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... More specifically in this essay we deal with the effect EU membership has on British Central Government. ... We evaluate the structures, processes and power of Whitehall with regards to how it carries out EU business, and finish with a study of some policy issues in which Britain has played an important part. We conclude with the observation that Britain, with regards to the EU, is a particularly reactive state, but with a fledgling generation of generally pro-EU officials. ... Of course, europeanisation applies to all member states of the EU in varying degrees, a fact which expert political commentators and tabloid newspaper editors alike often overlook. ... Alasdair Blair states that europeanisation concerns "the impact that membership of the EU has had on member states. ... However, the implication of Blairs definition is that the EU-member state relationship is one-way, that the member state is influenced by the EU as a result of being a member. This view is wholly unrepresentative of the EU-member state relationship, although understandable, considering the formal powers of the EU. ... The Jurisprudence system of the EU is legally superior to that in any of the member states. In many areas of policy, the EU can impose its legislation on a member state against the wishes of that state (under QMV rules).
However, Blairs definition can be criticised for neglecting the influence a member state has over the EU. The EU contains autonomous elements, the Commission being the most obvious, and the most influential, but it relies on the continuous support of its members. ... Although many EU policies are EU in origin, perhaps the most important influence a member state can have, and one that many argue Britain has failed to take advantage of, is that of policy-making. ...
thwhich they attempt to upload to the EU, but also the divergence in their "capacity to participate" in this particular policy competition. ... For Britain, EU integration is seemingly more of an effort, due to Britains lack of input into the shaping of the policies and structures of the EC when not a member. ... The debate centres on the question of whether Britains sovereignty is threatened by the EU. ... Pilkington also seems to overlook the fact that the EU is the most federal of all the organisations he mentions. The legal powers of implementation the EU possesses far outweigh those of the organisations above.
The interesting theme of Pilkingtons overview is that the British sovereignty debate, which is more or less a direct result of EU membership, has revealed ambiguities in the traditional view of sovereignty. Far from clarifying the issue, EU membership has caused the revelation that the concept of British sovereignty is not as sound as was once thought. ... "
While this contradiction weakens the loss of sovereignty argument against EU integration, the reality is that it allows British eurosceptics to wrap themselves in the Union flag to protect their domestic power base. ... It represents surely the most reactive form of reception, and one which is being used far less in the face of the necessity of maintaining relations with other EU members, especially the engine room of the EU, France and Germany.
The Europeanisation of British Central Government
When considering British Central Government, it is hard to know exactly how to gauge the effects of EU membership. ... While clearly EU membership has, by necessity, thrown up many new structures for dealing with EU business, how are we to measure the difference between necessary measures and an active and fundamental change caused by EU membership?
Approximate Word count = 2888
Approximate Pages = 11.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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