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Definition
| Situation where an actor needs to explain and justify its behaviour to another actor, and the other actor can impose consequences if it considers the behaviour to be inadequate or inappropriate |
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Definition
| Case brought before the Court of Justice in which an interested party asks the Court to declare a decision by any of the EU’s institutions to be void |
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Definition
| Administrative organizations set up by the EU that provide technical expertise in different policy areas and assist in coordinating, implementing and monitoring policies |
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Definition
| Legislature consisting of two houses. In federal systems one house represents the citizens, while the other house represents the constituent states. |
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Definition
| Set of parties that work together to achieve some political objective, for instance to create a government (in parliamentary political systems) or to coordinate voting behaviour (in the EP) |
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Definition
| The extent to which MEPs of the same political group vote together. If all MEPs from a political group vote exactly the same, cohesion is high. If some MEPs in a political group vote for a proposal or amendment while other MEPs from that same group vote against, cohesion is low. |
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Definition
| Set of EU policies designed to reduce economic disparities between regions by giving financial support to economically underdeveloped regions in the EU member states. |
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Definition
| The system of committees through which civil servants from member states discuss and supervise implementation decisions of the Commission |
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Term
| Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) |
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Definition
| Set of EU policies designed to regulate agricultural markets and provide financial support to farmers. |
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Definition
| Predecessor of the European Parliament created as part of the ECSC in 1951. |
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Definition
| Way of making decisions in which the EU’s supranational institutions (Commission, EP) play an important role. |
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Definition
| Committee consisting of representatives of the Council and the EP, assisted by representatives of the Commission. Its task is to produce a compromise text if the Council and the EP have not reached an agreement after the second reading of the ordinary legislative procedure. |
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Term
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Definition
| Fundamental conditions regarding institutions, human rights and economic readiness aspiring member states have to meet before being able to join the EU. |
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Definition
| Committee of permanent representatives. Highest preparatory body for meetings of the Council and European Council. |
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Term
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Definition
| System of interest representation in which a limited number of interest groups have privileged access to governmental decision-making. |
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Definition
| Cognitive short-cuts offered by political parties, the media or opinion leaders that allow voters to make up their mind about an issue. |
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Definition
| Major legal principle in EU law holding that individuals can directly invoke EU legislation in cases before national courts. |
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Definition
| Type of EU legislation that needs to be transposed into national law by the member state governments. |
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Definition
| Procedure through which a group of EU member states can adopt legislation (or a decision under the CFSP) that only applies to them and not to the other member states. |
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| Impact of the European Union on policies, political processes and institutions in the member states. |
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Definition
| Term used for people, member states or political parties that have been highly critical of European integration. |
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| Occurrence that draws strong attention to a problem. |
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Definition
| An interpretation scheme with which issues and events are defined and given meaning. |
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Definition
| The activity of (re-)defining an issue in such a way that it fits a particular frame. |
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Term
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Definition
| Term used to refer to a mode of governing characterized by collaborative and networked forms of policy-making. |
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Term
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Definition
| Discussion document from the European Commission that outlines general issues and options around an issue without presenting specific proposals |
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Term
| Gross Domestic Product (GDP) |
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Definition
| Measure of the size of an economy, which equals the total value of goods and services produced in a country in a given year. |
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Definition
| Politics concerning issues that affect vital national interests. |
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Term
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Definition
| Decisions that determine the fundamental choices about the course of the EU for years to come. |
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Term
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Definition
| Decisions that determine the fundamental choices about the course of the EU for years to come. |
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Term
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Definition
| More or less systematic and comprehensive set of ideas and beliefs about politics that guides the positions of politicians, political parties and/or citizens on specific political issues. |
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Definition
| Measures that are adopted by the Commission to effectuate legislation, usually after consulting the member states in comitology committees. |
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Definition
| The process of applying policies and putting them into practice |
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Definition
| Legal procedure set in motion against a member state if it does not comply with EU legislation. |
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Definition
| Strategy in which interest groups seek to influence policies through direct contact with policy-makers. |
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Term
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Definition
| Group of people that share certain preferences regarding the outcomes of governmental decision-making and organize in order to influence those outcomes, without seeking elected office. |
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Term
| Intergovernmental Conference |
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Definition
| Meeting of the member states to discuss and decide a revision of treaties. As its name indicates an IGC is a purely intergovernmental affair that only involves representatives of the member state governments. |
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Term
| Intergovernmental institutions |
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Definition
| EU institutions that represent the member states: European Council and Council. |
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Definition
| Way of making decisions in which member state governments play a central role. |
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Term
| Intergovernmental organizations |
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Definition
| Organizations in which member states work together on policies of common concern but retain their full sovereignty. |
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Definition
| Integration theory which holds that member states are fully in charge of cooperative steps they take and only collaborate with a view to their direct self interest. |
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Term
| Interinstitutional agreement |
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Definition
| Binding agreement between the Commission, the Council and/or the EP, in which the institutions define arrangements for their co-operation. |
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Term
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Definition
| Constellation when the outcome of the decision on one issue is made contingent on the outcome of the decision on another issue. |
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Term
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Definition
| Constellation that arises if the participation of non-central governments in the making of central government decisions leads to policies that are ineffective, inefficient and/or outdated but these policies cannot be changed because at least one non-central government benefits from them. |
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Definition
| Constellation when courts in their rulings go beyond a mere passive interpretation of existing laws and in addition base their rulings on what the judges believe has been the intention of the lawgiver. |
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Definition
| The condition of being in accordance with the norms and values of the people. |
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Definition
| Agreement made at the 2000 European Council meeting in Lisbon with the aim to make the EU the world’s most competitive economy by 2010. |
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Definition
| Individual engaged in attempts to influence governmental decision-making on behalf of an interest group. |
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| Politics concerning issues for which the political stakes are not that high. |
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Definition
| Agreement allowing a member state to block a decision in the Council if it declares the matter a ‘vital national interest’. |
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Definition
| Policy aimed at ensuring financial stability through managing the supply of money and controlling the interest rates at which banks can borrow and lend money. |
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Definition
| Abolishment of trade barriers that are imposed by member states. |
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Definition
| Integration theory which states that member states will work together to reap economic benefits, setting in motion a process in which ever more tasks are delegated to the supranational level |
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Term
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Definition
| Expression of opinion which is not rooted in strongly held beliefs and hence can be very volatile |
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Term
| Open Method of Coordination |
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Definition
| Mechanism which aims at convergence of member state policies through a process of benchmarking and policy learning. |
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Term
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Definition
| Specific exceptions that are granted to a member state when it is unwilling or unable to fully accept all provisions of a treaty or a law. |
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Term
| Ordinary legislative procedure |
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Definition
| Decision-making procedure that is most commonly used in the EU for adopting legislation, giving equal powers to the European Parliament and the Council. |
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Term
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Definition
| Strategy in which interest groups seek to put pressure on policy-makers by mobilizing public opinion. |
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Term
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Definition
| Subdivision of parliament dealing with specific policy areas. Prepares and debates proposals before sending them to the full, plenary parliament for final decision-making. |
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Term
| Permanent representatives |
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Definition
| Member states’ ambassadors to the EU who reside in Brussels and prepare much of the work of the European Council and Council. |
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Term
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Definition
| System of interest representation in which a large number of interest groups compete with each other for access to governmental decision-making. |
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Definition
| Actor which successfully influences decisions made by others, by skilfully mobilizing support, building coalitions and proposing solutions in the direction of an outcome close to its own preferences. |
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Definition
| Set of participants in a given policy field who are connected through regular interactions. |
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Definition
| Institution that has the authority to make decisions about an issue |
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Definition
| Short period in which an issue commands a lot of attention and decisions on that issue can be taken. |
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Term
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Definition
| Decision on choices between alternative courses of action for dealing with a given issue. |
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Definition
| Decisions about the choices between alternative policy instruments to tackle a given issue. |
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Definition
| Set of issues that policy-makers give serious attention to |
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Definition
| Stable conflict dimension between political groups that is rooted in social differences between groups in society. |
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Term
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Definition
| The relatively small number of people at the top of a political system who exercise disproportionate influence or power over political decisions. |
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Term
| Political opportunity structure |
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Definition
| Institutional and political context within which an interest group operates and that determines the receptiveness of decision-makers to the claims of that group. |
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Definition
| All activities that are aimed at influencing policies and/or the selection of politicians |
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Definition
| Group of like-minded people who organize in order to influence politics through winning political office. |
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Definition
| Adoption of EU laws to reduce the differences between member state laws in a given area. (also known as harmonization or the approximation of laws). |
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Term
| Preferential trade agreement |
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Definition
| Agreement between countries on lowering the tariffs they charge for importing goods. |
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Term
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Definition
| Binding interpretation on a matter of EU law delivered by the Court of Justice on the request of a member state court. |
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Term
| Qualified Majority Voting |
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Definition
| Decision-making rule in the Council which requires a majority that is substantially larger than a simple majority of (50%+1), but does not require unanimity. |
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Definition
| Process in which states lower their regulatory standards in fields like environmental, social and consumer protection in order to attract firms or prevent them from moving abroad. (also known as social dumping). |
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Definition
| Member of Parliament responsible for summarizing a committee’s opinion and its modification proposals on a specific piece of legislation. |
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Definition
| Procedure through which a member state formally commits itself to a treaty, in most countries via a majority vote by its parliament. |
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Definition
| Type of EU legislation that is directly applicable in all member states. |
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Term
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Definition
| Monetary compensations given to a participant in a decision-making process in order to secure the support of that participant for a proposal that is unrelated to the payments. |
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Definition
| The way in which the creation and deepening of integration in one economic sector creates pressures for further economic integration within and beyond that sector and greater authoritative capacity at the European level. |
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Term
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Definition
| Principle stating that the EU is only allowed to act if the objectives of that action can be better reached at EU-level than at member state level. |
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Term
| Supranational institutions |
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Definition
| All those EU institutions that represent the general interest of the EU (Commission , Court of Justice, European Central Bank and Court of Auditors) as well as the European Parliament. |
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Term
| Supranational organizations |
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Definition
| Organizations in which countries pool their sovereignty on certain matters to allow joint decision-making. |
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Term
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Definition
| Major legal principle in EU law holding that if national legislation is in conflict with EU law, EU law overrides national legislation. |
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Definition
| The view that policies should be exclusively based on knowledge and that decisions on them should be made by scientific experts rather than politicians. |
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Term
| Transnational organization |
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Definition
| Organization which connects subnational levels of governments or brings together any other type of organization (businesses, civil society groups) from different countries. |
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Definition
| The process of incorporating the legal provisions of EU directives into national legislation. |
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Definition
| Actor who can prevent a decision from being taken. |
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Definition
| Discussion document from the European Commission that presents specific proposals for EU action. |
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Definition
| Set of bargaining outcomes that a participant in a negotiation is willing to accept. |
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Term
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Definition
| Set of bargaining outcomes that all participants in a negotiation are willing to accept. (also known as bargaining set) |
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