European Union | Ambivalent double helix

When a lawyer praises the ambivalence of the European Union's structure and reality, he must cite good reasons for doing so. In his book "Verschlungene Staaten" (Twisted States), Ulrich Haltern derives this praise from the history and practice of European integration, not without pointing out the limitations of the possibilities arising from this ambivalence. The professor of European law and legal philosophy at Munich's Ludwig Maximilian University describes the structure of the EU using the image of a double helix, the two strands of which emanate from the now 27 member states and from the Union itself. Here, elements of intergovernmentalism, represented by the European Council of the heads of state or government of the member states, and those of supranationality, represented by the Commission, the European Court of Justice, and the European Parliament, meet. Both strands remain unsatisfactory, in the author's view: "The state must ask itself whether it still has sufficient scope to politically shape the living conditions of its citizens. The legal aspect of the Union must be examined as to whether, where the Union is permitted to act autonomously, it follows democratic principles and possesses a level of democratic legitimacy appropriate to its sovereign power." This constantly rebalancing and testing "intertwining" of the individual interests of the Member States with the interests of the Union constitutes the strenuous yet fruitfully exploited ambivalence in the EU.

The author succeeds in presenting the structure and functioning of the EU in a generally understandable way without neglecting the legal and political science foundations. He addresses the interactions between member state and EU actors and the possibilities for control at the state and European levels. He describes the integration constitution in a way that is also easily readable for non-lawyers and explains the reality of the EU through three components of its mechanism: constitutionalization, regulation, and effectuation.

Supported by several diagrams, Haltern illustrates the interlocking nature of this mechanism, citing examples of the occasional grinding in the gears and noting with positive surprise its largely silent functioning. The author, who thinks not only in legal terms, describes the power structures within the EU as "hybrid." Depending on need or weight, they can emanate from the governmental strand, i.e., the Council of the 27 heads of state or government, or from supranational bodies such as the Commission or Parliament, usually after prior informal or formal agreement at both levels. Coordination among the 27 member states, on the one hand, and adaptation to the Union's ideas, on the other, is lengthy, does not always succeed, and is a source of frustration with Europe among the populations of the member states, but also among some political leaders. However, this coordination process leads to moderation, the avoidance of errors, and a certain harmonization of living conditions in the individual states at the Union level. Robust access to the European Court of Justice ensures that the Union's priority rules reach and can be enforced where they belong.

Haltern writes that it is foreseeable "that the plot of European integration will continue to unfold as precisely as it has so far: States will respond to the problems and choices with a hybrid emancipation of decision-making power at the European level; there, this power will experience massive reinforcement, partially detach itself from the will of the states, and trigger an ambivalence that manifests itself in tensions." The author draws the optimistic conclusion from past experiences that this plot has enabled the "repeatedly stormy conversion of the European tanker on the high, stormy seas." "The state will not disappear as a distinct imaginary space of political communitization. But it will also not discard the common."

Ulrich Haltern: Entangled States. The Paradoxical Mechanics of European Integration. CH Beck, 303 pp., hardcover, €38.