Improvements of European governance after the Lisbon Treaty

• Author: Tescasiu, B.
• Position: Dept. of Marketing, Tourism and International Relations, Transilvania University of Brasov
• Pages: 47-52

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Vol. 6 (55) •No. 1 - 2013

Series V: Economic Sciences

IMPROVEMENTS OF

EUROPEAN GOVERNANCE AFTER

THE LISBON TREATY

Bianca TESCA訓IU

1

Abstract: The European Union is a complex integration str ucture based on

27 member-sta tes. These member-states are very different – cultur ally,

historically, and with different levels of economic development. During its

evolution, the Eur opean Union ha s had to adapt a n initial decisiona l system

to six sta ges of enlargement, so some of its tr eaties had specific institutiona l

stipulations. One of the most important ones is the Lisbon Treaty which tried

to finalize a process tha t became very challenging in the la st 15-20 years.

Key words: European governance, majority, minority, stages of

integratio n, Common Market, Single Market.

1 Dept. of Marketing, Tourism and International Relations, Transilvania University of Braşov.

1. Introduction

The European Union started from a

simple integration structure to a complex,

numerous and developed one.

Its first objective was to survey the coal

and steel production, not the specific

objective of creating an integration

structure (as most structures declare from

the beginning).

The European Coal and Steel

Community (ECSC) was created by the

Treaty from Paris (1951) and signed by six

states: France, Germany, Italy, and the

BENELUX countries. The ECSC’s

institutional system consisted of 5

institutions (The Parliamentary Assembly,

The Commission, The Council of

Ministers, The Court of Justice, The

Economic and Social Committee) with a

few attributions.

Today, the Community has 27 member-

states, it has declared economic, social,

monetary and political objectives. The

European Union’s institutional system

consists of a large number of institutions

and agencies, which try to ensure a proper,

optimal and honest governance to a

heterogeneous population with specific

needs.

2. Objectives

How did the European Community adapt

its institutional system to the needs

requested by its evolution?

This challenge was high because of at

least two types of reasons:

a. the evolution of the Community

regarding the member-states

b. the evolution of the Community

regarding the stages of integration

The first reason implies a lot of

consequences, given the fact that only in

the two latest enlargement phases the

European Union doubled its population.

This phenomenon has a lot of institutional