Europe and Economic Integration
Historical and Political Context
Europe in International Economy 2015




The integration of Western Europe
•
•In 15 years from a total war to the creation of unprecedented transnational entity;
•
•France: ECSC – ensure a reliable supply of coal from the Ruhr – to enhance its own and to limit
GER armaments industry (Verdier);
•Euroatom – achieving energy security and control of European A. bomb;
•Charles de Gaulle: never again be France threatened by Germany + promised foreign policy
independence from US;
•
•Germany – integration for regaining international respectability;
•rebranding Germany as a country of committed Europeanists;
•
•Economic inheritance – complementary economic structures;
•Germany capital goods, France consumer goods, Benelux provided food, finance and transshipment
services;
•1930s Balkanized European economies – unity (nationalism, protectionsims, EoS);
•US – extraordinary imbalance of power – generally supportive on both political and economic
grounds – united against Soviet threat – stability and prosperity;
•Three main actors FRA, GER, US + GB;
•
•GB ambiguous – strong interests and ties to the Commonwealth – reluctant to reorient;
•Sceptical about integration – but aspiration to shape the integrationist project;

•ECSC
•economic initiative – designed to facilitate the recovery and rationalization of Europe’s steel
industry by coordination national production and investment plans;
•political aspect – Schuman Plan for ECSC (French foreign minister) drafted by Jean Monnet – first
step in political integration;
•ECSC governed by a supranational High Authority checked by a Special Council of Ministers a Common
Assembly (78 advisers) and High Court (7 judges);
•
•Political Integration:
•no consensus of elite, much less popular support - conducted in secret;
•in 1954 the French Assembly rejected proposal for a European Defense Community (EDC) and a
European Political Community;
•designed to integrate GER military force into European army -> since then collective security as a
group of sovereign states in the US led NATO;
•
•The advocates of deeper integration responded by focusing on concrete goal - creating a custom
union:
•attempted to capitalize on concerns about the competitiveness of Europe (small size of national
markets as a handicap);
•
•Opposing position: FTA is enough;




•Proposal for re-launching integration came from Benelux 1953 and 1955:
•France torpedoed it – explored other options: economic union with the UK;
•British refused – France was left with no alternative to a custom union of the six – attempted to
extract as many concessions as possible (import taxes and subsidies, safeguards commission);
•
•Skepticism of the merits of political integration:
•Benelux – threat to independence;
•French – accepts only as tool to enhance power –> qualified majority only on issues on which was
confident of forming a majority;
•UK – even less enthusiastic – looking for alternatives – Europe-wide free trade area;
•German industry highly competitive – positively disposed towards British proposal;
•
•FTA (country with lowest tariffs set the pace for liberalization) was not acceptable for FRA;
•Rules of origin being hard to enforce – tariffs would tend to be forced down;
•France preferred CU – to control the common external tariff and liberalize more gradually;
•Consequently – opening to six safer than to whole Europe;
•
•GER – either way – inclined toward the UK proposal:
•Erhard worried that small community tilted toward France would discriminate against nonmembers and
protect inefficient producers;
•Adenauer – favored an Europe of the six that promised to be more than a free trade area;




British Dilemma
•
•UK insisted on the maintenance of imperial preference and exclusion of agricultural goods (to
continue import foodstuff from Commonwealth) – drove GER into FRA arms;
•FRA and GER insisted on equal access for their farmers, although with price supports and
protection from extra-European supplies;
•de Gaulle prime minister 1958 – announced that discussions of the FTA (GB) were at end;
•
•New communities will be modeled on the ECSC – governed by a Commission, a Parliament and a Court
of Justice (uncomfortable supranational aspect);
•
•Two conflicting visions:
•EC as upgraded FTA vs. step towards political integration;
•tension between those preferring open regionalism and those preferring exclusive club;
•UK and six smaller (AUT, DEN, NOR, POR, SWE, SWI) agreed in 1960 to establish EFTA;
•all but POR traded more with EC than with EFTA members;
•even UK exports to the Six grew faster than to EFTA – as a rival trade area little sense + no say
in EC;
•UK applied for EEC in 1961;
•
•FRA (de Gaulle) feared that another large member would complicate the control of the agenda – more
difficult for FRA to use EC as a platform for great-power status;
•goal of a tripartite directorate for the West: US, UK, French-led EC;
•definitive „non“ 1963 (UK entered only 1973);








1913
1929
1950
1973
1992
1998
France
7,8
8,6
7,6
15,2
22,9
28,7
Germany
16,1
12,8
6,2
23,8
32,6
38,9
Netherlands
17,3
17,2
12,2
40,7
55,3
61,2
GB
17,5
13,3
11,3
14,0
21,4
25,0
Spain
8,1
5,0
3,0
5,0
13,4
23,5
SSSR/Russia
2,9
1,6
1,3
3,8
5,1
10,6
Canada
12,2
15,8
13,0
19,9
27,2
-
USA
3,7
3,6
3,0
4,9
8,2
10,1
Argentina
6,8
6,1
2,4
2,1
4,3
7,0
Brazil
9,8
6,9
3,9
2,5
4,7
5,4
Mexico
9,1
12,5
3,0
1,9
6,4
10,7
China
1,7
1,8
2,6
1,5
2,3
4,9
India
4,6
3,7
2,9
2,0
1,7
2,4
Japan
2,4
3,5
2,2
7,7
12,4
13,4
Korea
1,2
4,5
0,7
8,2
17,8
36,3
World
7,9
9,0
5,5
10,5
13,5
17,2
Manufactured exports as a share of GDP (%)

The Luxembourg Compromise
•
•Battle over majority voting - efficiency of decision vs. risk of override; (de
Gaulle)(unanimity-simple majority);
•Independent resources for Commission and the Parliament say over EC´s budget (FRA interest - room
to maneuver);
•
•1965: Commission proposed permanent income (duties) + greater power over use;
•France suggested that a permanent decision be put off for four years ensuring continuing for the
CAP financing without any concessions;
•Coolly received in the Council – France withdrew from negotiations – 1965 presiding Council –
crisis of “the empty chair”;
•de Gaulle: EC was more important to others -> to force concessions;
•importance of the EC to his own constituents – opposition: farmers (jeopardizing CAP);
industrialist (Common Market at risk);
•reelected 1965 in second round and by slim majority;
•
•Compromise – meeting in Luxembourg (instead of Brusells):
•EC received permanent source of income; CAP ensured; powers of Commission and Parliament not
enhanced to the extent foreseen in original package;
•The extension of majority voting was accepted in principle – no vote in matter unless all members
prepared to abide (vital interest at stake);
•EC would remain an intergovernmental institution;
•Incentive for FRA and GER to negotiate bilaterally (fait accompli);

http://www.cvce.eu/content/publication/1998/11/19/9acdcdc2-9301-4cd3-bb7c-04bfb231994b/publishable.
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1951–1960
1961–1970
1971–1980
1981–1990
1992–2000
USA
GDP growth
3,4
4,2
3,3
3,2
3,6
Inflation
2,1
2,8
7,9
4,7
2,6
EU-15
GDP growth
4,8
4,8
3,0
2,4
2,1
Inflation
3,6
3,9
10,8
6,7
2,4




Monetarism in Great Britain
•
•M. Thatcher: 1979 announced four-year declining path for the growth of money supply;
•Fight against inflation linked to the goal of reducing the role of the government in the economy;
•Moved to eliminate labor involvement in the design of industrial policies;
•More flexible labor markets: easier hiring and firing, reduced unemployment benefits;
•Attacked the union movements and crushed the strikes;
•
•Adjustment slow:
•Inflation came down only to 11%;
•Main effect of higher interest rates was a appreciation of sterling – recession from loss of
competitiveness;
•GDP fell by 5% and unemployment doubled to 10,4%;
•
•1981 move towards a looser monetary policy and a tighter fiscal policy to continue disinflate;
•Failing petroleum prices unhelpful (GBs - North Sea oil);
•Exchange rate slid from 2,45 towards 1,04 (USD/GBP) 1985 – interest rates up to 14%;
•British industry another blow…
•Thatcher reduced taxes and privatized Airlines, BP, Telecom, Gas, sold council houses;
•Finally - deregulation delivered significant raise in productivity…
•Non transplantable to other countries – GB elected „economic radical“ because of three decades of
disappointing economic performance…


1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
GDP Growth
2,8
-2,0
-1,2
1,7
3,8
1,8
3,8
3,6
4,4
4,7
2,1
Inflation
13,4
18,0
11,9
8,6
4,5
5,0
6,0
3,4
4,2
4,9
7,8
Unemployment
4,0
4,8
7,9
9,5
10,5
10,7
10,9
11,8
10,3
8,3
6,4
Economic development in Great Britain

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Single market
•1980s Europe stagnated, while US and Japan surged ahead (losing market share in cars, electronics)
- deeper integration seen as a tonic for these ills;
•
•Governments such as FRA and UK were using the institutions of the EC to advance their national
agendas – delegating to the Commission and the Court responsibility for implementing painful
economic reforms;
•Founding document – White paper by team of experts 1985 the Cockfield Report (UK civil servant) –
summarized dissatisfaction with progress (Delorse commison);
•Reinvigorating growth and accelerating the integration – portrayed as synonymous;
•Goal: market free not just of internal tariffs but also of regulatory barriers to the movement of
goods and services (Common -> Single);
•
•Intergovernmental conference 1986 -> Single European Act (SEA):
•commitment to establish a single market free of barriers to the movement of goods and factors of
production
•greater use of qualified majority and cooperative procedure (first direct elections to Parliament
1979);
•SEA provided expansion of the structural Funds – program for funding of infrastructure investment
in its poorer member states – side payment;
•SEA emphasized the need for cooperation in the conduct of economic and monetary policies –
progressive realization of monetary union;




•Context of Maastrich Treaty
•
•1 January 1993 – single market complete;
–The share of intra-EC imports in consumption rose from 22,6% to 25% (1986-1992); EU attracted 45%
US and 21% JAP FDI, intra-EU trade share from 31% to 51%;
•
•Bundesbank set the tone for monetary policy:
–inflation in GER low, DM had tendency to appreciate;
–other central bank were forced to follow to prevent excessive depreciation;
•
•FRA:
–unfairly bearing a disproportionate share of the adjustment burden;
–EMS would create a collective policy space + more expansionary thrust for macroeconomic policies;
•
•GER:
–skepticism of monetary union but advocating elimination of capital controls (monetary union as
quid pro quo);
–committed Europeanists saw foreign (FRA, ITA) criticism of Bundesbank as destructive to goal of
FRA-GER partnership (H.Kohl);
–
•Business formed Association for Monetary Union in Europe:
–voicing support (exchange-rate risks and transparency);
–financial institutions saw single currency as economy of scale opportunity;

•Economic and monetary convergence
•
•Delors report (1989) recommended empowering ECOFIN Council and Parliament to impose binding
ceilings on fiscal deficits + proposed that record of sound fiscal policies should be a
precondition for joining monetary union;
•
•It was compromise between GER insistence on stability (central bank independence) and operation of
market forces and the more politicized approach of the French;
•
•New ECB organized along Bundesbank lines – politically independent and price stability as its
primary objective;
•
•Presumption that only a small subset of member states with impeccably strong and stable policies
would qualify for participation;
•
•Set of macroeconomic preconditions – convergence criteria:
–Inflation within 1.5 percent of three lowest;
–Long term interest rates within 2 percent of three lowest;
–National debt no more than 60 percent of GDP;
–Budget deficit no more than 3 percent;
–Exchange rate within 2.25 percent bands of the Exchange-Rate Mechanism;
•
•Stages of monetary integration: independence of central banks -> removing remaining capital
controls 1990-1993 -> creation of European monetary Institute 1994 -> monetary union itself no
later than 1999;




Key Contemporary Issues
•
•Mutual recognition – acceptance of the regulations and standards of other EU countries (activities
lawful in one member to be pursued throughout the EC);
–Mutual recognition of professional credentials;
•
•Government procurement – to reduce the bias of governments towards domestic producers;
•Since 1990 control of mergers – restraining the tendency of states to grant legal monopolies
(telecom, transport, post, gas, electricity);
•
•Services (insurance, financial and business services) - foreign firms establishing subsidiaries
being required to undergo lengthy (often discriminatory) authorization;
–2005 Services Directive – right to provide services in all member states as long as they follow
the laws of their home states (opposition by high-income countries);
–financial services: elimination of capital controls 1988 by EC directive:
•rapid process> frustrated industrial policy –> removed barriers for foreign banks  (for 40 years
was governments directing credit towards industry - now financial sector privatized and domestic
bank competed with foreign);
•
•Integration increasingly came to be identified with liberalization + Commission perceived itself
as an agent of deregulation;
•
•Increased mobility of tax base – pressure for reductions in rates of taxation (to limit the danger
that high taxes would cause capital to migrate abroad – states with large public sectors pushed for
tax harmonization);