Does The Eu Have A Federal Character

Introduction

Before discussing the notion that the European Union (EU) possesses a federal character, one has to define federalism (federal system).

A Federal system is a system of government where power and sovereignty are shared constitutionally between a central authority and subunits. The central authority retains primary sovereignty while the subunits (state, province etc.) retain a degree of autonomy. Examples of federal countries include Ethiopia, Germany, and USA etc.

The following paragraphs will discuss features that make the EU have a federal character in comparison to the USA, which is seen as the exemplar federal system before concluding that the EU is a unique supranational entity with both federal and confederal character

Division of political authority/shared sovereignty.

Division of authority/shared sovereignty is the core of what makes an entity federal.

The EU is a union of sovereign European states who share sovereignty based on treaty. The union also possesses competences in policy sectors with exclusive jurisdiction in the area of Economic and Monetary Union while others are shared with Member States (MS), the other powers belong to MS as derived from the conferral of powers art 5(2) TEU, 2(1) TFEU art.3 & 4 TFEU additionally other powers have been offered by the decisions of the European Court for direct effect on citizens

On the other hand the USA is a federal republic characterised by division of sovereignty between national government and states and share responsibilities for almost all functions. Notably its system is focused on institutional autonomy with clear vertical separation of powers.

Competences are allocated according to policy sectors rather than policy functions as derived from the constitution Art. I (8) where enumeration of explicit powers belongs to federal government and all other powers are vested with the state (case

For e.g. EUs confederation traits include:

1. Formation type: A Union of pre-existing unitary entities.

2. Limited express powers of central authority (Foreign Affairs/Defence).

1. A Union of pre-existing unitary entities.

EU s formation mirrors that of a typical confederation as it was formed by pre-existing sovereign states and established a central authority (EU) that remains a junior partner to units (MS). The EU thus being state centric and acting supranational resembles a confederacy.

On the other hand the USA mirrors a federation where federal government and states are equal partners but when need arises the central authority is stronger.

2. Limited express powers of the Central authority (foreign affairs/defence)

The central authority in a confederation usually has narrower powers compared to the subunits. This is also applies to the EU because its central authority has limited powers while it’s the MS control their individual foreign and defence policies.

On the other hand in a federal system the central authority has broad powers on matters that concern the nation. For example in the USA the central authority controls foreign affairs and defense