan theories.
Mark Dawson
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780190226114
- eISBN:
- 9780190256784
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190226114.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter discusses the relationship between legal and diplomatic actors in advancing European integration. By examining case studies in two different fields—the establishment of the common market ...
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This chapter discusses the relationship between legal and diplomatic actors in advancing European integration. By examining case studies in two different fields—the establishment of the common market and the enlargement of the EU at the turn of the century—the chapter argues that law acted as an important lever to institutionalize and diffuse interstate conflicts that could not be resolved by traditional diplomatic means. Although the capacity of institutions to foster diplomatic goals has been bruised in the previous decade of the EU’s existence, it is argued that legal procedures are likely to continue to play a prominent role in the EU’s political and diplomatic future.Less
This chapter discusses the relationship between legal and diplomatic actors in advancing European integration. By examining case studies in two different fields—the establishment of the common market and the enlargement of the EU at the turn of the century—the chapter argues that law acted as an important lever to institutionalize and diffuse interstate conflicts that could not be resolved by traditional diplomatic means. Although the capacity of institutions to foster diplomatic goals has been bruised in the previous decade of the EU’s existence, it is argued that legal procedures are likely to continue to play a prominent role in the EU’s political and diplomatic future.
Paul Copeland
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780719088254
- eISBN:
- 9781781707470
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719088254.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Conflict Politics and Policy
The purpose of this chapter is to analyse the political economy of European integration and to examine the EU’s competence within employment and social policy. It argues that the EU’s involvement in ...
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The purpose of this chapter is to analyse the political economy of European integration and to examine the EU’s competence within employment and social policy. It argues that the EU’s involvement in social policy and labour can best be understood as a European social dimension (ESD) – that is, although there is considerable political activity at EU level in terms of employment and social policy, unlike the SEM or Monetary Union, integration within the field is a work in progress. Its current and future developments are therefore very much dependent upon the EU’s political constellations. The chapter concludes by identifying the 2004 and 2007 new member States as a potential threat to the ESD.Less
The purpose of this chapter is to analyse the political economy of European integration and to examine the EU’s competence within employment and social policy. It argues that the EU’s involvement in social policy and labour can best be understood as a European social dimension (ESD) – that is, although there is considerable political activity at EU level in terms of employment and social policy, unlike the SEM or Monetary Union, integration within the field is a work in progress. Its current and future developments are therefore very much dependent upon the EU’s political constellations. The chapter concludes by identifying the 2004 and 2007 new member States as a potential threat to the ESD.