

Friday, May 31, 2013

Answer to Hague's Nullification Proposal: The European Parliament Is Democratic

At the end of May 2013, William Hague of the British government delivered a speech advocating that state legislatures should be able to block E.U. laws proposed by the European Commission. At the time, a state legislature could use a “yellow card” to object to a proposal that could presumably be better legislated and enforced at the state level. Hague wanted a “red card” option that a state legislature could use to block legislation. There are several problems with Hague’s proposal.
               Should the state legislatures dominate the EU's legislature?  The British state government says yes. Would the Union wither and die?           Source: mapperywordpress.com
Presumably, such a card from just one of the 27 state legislatures could block a proposal. It would be difficult to imagine virtually any law surviving at the E.U. level. Why then have the E.U. at all then? Were such a card to block the proposed E.U. law only in the particular state objecting, the E.U. would be faced with the problem that President Jackson faced in the U.S. in 1930 when the South Carolina legislature passed the Nullification Act, which enabled the state’s legislature to block any U.S. law detrimental to the state’s interests. If every state can pick and choose among federal laws, what force would any federal law have?
Finally, Hague was assuming that the European Parliament is not democratic at all, whereas the state legislatures are fully so. However, the members of the European Parliament are directly elected by EU citizens. The representatives represent those constituents rather than states (or state governments). Perhaps this is why Hague proposed to have the state legislatures essentially replace the European Parliament. To be sure, the legislative districts at the state level are smaller and thus more democratic in this respect. This does not render federal legislative bodies like the European Parliament and the U.S. House of Representatives non-democratic. At most, the differential in terms of democracy between the two levels is an argument for greater subsidiarity.


Thursday, May 30, 2013

Federalism on Different Levels: Switzerland Capitulates to the E.U.

In 1960, Switzerland was one of the two founders of the European Free Trade Association. All of the countries participating in that free-trade agreement except Switzerland went on to ratify the EEA (European Economic Area) free-trade treaty, an agreement akin to NAFTA in America. In a referendum in December 1992, the Swiss turned down the proposed treaty. Rather than gain access to the E.U.’s domestic market through EEA, the Swiss opted to do so through bilateral treaties with the E.U. by which the independent state agreed to E.U. laws relevant to the single market. Switzerland also signed on to the  Schengen arrangement, which became an E.U. law in 1999, and provisions concerning security and asylum. Even so, changes to the relevant E.U. federal law are binding on Switzerland via the bilateral treaties only if a bilateral commission approves. Admittedly, “Bilateral” is somewhat misleading here, as a basic equivalence is erroneously assumed between the E.U. and Switzerland.

The complete essay is at Essays on Two Federal Empires.

 Switzerland, shown in orange, would not even be a large state in the E.U.    Source:  battlecat.net

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Merkel Siding with China against the E.U.: Federalism Imploding?

In May 2013, German Chancellor Angela Merkel interjected herself into the brewing trade conflict between the E.U. and China. At issue was the European Commission’s proposal to impose import tariffs on some Chinese solar and telecommunications products in response to suspected dumping by China. Merkel’s involvement involves a conflict of interest for her and exploits a vulnerability in the E.U.’s federal system.

       Flags of the E.U. and China, both of which are empires, albeit one being federal and the other centrally governed.  Both forms of government have drawbacks that can be exploited by the other.   Source: ipolitics.ca

Monday, May 27, 2013

China: Empire Demands Capitalism


