Transcript 110120-citizenship-slides1

European citizenship
and the British
Richard Laming
20 January 2010
Four dimensions of citizenship
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Shared justice
Shared influence
Shared identity
Shared resources
Features of European
citizenship
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Prior to the Lisbon treaty
In the Lisbon treaty itself
In other recent developments
British perspective
Shared justice: prior to Lisbon
• Cooperation largely intergovernmental –
e.g. TREVI, Prüm
• European Arrest Warrant
• Charter of Fundamental Rights, but with
no legal force
• Anti-discrimination measures
Shared justice: in Lisbon treaty
• General move to Community method for
legislation
• Charter of Fundamental Rights has
legal force
• Anti-discrimination provisions retained
Shared justice:
other developments
• Stockholm Programme - rights of the
individual in criminal proceedings, e.g. time
limits, language conditions, proportionality
• Proposals for mutual recognition of judicial
judgments
• Proposals to simplify marriage, divorce and
inheritance – 13% of marriagess and 13% of
divorces are “international”
Shared justice:
British perspective
• Suspicious of Charter of Fundamental Rights,
ECJ and EU law in general
• Opted-out of much JHA cooperation
• Has to decide on Lisbon opt-outs in 2013
• UK not in EU enhanced cooperation group for
divorce proposal
Shared influence:
prior to Lisbon
• Directly elected European Parliament, with legislative
poweres
• Turnouts lower than in national elections (average of
43% compared with 75%)
• Lower public recognition for MEPs and
Commissioners than for national politicians
• Commissioner formally independent of national
interests, but often seen as an advocate for them
• Right to vote in European and municipal elections
in other member states, but not national elections
Shared influence:
in Lisbon treaty
• Wider powers for the European
Parliament
• Commission president to be elected by
the European Parliament after the
elections
• Council of Ministers required to legislate
in public
• Citizens’ initiative
Shared influence:
other developments
• European parties nominate candidates
for Commission president?
• A common election day for EP
elections?
• MEPs elected from transnational lists?
Shared influence:
British perspective
• Low turnout in European elections and low
recognition of MEPs – regional list system
weakens identification and lacks credibility
• Conservatives refuse to be part of main
centre-right grouping
• Little media coverage of EU affairs
• Low level of recruitment of UK citizens into
EU institutions – 5% of staff
Shared identity: prior to Lisbon
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Exchange schemes, e.g. ERASMUS, Leonardo
EU funding for cultural programmes
Single market spin-offs, e.g. football
European flag and anthem often used
Free movement for EU citizens – 11 million EU
citizens live in another member state; 13% of
marriages are between citizens of different member
states
• The euro
Shared identity:
in Lisbon treaty
• Flag and anthem not added to the treaty
• EU gains supporting competences in
sport and tourism
Shared identity: other
developments
• ???
Shared identity:
British perspective
• Low rate of speaking or understanding
foreign languages (62% speak only English)
• Government practice not to use the European
flag except where pushed
• Europe Day is not generally celebrated
• Outside Schengen
• Outside the euro (and illogically proud)
Shared resources:
prior to Lisbon
• EU budget maximum level of 1.23 % of GDP (3% of
public spending)
• Redistribution: farming (40%), regional development
(35%)
• European Court of Auditors qualifies the EU accounts
every year
• EU policies on conservation – birds, habitats, etc
• EU attempting to be world leader in fight against
climate change
• EU policy on fisheries
Shared resources:
in Lisbon treaty
• Budget not affected
• EP gains co-decision power over the budget
Shared resources:
other developments
• Age of austerity - pressure to reduce the
budget
• Sovereign debt guarantees in eurozone,
implying greater financial solidarity between
rich and poor
• EU marginalised in Copenhagen summit;
climate change policies declining in profile
and significance
Shared resources:
British perspective
• Net budget contributor (one of the largest)
• Rebate needs to be defended
• Some parts of the country receive extensive
European funding
• UK fishing industry has been in decline,
wrongly blamed on EU policy
• Won’t be part of the sovereign debt guarantee
arrangement, in whatever
form it emerges
Conclusion: shared justice
• A programme that delivered rights to British
citizens might be welcomed
• But will have an impact on UK legal practice
• The benefits will be seen and felt rarely, the
impact will be more visible
• The single market had this PR problem
Conclusion: shared influence
• European Parliament undervalued in public
opinion
• Political parties remain distant
• Will the choice of Commission president be
put to the public in 2014?
• Will Conservatives rejoin the centre-right
grouping?
Conclusion: shared identity
• No substantial lobby in politics for Britain to
join Schengen or the euro
• New government is encouraging the learning
of foreign languages in school, reversing the
policy of its predecessor
Conclusion: shared resources
• Exclusion from sovereign debt guarantee
system - yet another way in which the British
are different
• The notion of Europe as a leader in the fight
against climate change possible, but
environmental policies do not have their
former salience
Thank you!