Assignment Code: MPSE-011/ASST/TMA/2022-23

Course Code: MPSE-011

Assignment Name: European Union in World Affairs

Year: 2022-2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

SECTION-I

1. Critically analyse the nature of EU- India relations.

Ans) The acquisition of nuclear weapons, acknowledgment of India's rising stature and influence in the region and internationally, growing commercial interest in the fourth-largest economy in the world, which has been expanding at a rate of over 6% annually for more than a decade, and acceptance of India as a potential global player in international politics and the World Trade Organization are all signs that India is becoming more and more important.

In recent years, a lot of nations have started using the term "strategic partnership." India has forged strategic alliances or "strategic relationships" with important global players. A clear explanation of what a strategic alliance entails is, however, missing. In the Joint Declaration of the Fourth India-EU Summit, the EU and India committed to establishing "a new strategic partnership" in the twenty-first century, based on shared values and objectives and characterised by increased and multifaceted cooperation (Lisbon, 28 June 2000). In a comprehensive relationship spanning politics, economics, trade, cooperation in development, and science and technology, the two sides vowed to deepen cooperation in 22 areas that were described in an Agenda for Action that was appended to the Declaration.

In its Communication on "An EU-India Strategic Cooperation," the European Commission suggested forging a strategic partnership with India in four important areas (June 2004). These included a strengthened economic partnership through sectoral dialogues and strategic policy discussions; development cooperation; and encouraging intelligence sharing, particularly in multilateral fora. They also included cooperation on preventing conflicts, combating terrorism, and preventing the spread of WMDs. There was a call for India and the EU to establish "a strategic alliance" in order to forward a fruitful multilateral strategy. Additionally, it highlighted the importance of "strategic sectoral dialogues" and proposed "strategic policy dialogues."

creating a tight bond based on shared ideals, challenges, and respect for one another's leadership in the international and regional spheres. The Communication states that both parties "now strive to enhance the strategic edge of the engagement," which will entail "conversation on measures of strengthening cooperation, on a sector-by-sector basis." The Communication focused on the specific areas of cooperation necessary to establish "a genuinely strategic partnership" as well as the specific procedures necessary to do so. The Action Plan and a revised Joint Political Declaration that will be endorsed at the sixth summit in 2005 will, according to the Communication, serve as the "starting point" of a joint reflection that leads to "a firm and visible upgrading of the EU-India relationship from the existing dialogue between good friends to a truly strategic partnership between two major international players."

India and the EU's fifth summit approved their strategic partnership (The Hague, November 2004). Prime Minister Manmohan Singh describes the European Union and India as "natural partners." The EU, he said, was becoming "a politically powerful, economically potent, and demographically diversified regional body" in the world, especially with the addition of its 25 new members.

During the sixth summit on September 7, 2005, a new Political Declaration and a Joint Action Plan on issues of shared concern were created. The strategy was broken down into four categories: political, trade and investment, economic policy, cultural and intellectual, and so on. The goal of the Action Plan, which is the first comprehensive Action Plan India has with any of its partners, is to promote effective multilateralism, take part in UN peacekeeping, and support the political and economic recovery and reconstruction of post-conflict countries. A High Level Trade Group was established to conduct research and discuss options for enlarging and strengthening the trade and investment links between the two nations in addition to a number of sectoral initiatives.

2. What are the main features of the Neo–functional approach to European integration?

Ans) In the late 1950s and early 1960s, neo-functionalism emerged as a paradigm attempting to offer a theoretical justification for the intricate process of European integration. Neo-functionalism, which was prominently created by American academics, initially stood for a concern for scientific rigour and criticised the idealism of the federalist movement as well as functionalist interpretations of the supranational paradigm. Although it gave a different explanation for such a phenomenon, it did share certain intellectual ground with them, such as the obsolescence of the nation-state and the threats to peace and progress that are inherent in the realist view of international relations. Neo-functionalism did not consider the state system as wicked, but rather as obsolete and of no longer having any use in the modern world.

Neo-functionalism evolved into a method and a theory for describing the progressive deterioration of the nation-rigidities. state's The final shape of the constituent units when the integration process is complete is not described by the model. Neo-functionalists believed that the strategy was insufficient to advance peace and progress and only partially agreed with classical functionalists regarding the strategy's design. Functionalism, best exemplified by David Mitrany, proposed that common administrative or functional agency institutions could be established involving many states primarily in "non-political" or non-controversial technical areas for efficiency in the provision of welfare in a rapidly changing society. As practical cooperation becomes coterminous with the entirety of interstate ties and the "global community" begins to develop, these technical or economic domains frequently expand automatically to include "political" areas.

Neo-functionalism, which Ernst B. Haas first proposed in 1958, did not believe in the "automatic" spread of the technical and economic into the political spheres during the integration process or the emergence of a sizable number of functional agencies. Neo-functionalism, however, asserted that integration in one area would progressively expand to include other sectors in a step-by-step process since such integration would be motivated by "interests" rather than moral standards. Neo functionalists therefore argued that functionalism should be modified and that the process of integration starting with an economic sector, depending on interest group involvement, and incrementally creating de facto solidarity would lead, even by "stealth," to further integration. Here, integration is not automatic but takes place because of the "expansive logic of integration," i.e., integration in one sector creates necessary pre-conditions for integration in another sector, what is known as the "expanding logic of integration".

Second, rather than sensitive "high politics" like currency or defence, integration must start with "low politics" attempts at technical harmonisation in areas of shared concern. This has the added benefit of involving new actors like the national bureaucracy and national and transnational interest groups, who given their high stake in the process could be expected to exert pressure on their national governments to move forward with integration.

Third, because of societal factors like an industrialising economy and pluralist democracies, as well as the expectation that their interests can be best served by supranational action I level, this change in the attitudes and loyalty of crucial elites of government, interest groups, and political parties - "elite socialisation" - takes place. This gives a political push to the intergovernmental process leading to supra national decision-making.

Fifth, Community  institutions like the European Commission could be expected to provide leadership in the step-by-step integration process by facilitating "upgrading of common interest" rather than merely settling at the intergovernmental "minimum common denominator bargaining" and moving the integration process forward. Fourth, mass support is not a necessary "prerequisite" for integration, although attitudinal changes could occur as a "result" rather than "cause" of integration.

3. Identify the key issues and challenges in EU –China relations.

Ans) In the 1995 Communication "A Long Term Policy for China Europe Relations," the European Commission first outlined its long-term approach for relations between the EU and China. Since then, the three primary axes of interactions have been political dialogue, including a discourse specifically on human rights, economic and trade relations, and the EU-China cooperation programme. Following this were the communications from 1998 and 2001 titled "EU Strategy towards China: Implementation of the 1998 Communication and Future Steps for a More Effective EU Policy" and "Building a Comprehensive Partnership with China," as well as a policy paper from the European Commission titled "A Maturing Partnership: Shared Interests and Challenges in EU-China Relations," which was approved by the European Council on October 13, 2003.

The Commission outlined its approach to China in the communication "EU-China: Closer Partners, Growing Responsibilities" in October 2006. The communication evaluates EU-China ties in light of China's resurgence as a major economic and political force in the world. It conveys the EU's desire to continue and step up its all-encompassing engagement with China. The Communication pursues a five-pronged strategy that prioritises aiding China's transition to a plural society, promoting sustainable development, enhancing trade and economic ties, bolstering our bilateral collaboration, and encouraging regional and global cooperation. Generally speaking, the Communication emphasises that more obligations and demands should go hand in hand with China's growing power and status in the world.

The EU wants to help China's actions in the areas of opening up and liberalising, creating a civil society, and advancing a system of government based on the rules of the law. The EU is taking steps to promote and fully uphold fundamental freedoms in every part of China, including freedom of expression, religion, and association, the right to a fair trial, and the protection of minorities across. Additionally, the EU will push China to participate actively and constructively in the Human Rights Council and uphold UN principles, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The EU and China have decided to support multilateralism and organised dialogue on the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia in order to advance world peace. The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to and support "for a fair, just and rules-based multilateral international system with the UN playing a major role" at the conclusion of the ninth EU-China summit, which took place on September 9, 2006. The UN system needs to be reformed in order for it to successfully address the new threats to global peace and security, which the two parties further expressed their support for. Through the UN system, they want to resolve all international conflicts, including terrorism.

The EU is a proponent of a multipolar world order emerging. However, when it comes to the contentious issue of Taiwan, the EU adheres to a foreign policy it has dubbed the maintenance of Cross Straits peace and stability, which includes, among other things, opposing any action that would amount to a unilateral change of the status quo, strongly opposing the use of force, encouraging practical solutions and measures that build confidence, supporting dialogue between all parties, and maintaining strong economic and trade ties with Taiwan.

The EU-China Summit's Joint Declaration from 2004 calls for adherence to all international agreements on to non-proliferation and disarmament. It also underscored the need to reduce the trade in conventional weapons and to impose export restrictions on WMD-related technologies, equipment, and materials. The EU, however, emphasises in a critical manner how crucial China is to the Iranian nuclear issue.

SECTION-II

Write a short note on each part of the question in about 250 words.

4. a) European Parliament

Ans) The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union, it adopts European legislation, following a proposal of the European Commission. The Parliament is composed of 705 members. It represents the second-largest democratic electorate in the world with an electorate of 375 million eligible voters in 2009.

Since 1979, the Parliament has been directly elected every five years by the citizens of the European Union through universal suffrage. Voter turnout in parliamentary elections decreased each time after 1979 until 2019, when voter turnout increased by eight percentage points, and went above 50% for the first time since 1994. The voting age is 18 in all member states except for Malta and Austria, where it is 16, and Greece, where it is 17.

Although the European Parliament has legislative power, as does the Council, it does not formally possess the right of initiative as most national parliaments of the member states do, with the right of initiative only being a prerogative of the European Commission. The Parliament is the "first institution" of the European Union, and shares equal legislative and budgetary powers with the Council. It likewise has equal control over the EU budget. Ultimately, the European Commission, which serves as the executive branch of the EU, is accountable to Parliament. In particular, Parliament can decide whether or not to approve the European Council's nominee for President of the Commission, and is further tasked with approving the appointment of the Commission as a whole. It can subsequently force the current Commission to resign by adopting a motion of censure.

The president of the European Parliament is the body's speaker, and presides over the multi-party chamber. The five largest groups are the European People's Party Group, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe, the Greens/European Free Alliance  and Identity and Democracy. The last EU-wide election was held in 2019.

b) Regionalism in Europe

Ans) It is, however, confined to a very general description of the concrete situation in each state under consideration, the aim being to show the great importance of regions and the gradual tendency for Council of Europe member states to adopt a regional organisation.  Certain considerations must nonetheless be borne in mind. Firstly, owing to their very nature the small states (Andorra, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, etc.) are not divided into regions, which is moreover neither possible nor, no doubt, desirable. In addition, the diversity of regions must not be overlooked and therefore there must be no confusing their various facets (geographical, political, legal, identity-linked, administrative). Quite the opposite, these differences must be taken into account.

At the same time, the policy governing distribution of the European Union's structural funds and projects has obliged some states to set up new regions, which are sometimes quite simply invented, in order to adapt their administrative organisation to EU rules.

Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey have no politically autonomous regions, although some of them do have administrative sub-divisions of the state or sub-divisions which exist for statistical, planning or, in EU member states, structural fund allocation purposes. It is nonetheless interesting to note that in some of these countries a regionalisation process is now under way.

Conversely, it can be seen that autonomous regions are very widespread in the larger European countries. Over twenty states have had to adopt some form of regional self-government, whether specific to a given geographical area or generally applicable, as in federal states.  These countries' regions are extremely varied, with remarkably diverse degrees of autonomy and quite different legal and political characteristics. Although one cannot generalise, these states may have used different kinds of autonomous status to settle historical territorial claims to power or problems of cultural and political identity.

5. a) European Union participation in Globalization

Ans) The nation-state is not structurally doomed; rather, globalisation has resulted in the "development of multilayered and multilevel politics, in which nation-states look increasingly "downward" towards vibrant city and subnational regional politics and "upward" towards supranational regional and global associations and institutions." Localization, regionalization, and internationalisation are thus three stages of globalisation that are mutually dependent on and reinforce one another. For the purposes of our understanding, we can think of globalisation as a two-way process that involves both localization of the global and globalisation of the local. In order to comply with the requirements of multilateral agreements, the agency and infrastructure of global governance, national governments must rationalise, modify, and prioritise their laws and policies connected to commerce and development. This is known as globalisation.

In actuality, the idea of governance has undergone a complete transformation due to globalisation. It simultaneously heralds the emergence of a fresh kind of trans governmentalism, a multicentric method of decision-making in which important actors include representatives of the national government, big business, civil society, and other stakeholders. There isn't just one body that makes rules. Decisions are made by several international organisations or organisations. Their decisions govern the policy actions of global corporations as well as national governments (MNCs).

Governments of the signing nations must enact conformity laws, and multinational corporations must alter their production procedures. One would like to draw attention to the fact that uniformity of policies and regulatory cooperation are two essential goals of global governance. However, one would also like to point out that "world government" need not be associated with "global governance" in this context "It is much more than a structure of constrained intergovernmental collaboration, and it has both ultimate legal authority and coercive powers. Global governance, which has the UN as its institutional backbone, consists of a wide range of superstate bodies, regional organisations, and transnational policy networks that include politicians, technocrats, business representatives, pressure groups, and non-governmental organisations."

b) Significance of Maastricht treaty

Ans) The Maastricht Treaty or the Treaty on European Union was signed on 7 February 1992 and entered into force on 1 November 1993.

The Maastricht Treaty brought together in a single text all the existing Treaty provisions and led to the creation of the European Union, which was to be based on three pillars, viz. the European Communities, the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and Justice and Home Affairs (JHA).

The Maastricht Treaty marked "a new stage in the process of creating an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe, in which decisions are taken as closely as possible to the citizen". The Treaty's provisions, among others, were as follows:

First Pillar the European Communities: The acquis communicare or the body of rules and regulations of the three European Communities, viz. the EEC, the European Coal and Steel Community and Euratom treaties, were preserved and strengthened; The principle of subsidiarity was formally incorporated and Union citizenship, whereby each and every national of a member state became a member of the Union; A number of changes were introduced to enhance the efficiency and democratic functioning of EU institutions.

Second pillar:  Common Foreign and Security Policy: The Maastricht Treaty defined the objectives of CFSP in general terms and stated that Member States "shall define and implement a common foreign and security policy. covering all areas of foreign and security policy". The CFSP was built on the foundation of European Political Cooperation, but brought it under a treaty and extended it.

Third Pillar: Justice and Home Affairs: Nine new areas of common interest were included in JHA. These included cooperation in law enforcement, criminal justice, civil judicial matters, as well as asylum and immigration.

The main features of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the stages of its implementation were outlined. Under this, exchange rates were irrevocably fixed to facilitate the introduction of a single currency and the establishment of a European Central Bank. Member states were required to coordinate their economic policies with the Council. The EMU was to be established in three stages: by the time the Maastricht