Political System of the European Union, Universidad De Deusto

Regional Integration and the Idea of Europe

The Greek Goddess

• In Greek mythology, Europe was a Phoenician princess known for her beauty and grace.
• According to the myth, Zeus, the king of the gods, fell in love with her. In order to approach her without alarming her, he transformed himself into a gentle white bull.
• Europa, fascinated by the bull, climbed on his back and Zeus, in the form of a bull, took her away and carried her across the sea to the island of Crete.
• There he revealed his true identity and made her queen of Crete.
• Europa bore Zeus three children, including Minos, the future king of Crete. The continent of Europe is named after her, as the myth symbolises both the geographical and cultural spread of Greek influence.

Europe as Utopia

-> What is Utopia? THOMAS MOORE's Utopia (1516)

• Building utopias to prevent external threats or internal wars: ensuring greater security and achieving a permanent state of peace.
• Solution: continental unity, whether in the form of alliances between states, federations or confederations.

Background of European Unity Projects

Project of the Bohemian KING GEORGE OF PODEBRADY (leader of the Hussites), who proposed a confederacion of Christian monarchs (1462) to confront the Turks who were expanding in the Balkans.

• The project established a common army, created a floating federal assembly of one representative per kingdom, and made decisions by simple majority.
• The participants would pledge not to go to war with each other and to support their neighbours against internal rebellions.
• An arbitration tribunal should be established to resolve disputes between members.
• The project failed due to the opposition of the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor on religious grounds.

MAXIMILIEN DE BÉTHUNE, Duke of Sully, proposed a European confederation (Grand Design) in 1620 to maintain stability and prevent wars.

• The project envisaged the division of Europe into 15 equally balanced states, the creation of a supernational assembly with representatives from each kingdom, and decision-making through negotiation and consensus.
• Participants would pledge not to wage war against one another and to support their neighbours in the event of external threats or internal unrest.

- An arbitration tribunal was to be established to resolve disputes between members.

• The project ultimately failed_due to the dominance of national rivalries and the absence of strong political will to implement such a structure.

CHARLES DE SAINT-PIERRE, French diplomat at the Utrecht peace talks, proposed a European league (Projet pour rendre la paix perpétuelle en Europe) in 1713 to ensure lasting stability after the War of the Spanish Succession.

• The project envisaged a federation of sovereign states (24, without Russia and the Turks), the creation of a permanent council (Senate) with representatives from each nation, and decision-making based on collective deliberation.
• Participants would pledge not to wage war against one another and to enforce peace through diplomatic means and legal arbitration.
• A common court was to be established to resolve disputes between members, with collective military action as a last resort against aggressors.
• The project ultimately failed as it was considered utopian, and the great powers were unwilling to surrender elements of their sovereignty.

Comparison of Early European Projects

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, French Emperor, sought to unify Europe under French leadership in the early 19th century through military conquest and legal standardisation.

• The project envisaged a European system based on the Napoleonic Code, the abolition of feudal privileges, and economic integration through a common market (Continental System).
• Participants would be integrated into a hierarchical structure, with local rulers appointed by Napoleon and a common legal and administrative framework imposed.
• A unified army was to be established, drawing soldiers from all member states, to maintain order and expand influence.

- The project ultimately failed due to growing resistance from nationalist movements, logistical challenges, and Napoleon's defeat in 1815.

But the connection between peace and economic prosperity stayed:

CLAUDE HENRI DE SAINT-SIMON proposed a European federation (De l'organisation de la société européenne) in 1810 as an antidote to a new revolution that could devastate Europe, to ensure peace and economic progress while preserving national identities.

• The project envisaged a supranational European parliament composed of representatives from each nation (economic and intellectual elites), tasked with managing common affairs and preventing conflicts.
• Participants would maintain their sovereignty but pledge to resolve disputes through diplomatic means rather than war.
• A common economic system (common taxation, independent banking, a single currency) was to be established, promoting trade, infrastructure development, and industrial cooperation across Europe. He also proposed a common moral code.
• The project ultimately failed due to the dominance of nationalist rivalries and the lack of political will to implement a supranational authority

19th Century - Freedom and Democracy

+ Nationality

· Young Europe - GIUSEPPE MAZZINI (1834) (Confederation)

• Giuseppe Mazzini, an Italian nationalist and revolutionary, founded La Giovine Europa (1834), advocating for the unification of European peoples under democratic ideals.
• Create a federation of republican nations, where political unity would not suppress national identities, but instead foster mutual respect and shared democratic values.
• His idea was shaped by the belief that the struggles of Europe's peoples for freedom and independence were interconnected, and exiled leaders, including Mazzini himself, played an important role in spreading these ideas of solidarity and liberty across borders.
• This movement foreshadowed later efforts to unite Europe around democratic and federalist principles.

Congresses for Peace and European Unity - United States of Europe / Victor Hugo (Federation)

• Inspired upon federal models of the United States and Switzerland.
• They called for the creation of a European federation_that would respect national sovereignty while promoting fraternal coexistence among European nations.
• The key principles included the elimination of wars through the establishment of arbitration tribunals and the promotion of free trade through common economic policies.

- In 1849, Victor Hugo gave a famous speech at the Peace Congress in Paris, where he declared his vision of a United States of Europe, proposing the idea of a federation of European republics that would be united under shared democratic values.

The Inter-War Period

Following the devastation of World War I, various pacifist and pro-European movements emerged (to counter emergent unified federations) - Europeanism as pacifism:

1922 Pan-European Union, a Christian/conservative alternative to communism.

1923 Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi (Austrian-Japanese aristocrat) - Pan-Europe:

• Political and economic unification of European countries as a means to prevent war (without UK-URSS).
• A united Europe to overcome nationalist divisions and promote peace through a common market.
• 1926 Congress: attendance of heads of government, European politicians, intellectuals (Freud, Croce, Rilke, Einstein, Ortega).

1929: Project Aristide Briand (French Foreign Minister at the League of Nations):

• European Union, aiming to create a federation of European states to foster peace and cooperation.
• His plan, though ambitious, was met with mixed reactions and ultimately failed.

1935: Edmund Husserl - Philosophy and the Crisis of European Humanity

• Crisis of European humanity in the face of rising nationalism, authoritarianism, and the threat of war.
• Need for a European philosophical and cultural unity to overcome the challenges facing Europe, urging intellectuals to focus on the humanistic values that could bind European societies together.

Pan-Europeanism and its Manifestations

From the intelligentsia:

a. Clarity Group: Henri Barbusse, Anatole France, H. G. Wells, Stefan Zweig.

b. Ortega y Gasset (1930), La rebelión de las masas (The Revolt of the Masses)

From politics: Gaston Riou and Carlo Sforza. They advocate the unity of Europe as a common homeland.

Nazi Germany's New European Order

· A new European order based on economic coordination and self-sufficiency under German hegemony.

· Customs and monetary union based on the German mark

· Cultural control: imposing nazi ideals across Europe

· The creation of a "Greater Germany"