1. THE ACQUIS COMMUNAUTAIRE
IS A THREAT TO THE
SOVEREIGNTY OF THE STATE
Politics in the European Union
Prof. Thomas Raineau
Filipe Mandieta Gotardi
Sciences Po - Politics in the European Union 15/10/12

2. “The Acquis Communautaire is a threat to
the sovereignty of the State”
Introduction
Sciences Po - Politics in the European Union 15/10/12

3. “The Acquis Communautaire is a threat
to the sovereignty of the State”
Introduction
Sciences Po - Politics in the European Union 15/10/12

4. Acquis Communautaire
1. Free movement of goods 19. Social policy and employment (including anti-
2. Freedom of movement for workers discrimination and equal opportunities for
3. Right of establishment and freedom to provide women and men)
services 20. Enterprise and industrial policy
4. Free movement of capital 21. Trans-European networks
5. Public procurement 22. Regional policy and coordination of structural
6. Company law instruments
7. Intellectual property law 23. Judiciary and fundamental rights
8. Competition policy 24. Justice, freedom and security
9. Financial services 25. Science and research
26. Education and culture
10. Information society and media
27. Environment
11. Agriculture and rural development
28. Consumer and health protection
12. Food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy 29. Customs union
13. Fisheries 30. External relations
14. Transport policy 31. Foreign, security and defence policy
15. Energy 32. Financial control
16. Taxation 33. Financial and budgetary provisions
17. Economic and monetary policy 34. Institutions
18. Statistics 35. Other issues
Sciences Po - Politics in the European Union 15/10/12

5. “The Acquis Communautaire is a threat to
the sovereignty of the State”
Introduction
Sciences Po - Politics in the European Union 15/10/12

6. “The dynamics of the EU can be portrayed as shifting
between the survival of the nation-state versus the
Union as a potential „suprastate‟. Within this
framework, to what extent have the Acquis
Communautaire and the concept of sovereignty
enabled the EU and its Member States to pursue their
interests vis-à-vis each other?”
Problématique
Sciences Po - Politics in the European Union 15/10/12

7. Plan
• Introduction
• Problématique
1. The Acquis Communautaire as a tool for
European Integration
2. The pursuit of domestic agendas through
national sovereignty
• Conclusion
Sciences Po - Politics in the European Union 15/10/12

8. 1. The Acquis Communautaire as a
tool for European integration
• The impact of the EU‟s pre-accession
procedures to potential member states
• Transposition and implementation of EU law:
the issue of compliance
Example - Post-Communist members
and worlds of compliance
Sciences Po - Politics in the European Union 15/10/12

9. 2. The pursuit of domestic agendas
through national sovereignty
• From Maastricht to Lisbon: the rising costs to
national sovereignty
• The (re)constitution of boundaries in face of
European integration: the embedding of
interests under the heading of sovereignty
Example – The safeguard of sovereignty through national opt-
outs: the reluctant approaches of the United Kingdom and
Denmark
Sciences Po - Politics in the European Union 15/10/12

10. Conclusion
“Almost every major nation has
been obliged by the pressures of the
post-war world to pool significant
areas of sovereignty so as to create
more effective politics units”
Margaret Thatcher – 19th May 1975
Speech in Hendon
European Referendum campaign
Europeanisation Sovereignt
y
Simultaneous institutional facts in a continuous logic of mutual
interaction that shapes the behaviour of the States
Sciences Po - Politics in the European Union 15/10/12

11. • Tanja E. Aalberts, “Sovereignty Reloaded? A Constructivist Perspective on European
Research”, Constitutionalism Web-Papers, Vol. 2, 2005
• Rebecca Adler-Nissen, “A Political Sociology of Sovereignty: Treaty Opt-Outs and the
Doxa of an Even Closer Union”, 2009
• Erkki Bahovski, “Sovereignty in the European Union: Case studies relating to
Bibliography
Estonia”, Reuters Foundation Fellowship, 2004
• Gerda Falkner, Oliver Treib, “Three Worlds of Compliance or Four? The EU-15
Compared to New Member States”, Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol.
46, 2008, pp.293-313
• Bernard Steunenberg, “Is big brother watching? Commission oversight of the national
implementation of EU directives”, European Union Politics, Vol. 11, 2010, pp.359-
380
• Milada Anna Vachudova, “Corruption and Compliance in the EU’s Post-Communist
Members and Candidates”, Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 47, 2009, pp.43-
62
• EU Legislation and Scrutiny Procedures, Factsheet L11, Legislation Series, House of
Commons Information Office, Revised September 201
http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-information-office/l11.pdf
Sciences Po - Politics in the European Union 15/10/12