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Chapter 1. Introducing Discourse Analysis in EU Politics -- Chapter 2 Discourse Analysis as Research Strategy -- Chapter 3. Discourse Analysis, Data and Research Techniques -- Chapter 4. Discourse and EU Policy Making -- Chapter 5. Discourse and the Strategic Usage of Europe -- Chapter 6. Discourse, Myths and Emotions in EU Politics -- Chapter 7. Visual Discourse, Imagery and EU Politics -- Chapter 8. Taking Stock and Looking Ahead

Energy policy has been considered as a "special case of Europeanization," due to its tardy and patchy development as a domain of EU activity as well as its important but highly contested external dimension. Divergent energy pathways across Member States and the sensitivity of this policy domain have militated against a unified European Energy Policy. And yet, since the mid-2000s cooperation in this policy area has picked up speed, leading to the adoption of the Energy Union, presented by the European Commission as the most ambitious energy initiative since the European Coal and Steel Community. This dynamism has attracted growing scholarly attention, seeking to determine whether, why and how European Energy Policy has consolidated against all odds during a particularly critical moment for European integration. The underlying question that emerges in this context is whether the Energy Union represents a step forward towards a more homogenous and joined-up energy policy or, rather a strategy to manage heterogeneity through greater flexibility and differentiated integration. Given the multilevel and multisectoral character­ istics of energy policy, answering these questions requires a three-fold analysis of (1) the degree of centralization of European Energy Policy (vertical integration), (2) the coher­ ence between energy sub-sectors (cross-sectoral integration), and (3) the territorial ex­ tension of the energy acquis beyond the EU Member States (horizontal integration). Tak­ en together, the Energy Union has catalyzed integration on the three dimensions. First, EU institutions are formally involved in almost every aspect of energy policy, including sensitive areas such as ensuring energy supplies. Second, the Energy Union, with its new governance regulation, brings under one policy framework energy sub-sectors that had developed in silos. And finally, energy policy is the only sector that has generated a multi­ lateral process dedicated to the integration of non-members into the EU energy market. However, this ...

Summary presented at the start of the article: " 'Development cooperation' is one of the traditional policy domains of the European Union (EU). Over the years it advanced from an instrument used in colonial times to one of modern partnership, although European self-interest remains a driving force. Jointly, the EU and its member states are the largest development donor in the world and also provide sizable market access and investment to developing countries. Their overall performance record has been assessed fairly positively by internal and external parties, although many possible improvements have been identified. The various enlargements of the EU traceably supported a widening of the geographic and substantive scope of EU development policies and practice. In addition, EU development cooperation was reinforced by the fact that it gradually received a firmer basis in the constituent EU treaties. The 'European Consensus on Development' document, as revised in 2017, laid out the main direction of and emphases in EU development cooperation until the year 2030. The European Consensus prescribed a rights-based approach, and squarely placed the United Nations "Agenda 2030" and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) contained in it, as the main framework and objectives for EU development cooperation. A wide range of actors is involved in EU development cooperation, in part because this is an area of shared competence among the EU member states that pursue their own national policies as well as those specified by the EU. Thus, EU actors such as the European Commission, Council, and Parliament feature in this policy field along with EU member states and individual or collective developing country actors. The most prominent example of this is the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, which consists of 79 countries. Civil society organizations, including non-governmental development organizations, both from the North and the South, also seek to influence or otherwise engage with the policies and ...

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- List of Photos -- List of Figures -- List of Maps -- List of Tables -- List of Boxes -- Preface and Acknowledgments -- A Note on Terminology -- Acronyms and Abbreviations -- EU Member States -- Introduction -- Part I: History -- 1 What Is the European Union? -- Chapter Overview -- The Role of the State -- How Did the EU Evolve? -- What Has the EU Become? -- Questions to Consider -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Further Reading -- 2 Origins: The Road to Paris and Rome -- Chapter Overview -- The Taming of Europe -- Economic Reconstruction and the Marshall Plan -- Security and the Cold War -- Opening Moves: Coal and Steel (1950-1953) -- From Paris to Rome (1955-1958) -- Questions to Consider -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Further Reading -- 3 Stagnation and Renewal: The Single European Act and Maastricht -- Chapter Overview -- Integration Takes Root (1958-1968) -- The Role of the US -- Enlargement: Looking North and South (1960-1986) -- Toward Economic and Monetary Union (1969-1993) -- Completing the Single Market: The Single European Act (1983-1993) -- From Community to Union (1970-1993) -- Questions to Consider -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Further Reading -- 4 Unity and Upheaval: The Eurozone, the Treaty of Lisbon, and Crises in the EU -- Chapter Overview -- The Euro Arrives (1995-2002) -- Changes to the Treaties: Amsterdam and Nice (1997-2001) -- More Enlargement: Looking East (1994-2013) -- A Constitution by Another Name: The Treaty of Lisbon (2001-2008) -- The Financial and Debt Crisis (2008-2015) -- The Migration Crisis (2015-2018) -- Another Blow to the EU: Brexit (2016-2020) -- Questions to Consider -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Further Reading -- Part II: Institutions -- 5 The European Commission -- Chapter Overview -- Evolution -- Structure -- How the Commission Works.

The implementation of European Union directives into national law frequently triggers extensive parliamentary activities, especially if they are complex, salient, and conflictive. These activities can cause delayed transposition. The literature suggests that early parliamentary involvement may speed up the subsequent transposition process. In this article, it is argued theoretically and empirically shown that this hope is only fulfilled where parliaments are sufficiently strong. On the empirical side, the article looks at the effect of ex-ante scrutiny on the duration of the transposition of more than 650 directives in four weak parliaments as well as in four strong parliaments. It is found that an early involvement of strong parliaments may speed up transposition. By contrast, weak parliaments' early engagement with EU directives may even cause a further delay of the transposition process.

According to the 'opposition deficit thesis' European Union politics is characterized by a conspicuous absence of opposition to the policies promoted by the EU. However, once we start looking for systematic evidence supporting the claim of an opposition deficit in EU politics, we come up surprisingly empty handed. This article seeks to rectify the lacuna in previous research by examining how much and what type of opposition actually exist in EU politics. The study formulates four hypotheses on the state of political opposition in EU politics, and breaks new ground by testing their validity by use of unique data collected from the Swedish European Affairs Committee for the period 1995–2016. The results show there is in fact considerably more opposition present in EU politics than has previously been assumed. The opposition deficit thesis thus seems to be more myth than reality.

AbstractAccording to the 'opposition deficit thesis' European Union politics is characterized by a conspicuous absence of opposition to the policies promoted by the EU. However, once we start looking for systematic evidence supporting the claim of an opposition deficit in EU politics, we come up surprisingly empty handed. This article seeks to rectify the lacuna in previous research by examining how much and what type of opposition actually exist in EU politics. The study formulates four hypotheses on the state of political opposition in EU politics, and breaks new ground by testing their validity by use of unique data collected from the Swedish European Affairs Committee for the period 1995–2016. The results show there is in fact considerably more opposition present in EU politics than has previously been assumed. The opposition deficit thesis thus seems to be more myth than reality.