The application of federalist theories in EU treaties

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to analyse the connection between the building of the European Union and federalist theories specifically in terms of the political union that was established as a result of fundamental treaty development. Due to this, an in-depth analysis of three major treaties will be brought forward, seeking to answer the one main research question of the study: What are the main Federalist theories which explain the Political Union referred to in the Single European Act, the Maastricht Treaty, and the Lisbon Treaty? As a foundation for this research, the study aimed to first establish a knowledgeable understanding of federalist theories, exploring seven different trains of thought, and establishing a critical comparison amongst them. Furthermore, to address the research question into a more detailed manner, the study also examined the divergences and similarities between European strands of federalism. To further expand this established understanding of federalist theory, the study assessed the three treaties mentioned in the research questions through a federalist lens, by establishing twelve keywords derived from the theories discussed that are interconnected with the structure and functioning of a political union. Such keywords were fundamental in examining the chronological developments of the European Union and extracting the precise advancements enacted to comprehend the precise context of each keyword within the remits of the treaties. Ultimately, various links to federalism are indeed established, an expected result considering that a European federation was in fact, the ultimate ambition of various founding fathers. However, whilst these correlations were diversified there is a greater association with Monnet’s theory of gradual integration as clearly established by the Single European Act, the Maastricht Treaty and the Lisbon Treaty as the current established political union was structured and expanded in incremental changes. This result is analyzed in the research, establishing that policymakers opted for such a process as it was successful in other areas of the Union and due to integration of other sectors a political union was the next natural step. This is further justified when illustrating the failure of the Constitutional Treaty. As a critical conclusion, this dissertation addressed the present and the current seemingly stalled development of the Union and deliberates that such a correlation between European deepening and Monnet’s theory might have been successful in the past however could result in the hampering of further developments as the Union’s political sphere grows more convoluted due to numerous new realities.