“ Say” And “Pay”: The Impact Of European Union On German And Austrian Lander.

16 Pages 4046 Words

European Union is one of the main forces that shape the political and social environment in Europe, as well as beyond it, today. Naturally, it affects member states the most.
Impact can be seen in every aspect of social life and is discussed on the daily basis.
The influence of European Union is so big that even the most conservative structure of member states’ - political culture had to undergo the painful process of reconstruction and adaptation.
The changes are the greater in those states that are further away from European Union’s standards and norms. As Radaelli (2000) argues, the bigger is the misfit between national and European norms and practices the bigger changes does the states have to undergo in order to comply with the EU laws and regulations. Countries react differently to the challenges posed by EU. Some created new bodies (ministry for European Integration) or substructures within the existing bodies (the European offices that exist almost in all ministries of member states) and creating coordinating structures.
Having more resources and information available, central governments took a lead in the process of adaptation. They were faster and better suited to face the challenge of losing the decision making power posed by European Union. Other branches of government and regions had to follow example and start to adjust. Thus all branches of government and regions were affected. The impact was of the same nature (the treat to decision making power and loss of influence). Responses varied from actor to actor. As one could expect different actors opted for different solutions. Not all of them were equally successful. Thus, as Morawchik (1998) correctly pointed out central government in member states were the biggest winners in the process of integration. As the intergovernmental theory suggests central government even benefited from the integration (not in absolute gains but rather in relative gains terms). Central...