The European Union constitution was written, but as it was a need to restructure the constitutional treaties, not only because of the enlargement of the Union, but also because the treaties were to complex and made the whole system functioning not very efficient,so the new draft constitutional treaties were introduced. The treaties are very important, because they determine what is in the European Union’s competence, how different institutions work, shows the decision-making process and the relationships of the European Union with other organisations. They also state the fundamental values and principles of the European Union and its Member States.
The draft Constitution treaty provides more information on the division of duties and areas of competence of the European Union and the Member States. According to the treaties the relationships between the Union and the Member States should be based on a principle of cooperation and assistance, the two levels of government should effectively work together in order to achieve the aims of the Union. There competences of both European Union and the Member States are stated in the Constitutional treaties. The European Union has exclusive competences in the following areas: “ the establishing of the competition rules necessary for the functioning of the internal market; monetary policy (for the Member States, which have adopted the euro); common commercial policy; customs union; the conservation of marine biological resources under the common fisheries policy.” (Article 12, Title II, Part 1, Draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe). The areas of shared interest are : “internal market; area of freedom, security and justice; agriculture and fisheries, excluding the conservation of marine biological resources; transport and trance- European networks; energy ;social policy; economic, social and territorial cohesion; environment; consumer protection; common safety concerns in public health matters ”. (Article 13, Title II, Part 1, Draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe). Areas of supporting, coordination or complementary action are: “industry; protection and improvement of human health; education, vocational training, youth and sport; culture; tourism; civil protection” (Article 16, Title II, Part 1, Draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe). The duties of The European Parliament, The European Council, The council of Ministers, The European Commission, The Court of Justice and other institutions and bodies of the European Union are stated in the Constitutional treaty. The European Parliament in association with The Council of Ministers exercise legislative and budgetary functions. The Members of the Council of Ministers are the specialized ministers of the Member States. The Council of Ministers also has a function of political control and consultation. The European Council is composed of the Heads of State or Government of the Member States and the President of the European Commission. It shall define the Union’s main political directions, priorities and way of development. The Council of Ministers in association with The European Parliament have legislative function. It also has a function of policy-making and coordinating. The European Commission has to check if all the actions of all the institutions are made under the Constitution. The Commission today has twenty members: each two come from Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy and Spain and one from the other countries It also has coordinating, executive and management functions. One of the main innovations in the system of institutions was creation of the post of Union Minister of Foreign Affairs, who will be responsible for the representation of the European Union on the International scene.
There is no one clear answer if the European Union is a federal state. Firstly, as the concept of the European Union citizenship is weak and there is no clear definition of being a citizen of the European Union, people do not associate themselves with the citizens of the Union. The languages of the countries are different, their mentality, views and values can differ, because of the cultural difference. So, there is no strong unity of the people of European countries. Also, because of the differences in histories of the countries, their relationships with the countries outside the Union and the geo-political situation, they can have different foreign policies, what means that they will not have the same aims in a foreign policy and the Union will not be able to work for the benefit of all its members. So, in order for the European Union to become a federal state, it should define clear European identity and the process of cultural integration should take place.
Many areas of competence, which are traditionally under a control of a central federal government, such as defence and control, are still under the control of the Member States governments, even the area of foreign affairs, which would be under control of the new Union Minister of Foreign Affairs, would still be affected by the Member States, because the Minister would be chosen by the agreement of the Member States. In the federal state government the legislative and executive branches are centralised, whereas in the European Union al the Member States have an opportunity to influence on the decision-making process and making of policies, despite the fact that the new position of the President of the Council of the European Union was created, because as in the case with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the President will be chosen by the agreement of the Member States.
On the other hand European Union has many of the features of the federation. The most important principle of the federation, which is the division of government power between the central state government and the regional state government, already exists in the European Union. It also has clearly defined external borders and freedom of movement of persons within the borders. . It has its own Executive, which is the European Union Commission, Legislature, what are the European Union Council of Ministers and the European Parliament, and Judiciary, which is the European Union Court of Justice. It also has its own currency, the euro. Also, in the Draft Constitutional treaty there were stated the exclusive and shared powers. The central national government have both exclusive and shared functions, whereas the regional governments have only the shared functions. It shows that the subordination of the regional government to the central national government exists. That is another aspect of the federal state.
The building of federation is a long and complicated process. It also depends on the world political and economical situation and every change in it can make the process longer. There are features or the federation in the European Union, but still there are some aspects, which can not be considered as features of federal state. The European Union is not a federal state yet, but it is definitely on the way of reforms, which will make it the federal state.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
- Draft treaty establishing a constitution of Europe, 2004.
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V.S.Sergeeva, 2003, Political Dictionary, Russia, Unves.
- handouts
- university online resources
