European Integration | Edexcel A-Level Politics

For Specification 9PL0

Edexcel A-Level Politics | Free Revision Notes

Estimated study time: 90 minutes

exam questions by topic 👇

This European integration A-Level Politics revision page explains how European states developed increasingly close economic, political and legal cooperation and how this led to the modern European Union (EU). Edexcel requires you to understand the factors that fostered integration, the EU's formation, role, objectives and development, the growth of its institutions, the process of enlargement and key treaties and agreements.  These developments build on regional co-operation [Regional organisations] and prepare you for analysing the EU's wider significance [The EU as a regional and global organisation].

Learning Objectives 🎯

By the end of this revision page, you should be able to:

• Define European integration and distinguish widening from deepening.

• Explain the main factors that fostered European integration.

• Describe the formation, objectives, role and development of the European Union.

• Explain how enlargement changed the scale of European integration.

• Explain the roles and powers of the EU's key institutions.

• Analyse the significance of major European treaties and agreements in the integration process.

Revision Notes 📚

European integration A-Level Politics revision: the core idea

Edexcel defines European integration as the process of industrial, political, legal, economic, social and cultural integration of states in Europe.

This definition is important because European integration is not simply EU membership.

It is a process. Over time, European states have:

• increased economic cooperation

• created common institutions

• developed common rules and laws

• extended cooperation into additional policy areas

• admitted new member states

• given European institutions greater responsibilities

The EU therefore developed gradually rather than appearing fully formed at a single moment.

This can be understood through two connected processes:

widening = increasing the number of participating states

deepening = increasing the degree of integration between them

Edexcel combines these through the term widening-deepening, defined as the process through which the EU has attempted to expand its membership while furthering integration.

Understanding these processes builds directly on the different forms of regionalism [Regionalism].

Why did European integration develop?

The specification requires you to understand the factors that fostered European integration.

Several factors worked together.

Peace and security after the Second World War

One of the earliest motivations for European integration was to reduce the possibility of another major European war.

In 1950, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman proposed pooling French and German coal and steel production within a common organisation. Coal and steel were central to industrial and military power, so placing their production under common management was intended to make renewed conflict between France and Germany much harder. Six states went on to establish the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).

The six founding states were:

• France

• West Germany

• Italy

• Belgium

• the Netherlands

• Luxembourg

This gives you an important analytical chain:

past conflict → desire for reconciliation → economic interdependence → common institutions → greater European integration

Integration was therefore not only an economic project. Economic cooperation was also used to pursue a political and security objective.

Economic cooperation

Economic interests were another major driver.

The success of cooperation in coal and steel encouraged the six states to extend integration into wider economic activity. The Treaties of Rome, signed in 1957 and effective from 1958, established the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom).

The development from the ECSC to the EEC illustrates deepening:

cooperation in particular industries → wider economic cooperation → common institutions and rules

Economic integration offered states the possibility of gaining the benefits of a larger economic area while reducing barriers between participating economies.

This later developed into the single market, which is examined further when you consider the EU as a regional and global organisation [The EU as a regional and global organisation].

Growing political cooperation

European integration gradually moved beyond economic cooperation.

States increasingly cooperated through common political institutions and expanded the range of issues dealt with at European level.

This process became particularly clear with the Maastricht Treaty, which established the European Union and extended cooperation beyond the original economic objectives of the European Communities.

This shows how integration can develop cumulatively:

economic cooperation → permanent institutions → wider areas of cooperation → deeper political integration

However, integration has never meant that national governments simply disappeared. The balance between national governments and European institutions remains a major debate and is explored in supranational and intergovernmental approaches [The EU as a regional and global organisation].

Successful cooperation encouraging further integration

European integration also developed because existing cooperation created institutions through which further cooperation could be organised.

Once states had:

• common institutions

• regular negotiations

• agreed legal frameworks

• established economic relationships

there was an institutional basis for further integration.

Successive treaties could therefore amend and extend arrangements that already existed rather than starting again.

This explains why European integration is best understood as an evolutionary process.

Changes in Europe

Political changes also created opportunities for widening.

The end of communist rule in central and eastern Europe ultimately allowed many more European states to join the EU. The largest enlargement took place in 2004, when ten states joined simultaneously.

This dramatically increased the geographical extent of European integration.

Widening therefore reflects an important feature of regionalism:

integration can spread geographically as well as deepen institutionally.

The formation of European integration

European integration developed through a series of stages.

Development	What happened	Significance for integration
1950 Schuman Declaration	Robert Schuman proposed pooling coal and steel production.	Provided the political plan for the first major supranational European organisation.
1951 Treaty of Paris	Six states signed the treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community.	Began institutionalised integration in strategically important industries.
1957 Treaties of Rome	The EEC and Euratom were created.	Extended integration from coal and steel into broader economic cooperation.
1986 Single European Act	Reformed institutions and supported completion of the single market.	Deepened economic integration and expanded qualified majority voting.
1992 Maastricht Treaty	Created the European Union and widened political cooperation.	Marked a major step from an economic community towards broader political union.
1997 Amsterdam Treaty	Further reformed institutions and extended cooperation.	Continued the process of deepening and prepared the EU for future development.
2001 Nice Treaty	Reformed institutional arrangements.	Helped prepare EU institutions for major enlargement.
2007 Lisbon Treaty	Reformed institutions, decision-making and EU powers.	Adapted EU governance to a substantially enlarged Union.

The major treaty dates and purposes are recorded by the EU itself.

A useful way to revise this is not simply as a list of dates, but as a sequence:

Paris → Rome → Single European Act → Maastricht → Amsterdam → Nice → Lisbon

Each stage either widened the areas of cooperation, strengthened institutions, prepared for enlargement or altered how decisions were made.

The European Coal and Steel Community

The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was an important starting point.

The 1951 treaty created a common framework for the coal and steel industries of the six founding states. It came into operation in 1952.

Its importance was both political and economic.

Economically, states pooled activity in two major industries.

Politically, former rivals accepted common management of resources directly connected with military capacity.

The ECSC therefore demonstrated a principle that would continue throughout European integration:

Cooperation in one area can create closer relationships and institutions through which further cooperation becomes possible.

You do not need to treat the ECSC as a separate modern organisation. Its importance is as part of the development of European integration.

The Treaties of Rome and the EEC

The next major step came with the Treaties of Rome, signed in 1957.

They created:

• the European Economic Community (EEC)

• Euratom, for cooperation relating to atomic energy

Both came into operation in 1958.

The EEC represented a substantial deepening of integration because cooperation was no longer confined to coal and steel.

The project now aimed at broader economic integration.

This demonstrates a recurring pattern:

limited cooperation → successful institutions → expansion of cooperation

The EEC eventually formed a central part of the institutional development that produced today's European Union.

The Single European Act

The Single European Act (SEA) was signed in 1986 and entered into force in 1987.

Its major purpose was to reform European institutions and accelerate the completion of the single market. It also extended the use of qualified majority voting in the Council, making it harder for one state alone to block legislation in some areas.

This is significant for integration because it illustrates deepening.

Member states were not simply cooperating informally. They were modifying European decision-making structures to make collective action easier.

The SEA can therefore be used as evidence that integration involved both:

• economic development

• institutional development

The Maastricht Treaty and creation of the European Union

The Maastricht Treaty, formally the Treaty on European Union, was signed in 1992 and entered into force in 1993.

It formally established the European Union.

This was one of the clearest stages of deepening.

Maastricht:

• extended cooperation beyond economic matters

• developed political cooperation

• increased the European Parliament's role

• expanded qualified majority voting

• established the framework for Economic and Monetary Union

The detailed development of monetary union belongs with economic and monetary union [The EU as a regional and global organisation], but you should recognise Maastricht as a major milestone in the overall integration process.

The key analytical point is:

The transition from the EEC to the EU illustrates integration moving from primarily economic cooperation towards a broader political and economic union.

The Amsterdam Treaty

The Amsterdam Treaty was signed in 1997 and entered into force in 1999.

It built on Maastricht and further altered EU institutions and decision-making. It also incorporated the Schengen arrangements into the EU's institutional and legal framework.

Amsterdam therefore continued the process of deepening.

It illustrates how European integration often developed through treaty reform rather than through the creation of completely new organisations.

The Nice Treaty

The Treaty of Nice was signed in 2001 and entered into force in 2003.

Its principal importance for this topic is its connection with enlargement.

The EU was preparing for a substantial increase in membership, so institutional arrangements had to be changed to enable an enlarged organisation to function.

Nice therefore demonstrates the connection between widening and deepening:

more member states → pressure to reform institutions → further institutional integration

This is a useful example if an exam question asks you to explain why widening and deepening cannot always be treated as completely separate processes.

The Lisbon Treaty

The Lisbon Treaty was signed in 2007 and entered into force in 2009.

It reformed the operation of the EU following enlargement, including changes to voting and institutional arrangements, a permanent President of the European Council and a stronger role for the European Parliament.

Lisbon is therefore another example of deepening.

It did not create the EU, Maastricht had already done that.

⚠️ That distinction is worth remembering:

Maastricht created the European Union. Lisbon reformed an already existing EU.

Treaties as drivers of European integration

Treaties are central to the European integration process because the EU is based on agreements voluntarily approved by its member states.

Treaties establish:

• the EU's objectives

• the powers of institutions

• decision-making procedures

• areas in which the EU can act

• the relationship between the EU and its member states

This means treaties are not simply historical dates to memorise.

They are the legal mechanism through which integration has been deepened.

A strong exam answer should therefore write:

Treaty → institutional or policy change → effect on integration

rather than simply listing treaties.

Key treaties and agreements compared

Treaty or agreement	Main contribution to European integration
Treaty of Paris, 1951	Established the ECSC and institutionalised cooperation in coal and steel.
Treaties of Rome, 1957	Created the EEC and Euratom and broadened economic integration.
Schengen Agreement	Developed cooperation over the removal of internal border controls among participating states and was later incorporated into the EU framework.
Single European Act, 1986	Supported completion of the single market and reformed decision making.
Maastricht Treaty, 1992	Established the EU and extended integration into broader political areas.
Amsterdam Treaty, 1997	Further reformed institutions and extended areas of cooperation.
Nice Treaty, 2001	Changed institutional arrangements in preparation for enlargement.
Lisbon Treaty, 2007	Reformed institutions and decision making within the enlarged EU.

These agreements illustrate the deepening side of European integration.

Enlargement: the widening of European integration

Enlargement is the process through which additional states join the European integration project.

The founding European communities consisted of six states.

Membership then expanded in several waves.

Year	States joining	Membership after enlargement
1973	Denmark, Ireland, United Kingdom	9
1981	Greece	10
1986	Spain, Portugal	12
1995	Austria, Finland, Sweden	15
2004	Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia	25
2007	Bulgaria, Romania	27
2013	Croatia	28

The 2004 enlargement was the largest single enlargement in terms of both the number of countries and population added.

The specification glossary describes the EU using its 2015 membership of 28 states, because that definition reflects the specification's original context.  The EU currently has 27 members following the UK's withdrawal, so students should not treat the glossary's 28-member figure as a current membership total.

Why enlargement matters

Enlargement demonstrates widening.

It increased:

• the number of states participating in European integration

• the geographical extent of the EU

• the variety of national governments that had to reach collective decisions

But widening can also create pressure for deepening.

As membership grows, institutions and decision-making systems may need reform.

The Nice and Lisbon treaties provide examples of institutional changes connected to operating a larger Union.

This produces an important relationship:

widening → greater organisational complexity → pressure for institutional reform → possible deepening

Widening and deepening compared

Widening	Deepening
Increasing the number of participating states	Increasing the extent of integration
Seen most clearly through enlargement	Seen through treaties, stronger institutions and wider areas of cooperation
Expands European integration geographically	Expands European integration politically, economically or legally
May make decision making more complex	May provide mechanisms for managing an enlarged EU

The two processes can reinforce each other, but they can also create tensions.

A wider organisation contains more governments with potentially different interests. This can make agreement about further integration more difficult.

At the same time, a larger organisation may require stronger or more efficient institutions.

This tension prepares you for the next lesson's debate over supranational and intergovernmental approaches [The EU as a regional and global organisation].

The key EU institutions

The specification requires knowledge of the establishment and powers of key institutions.

The four institutions most central to EU political decision making are:

• European Commission

• European Parliament

• Council of the European Union

• European Council

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is also important because it ensures that EU law is interpreted and applied consistently. The EU formally has seven institutions, but these five are particularly useful for understanding the political and legal development of integration.

European Commission

The European Commission is the EU's main executive institution.

It was established in its present institutional lineage in 1958.

Its major functions include:

• proposing EU legislation

• implementing EU policies

• managing the EU budget

• monitoring the application of EU law

• representing EU interests in areas where it has authority

The Commission is significant to integration because it is not simply a meeting of national governments.

It exists to promote and administer common European policies.

This gives European integration a permanent institutional structure rather than relying entirely on occasional agreements between governments.

European Parliament

The European Parliament developed from the Common Assembly established in 1952, adopted its current name in 1962 and has been directly elected since 1979.

Its main roles include:

• passing legislation jointly with the Council of the European Union

• scrutinising other EU institutions

• participating in decisions on the EU budget

• approving the Commission

• participating in decisions relating to international agreements and enlargement

Its development shows another aspect of deepening.

As integration expanded, the Parliament acquired a larger role within EU decision making, particularly through successive treaties.

Council of the European Union

The Council of the European Union, often simply called the Council, represents the governments of EU member states.

National ministers meet according to the policy area being discussed.

Its roles include:

• negotiating and adopting legislation with the European Parliament

• coordinating policies between member states

• developing foreign and security policy within agreed guidelines

• concluding agreements

• agreeing the EU budget with Parliament

The Council demonstrates the continuing importance of national governments within European integration.

This is crucial.

European integration does not mean all power simply moves from states to European institutions. National governments remain directly involved in European decision making.

European Council

The European Council brings together the heads of state or government of EU member states.

It developed as an informal forum from 1974, gained formal status through Maastricht and became an official EU institution under Lisbon in 2009.

Its central role is to establish the EU's:

• overall political direction

• major priorities

It does not normally pass EU legislation.

⚠️ Do not confuse the European Council with the Council of the European Union.

A quick distinction is:

European Council = leaders set direction

Council of the EU = ministers help make laws and coordinate policy

Court of Justice of the European Union

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) traces its origins to 1952.

Its role is to ensure that EU law is interpreted and applied consistently and that both member states and EU institutions comply with EU law.

Its functions include:

• interpreting EU law

• deciding disputes relating to the application of EU law

• determining whether EU institutions have acted lawfully

• dealing with failures by member states to meet obligations under EU law

The CJEU therefore contributes to legal integration.

Common rules have greater significance if they are interpreted and enforced within a common legal framework.

Comparing the key institutions

Institution	Whom or what it principally represents	Core role
European Commission	Common EU interest	Proposes legislation and implements policies
European Parliament	EU citizens	Legislates, scrutinises and participates in budgetary decisions
Council of the European Union	National governments	Legislates with Parliament and coordinates policies
European Council	National political leaders	Sets overall political direction and priorities
CJEU	EU legal order	Interprets and enforces EU law

This institutional structure helps explain why the EU is more developed than many of the bodies studied in regional organisations [Regional organisations].

It contains both institutions representing member governments and institutions operating at European level.

How institutions helped deepen integration

Institutions are important because integration requires more than treaties on paper.

European institutions provide mechanisms through which common decisions can be:

1. proposed

2. negotiated

3. adopted

4. implemented

5. interpreted and enforced

For example:

Commission proposes → Parliament and Council legislate → member states implement → Commission monitors → CJEU interprets EU law where necessary

This illustrates why European integration has a substantial institutional and legal dimension as well as an economic one.

The role and objectives of the EU

The EU developed from institutions initially focused on particular economic sectors into a much broader political-economic organisation.

Its development has involved objectives connected with:

• maintaining cooperation between European states

• promoting economic integration

• creating a common European market

• providing common institutional decision-making structures

• extending political cooperation

• establishing rules and legal structures through which collective decisions operate

Maastricht was particularly important because it marked a transition beyond the original common-market focus towards broader political integration.

The EU is therefore both:

a product of European integration

and

a mechanism through which further European integration occurs.

European integration is not a single event

A common mistake is to describe European integration as if "the EU was created" and everything else followed automatically.

The development is better represented as:

ECSC → EEC → wider economic integration → institutional reform → EU → further widening and deepening

At every stage, governments had to negotiate further agreements.

This matters because it demonstrates that integration has always involved an interaction between:

• collective European institutions

• sovereign national governments

That tension becomes central in the EU as a regional and global organisation [The EU as a regional and global organisation].

Overall significance of European integration

European integration demonstrates how far regionalism can develop.

Compared with looser forms of regional cooperation, European integration has produced:

• enduring common institutions

• extensive treaty-based cooperation

• a common system for making decisions

• a European legal framework

• successive expansion of membership

• cooperation extending considerably beyond the original coal-and-steel project

At the same time, member governments remain central to important institutions such as the Council of the European Union and European Council.

European integration therefore provides the foundation for the later debate about whether the EU is primarily:

• an organisation created and controlled by sovereign states, or

• a form of regional governance in which substantial authority operates above the state

That debate belongs particularly to the EU as a regional and global organisation [The EU as a regional and global organisation].

Key Words 🔑

Key word	Student-friendly definition	How it may be used in an exam
European integration	The process of increasing industrial, political, legal, economic, social and cultural integration between European states.	Use when explaining the overall development from early post-war cooperation towards the EU.
European Union (EU)	The political-economic organisation created through the development of European integration.	Use when discussing the institutions, treaties and enlargement of European regional cooperation.
Widening-deepening	The process of expanding EU membership while also increasing the extent of integration.	Use to distinguish enlargement from stronger institutional or policy integration.
Supranationalism	Giving substantial power to an authority positioned, in theory, above individual states.	Useful when explaining why some aspects of integration go beyond cooperation between governments.
Intergovernmentalism	Interaction between states based on their continuing sovereign independence.	Use when explaining the continuing role of national governments within EU decision making.

The definitions reflect the terminology used in the Edexcel specification.

Hints from the Examiner Reports 💡

Examiner hint: Explain the mechanism behind integration rather than simply naming factors. In the 2020 Paper 3B report, weaker responses struggled to deal fully with both political and economic causes of regionalism, while stronger responses explained how those factors actually encouraged integration and supported them with examples such as the EU.

Examiner hint: Keep comparisons focused on the precise question. The 2019 report praised stronger candidates who compared the influence of regional organisations directly with the influence of states, rather than merely describing how powerful the organisations were.

Examiner hint: Use widening and deepening analytically. The 2022 examiner commentary positively identified a response that connected EU supranationalism, widening and deepening, pooled sovereignty and binding treaties rather than treating each point as isolated knowledge.

Examiner hint: Set out the direction of an extended argument early. The 2022 report specifically identified a clear introduction that established the direction of the response as a strength.

Examiner hint: Do not stop at AO1. Knowing the dates and content of treaties is useful, but the marks increase when you explain their political significance. For example: Nice prepared institutions for enlargement, so widening created pressure for institutional deepening.

Examiner hint: Keep European institutions distinct. The 2021 report praised strong knowledge of institutions such as the Commission, Parliament and Court of Justice when candidates explained the effects of regional integration.

Common Mistakes ⚠️

Mistake: Treating European integration as the same thing as EU enlargement

Why this is incorrect:

Enlargement is only one dimension of integration. It represents widening.

European integration also involves deepening economic, political, legal and institutional cooperation.

How to improve:

Remember:

enlargement = widening

stronger common institutions and additional cooperation = deepening

Mistake: Saying that the EU was created by the Treaty of Rome

Why this is incorrect:

The Treaties of Rome created the EEC and Euratom.

The Maastricht Treaty formally established the European Union.

How to improve:

Use the sequence:

Rome = EEC

Maastricht = EU

Mistake: Treating treaties as a list of dates

Why this is incorrect:

Dates demonstrate AO1 knowledge but do not by themselves explain integration.

How to improve:

For every treaty, learn a three-part chain:

treaty → change → significance

For example:

Nice → institutional reform → preparation for enlargement

Mistake: Confusing the European Council and Council of the European Union

Why this is incorrect:

They are different institutions.

The European Council consists principally of national leaders and sets broad political direction.

The Council of the European Union brings together national ministers and helps adopt legislation.

How to improve:

Remember:

leaders = European Council

ministers = Council of the EU

Mistake: Assuming European integration removed national governments from decision making

Why this is incorrect:

National governments remain directly represented within institutions such as the Council of the European Union and European Council.

How to improve:

Avoid writing that power has simply "moved from states to Brussels".

Instead explain the tension between common European institutions and continuing national participation.

Mistake: Confusing widening with deepening

Why this is incorrect:

Adding member states increases the geographical extent of integration. It does not automatically mean that members have accepted deeper integration.

How to improve:

Use examples:

2004 enlargement = widening

Maastricht or Lisbon institutional development = deepening

Then explain how widening may create pressure for further institutional reform.

Mistake: Treating Lisbon as the treaty that created the EU

Why this is incorrect:

The EU already existed.

Lisbon reformed its institutions and decision-making arrangements.

How to improve:

Anchor the sequence around Maastricht:

before Maastricht = European Communities

Maastricht = creation of the EU

Lisbon = later reform of the EU

Exam-Style Questions ✍️

Question 1

Examine the differences between widening and deepening in the process of European integration.

(12)

Indicative mark scheme

AO1 knowledge and understanding may include:

• European integration covers increasing political, economic, legal and other integration between European states.

• Widening involves increasing membership.

• Deepening involves increasing the extent of cooperation or integration.

• Enlargement rounds provide evidence of widening.

• Treaties including Maastricht and Lisbon illustrate institutional deepening.

AO2 analysis may include:

• Widening changes the geographical scale of European integration, while deepening changes its intensity.

• Enlargement can increase the complexity of collective decision making.

• This may create pressure for deeper institutional reform, as demonstrated by changes associated with Nice and Lisbon.

• The two processes are therefore distinct but interconnected.

Question 2

Examine the political and economic factors that fostered European integration.

(12)

Indicative mark scheme

AO1 knowledge and understanding may include:

• Post-war governments sought greater peace and security.

• Franco-German reconciliation was central to early cooperation.

• The ECSC pooled coal and steel production.

• Economic cooperation expanded through the Treaties of Rome and creation of the EEC.

• Cooperation eventually extended into wider political areas.

• Maastricht created the European Union.

AO2 analysis may include:

• Economic interdependence could serve the political objective of making renewed conflict less likely.

• Economic gains created incentives for continued cooperation.

• Permanent institutions made further cooperation easier to organise.

• Economic and political factors therefore reinforced one another rather than operating separately.

Question 3

Examine the differences between the European Commission and the European Council in the process of European integration.

(12)

Indicative mark scheme

AO1 knowledge and understanding may include:

• The Commission is the EU's executive institution.

• It proposes legislation and helps implement common policies.

• The European Council brings together heads of state or government.

• The European Council establishes broad political direction and priorities.

• The European Council does not normally pass legislation.

AO2 analysis may include:

• The Commission illustrates the existence of permanent institutions working for common European objectives.

• The European Council demonstrates the continuing centrality of national governments.

• Their coexistence reveals the interaction between European-level integration and continuing state control.

• This makes EU integration more complex than either pure supranationalism or simple diplomatic cooperation.

Question 4

Examine the significance of the Maastricht and Lisbon treaties for European integration.

(12)

Indicative mark scheme

AO1 knowledge and understanding may include:

• Maastricht was signed in 1992 and entered into force in 1993.

• It formally established the European Union.

• It expanded cooperation beyond the earlier primarily economic framework.

• Lisbon was signed in 2007 and entered into force in 2009.

• Lisbon reformed institutions and decision-making arrangements within an enlarged EU.

AO2 analysis may include:

• Maastricht represents a major qualitative deepening because it marked the development from the European Communities to the EU.

• Lisbon represents institutional adaptation rather than the creation of the EU.

• Maastricht expanded integration while Lisbon sought to make the enlarged system operate more effectively.

• Both illustrate integration through treaty-based institutional change.

Question 5

Evaluate the view that economic factors were more important than political factors in driving European integration.

(30)

Indicative mark scheme

Arguments emphasising economic factors may include:

• Early integration centred on coal and steel.

• The Treaties of Rome established the EEC.

• Economic cooperation expanded beyond particular industries.

• The creation of a larger integrated economic area provided incentives for states to continue cooperation.

• Later development of the single market represents substantial economic deepening.

Alternative arguments emphasising political factors may include:

• Early economic integration was partly designed to prevent renewed European conflict.

• Franco-German reconciliation was politically significant.

• Institutions increasingly organised political as well as economic cooperation.

• Maastricht extended the project considerably beyond purely economic objectives.

• Enlargement also reflected major political changes within Europe.

AO3 evaluation:

A strong response should assess how far economic and political factors can genuinely be separated. Early economic cooperation served important political goals, while successful economic integration helped create conditions for further political cooperation.

The conclusion should follow from the relative importance assigned to these factors rather than simply stating that both mattered.

Question 6

Evaluate the view that enlargement has been the most significant development in European integration.

(30)

Indicative mark scheme

Arguments supporting the view may include:

• Membership expanded from six founding states to a much larger European organisation.

• Enlargement greatly increased the geographical reach of integration.

• The 2004 enlargement alone added ten states.

• Widening extended common institutions and relationships across much more of Europe.

• Enlargement created pressures for institutional adaptation.

Alternative arguments may include:

• Deepening may be more important than the number of member states.

• The Treaties of Rome fundamentally broadened the scope of economic integration.

• Maastricht created the EU and expanded political cooperation.

• Successive treaties increased the powers and roles of common institutions.

• Integration is defined by the depth of shared structures as well as geographical reach.

AO3 evaluation:

Students should establish a clear criterion for "significant". If significance means geographical scale, enlargement is particularly important. If it means transforming the nature and intensity of European cooperation, treaty-driven deepening may carry greater weight.

Question 7

Evaluate the view that treaties have been more important than enlargement in explaining the development of European integration.

(30)

Indicative mark scheme

Arguments supporting the importance of treaties may include:

• The Treaty of Paris established the ECSC.

• Rome widened economic cooperation.

• The Single European Act supported the single market and altered decision making.

• Maastricht created the European Union.

• Nice and Lisbon reformed institutions.

• Treaties provide the legal framework through which integration is developed.

Arguments emphasising enlargement may include:

• Enlargement transformed a six-state project into a much wider regional organisation.

• Successive rounds extended European integration geographically.

• The 2004 enlargement was particularly substantial.

• Widening changed the political and institutional context within which integration operated.

• Enlargement itself encouraged treaty reform, showing that it could drive deepening.

AO3 evaluation:

A developed answer should recognise the interaction between the two processes. Enlargement expanded the scale of integration, while treaties determined much of its institutional and legal depth. The strongest evaluation will judge which has been more important according to clearly explained criteria rather than treating widening and deepening as unrelated processes.

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