Britain And The Maastricht Treaty Negotiations On Common Foreign And Security Policy

Published in 1999. This book provides a detailed analysis of the positions and strategies adopted by Britain during the 1990-91 Intergovernmental Conference which concluded in the Maastricht Treaty on European Union. The main focus is on the questions of British policy coordination and the factors which determined the government’s position during the negotiations on European Political Union and European Monetary Union. This is the first major study which reconstructs the mechanisms of British policy making and notes the internal and external factors which shaped the construction of the government’s position on the major points of the negotiations. The hypothesis of the book is that domestic politics, primarily through the Prime Minister’s aim to maintain the unity of the Conservative Party, was the determining factor in shaping government policy. This view is based upon micro-level empirical analysis undertaken through a methodological approach of historical interpretation.

Seminar paper from the year 2015 in the subject Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 1,7, University of Bamberg, course: Seminar Internationale und Europäische Politik: European Integration, language: English, abstract: The process of European integration is a special and perhaps unique development in the history of international politics after the end of World War two. Due to numerous steps of integration it came gradually to an ever progressive interdependence of nation-states of the European continent, economically as institutionally. National states are partly delegating sovereign competences to supranational institutions, which possess own and independent competences. But what leads to this development? Why are states willing to transfer competences to the EU? In international politics different integration theories are used to explain the different steps of integration and at long last the ratification of treaties between states. One of these integrations steps is the Treaty of Maastricht. The implementation of the Maastricht Treaty, being signed on 7th of February 1992 and entering into force on November 1th 1993, is considered as official founding of the European Union, expanding the European Economic Community created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957. But before the official signing of the treaty by first 12 nation- states a tedious unification process was necessary, which is to be examined in the present study looking at the foreign policy of Great Britain. Regarding the political development of the European community, Great Britain has always played a special role throughout the history of the European integration process. Its foreign policy differentiates oneself from other European national states and is characterized by a certain Euro-sceptic attitude. This is not reflected only by Britain’s late entry into the European Community in 1973, but also by the largest integration step since founding the European Community, which is the Maastricht Treaty. Britain first opposed nearly every policy covered by the Treaty, but indulged on certain points during the negotiations. Therefore, overlooking the foreign policy of Great Britain the question raises: “Why agreed Great Britain, despite its skeptical attitude towards a common Europe, on the Maastricht Treaty?” Using the integration theory of Liberal Intergovernmentalism by Andrew Moravcsik, this question will be analyzed in the present study. First the most relevant facts about the theory will be pointed out, before examining the content of the Maastricht Treaty itself. Finally, there is to be an application of the theory to the case of the UK and the Maastricht Treaty.

The emergence of a common security and foreign policy has been one of the most contentious issues accompanying the integration of the European Union. In this book, Michael Smith examines the specific ways foreign policy cooperation has been institutionalized in the EU, the way institutional development affects cooperative outcomes in foreign policy, and how those outcomes lead to new institutional reforms. Smith explains the evolution and performance of the institutional procedures of the EU using a unique analytical framework, supported by extensive empirical evidence drawn from interviews, case studies, official documents and secondary sources. His perceptive and well-informed analysis covers the entire history of EU foreign policy cooperation, from its origins in the late 1960s up to the start of the 2003 constitutional convention. Demonstrating the importance and extent of EU foreign/security policy, the book will be of interest to scholars, researchers and policy-makers.

Maastricht and Beyond is a critical assessment of the European Union brought into being by the Treaty of Maastricht. A team of experts provide a clear and thorough appraisal of the main provisions of the Treaty - including the three pillared structure of Economic and Monetary Union, common foreign and security policy and home affairs and justice - showing how these elements will change the function and eventually the character of the European Union. The book draws conclusions from the Maastricht process for the next reform of the Union in 1996, and it examines the practicalities of achieving a fully-fledged federal democracy, making proposals for a constitutional settlement. Maastricht and Beyond will appeal to both informed generalists and to students and scholars who want a fresh approach to the stale arguments over Maastricht, who seek enlightenment over what the Treaty is for and who have the curiosity to look forward to 1996 and beyond.

Introduced with a preface by Jacques Delors, this volume offers new insights and develops generalised theories about the nature of European integration. The contributors step back from the detail of the latest intergovernmental conference and budgetary negotiations to generate conclusions of enduring value. The issues dealt with include the following: * Britain and integration * intergovernmental conferences * the rule of law * making foreign policy work * the democratic deficit.

This book provides the first in-depth account of how European Union opt-outs and differentiated integration work in practice.