Intergovernmentalism within the Context of European Integration

I have mentioned before that neo-functionalism and intergovernmentalism are the two competing European integration approaches among others. I have explained neo-functionalism in a previous post, so today I am gonna talk about intergovernmentalism, and hopefully make it clear for you how when it comes to European integration these two approaches have very distinct claims.

As it is mentioned before their differences can be listed as the structural formation of the European Union, initiatives that this formation has achieved, and actors in power.

Intergovernmentalism sees European integration as more of a choice that states are willing to make. This approach is more in line with the realist perspective. Rather than accepting those supranational institutions have overarching power, it puts the national states at the center of the international structure. The idea here is that if states are not willing to give their permission over their territory or policies, these institutions remain ineffective. This means that according to this approach, an intergovernmental institution is formed through the collaboration of national governments and has no powers beyond those granted to it by those countries and even when states give their permission, this is mostly because the outcome will be beneficial to their domestic affairs. This view represents the first step of Moravcsik's three-step model to the EU policy-making process. 

The second step draws attention to the fact that supranational bodies have little influence over the policy outcomes. Focus on an intergovernmental decision-making style preserves the EU member states' national veto power and diminishes the independent involvement of supranational entities.

The third step further explains the former one by stating that key actions are divided among the leading member states which offer side payments to the smaller ones. Moreover, both types of states delegate only limited powers to supranational bodies. As a result, nation-states remain the most and only influential actors resulting in the state-centric structure of European integration.

So, in general, this approach assumes that states function as rational utility maximizers selecting the best option that meets their needs under the given circumstances. This is why their agreement to cooperate or form international organizations can be explained as a collective outcome of interdependent rational state decisions reached through intergovernmental negotiations. In the end, we see European integration as an institutionalized form of inter-state cooperation but mainly in “low politics”. Such collaboration is pragmatic and conservative in nature, implying at most an authority sharing and delegation rather than a transfer of sovereignty to a centralized authority.

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