Empty chair politics
The empty chair policy (also known as the empty chair crisis ) describes a political strategy pursued by France from July 1, 1965 to January 30, 1966 in the then Council of Ministers of the EEC , which was essentially characterized by the permanent absence of the French negotiating delegation from the council meetings. The institution was thus incapable of making decisions and the entire political system of the EEC was de facto paralyzed. The empty chair policy ended with the Luxembourg compromise of January 29, 1966 (Luxembourg decisions of the EEC foreign ministers).
causes
Changeover of the financing of the joint tasks
This was preceded by efforts by the EEC Commission under Commission President Walter Hallstein to use the full amount of the income of the member states from internal tariffs for the financing of joint tasks, especially in the strongly communitized agricultural sector and in economic policy, and to remove the membership fees that were customary up to now based on the gross national product. The European Parliament should be given a right of control over the use of funds.
Transition to qualified majority voting
In addition, in the area of the common agricultural policy, in accordance with the provisions made in the EEC Treaty (Art. 43 Para. 2 EEC Treaty of 1957), after a transitional period of 8 years, i.e. on January 1, 1966, in the Council no longer after the previous applicable unanimity rule , but with a qualified majority . In concrete terms, this means that a legal act would no longer have required all of the 17 votes in the Council of Ministers to be adopted, but only an approximate two-thirds majority of 12. Since France was represented in the Council with only four votes (Federal Republic of Germany: 4, Italy: 4, Belgium: 2, Netherlands: 2, Luxembourg: 1), it would not have been able to block an unpleasant decision as before.
Calculus of France
In the French Government's view, however, the Commission's plans to finance the common agricultural policy were unacceptable to France. In addition, she fundamentally rejected the transition to majority decisions by the Council at the time.
Cessation of participation in the Council of Ministers
The situation came to a head on June 29, 1965 at a meeting of the Council of Ministers when France expressed its displeasure with the intentions of the Federal Republic, Italy and the Netherlands to expand the budgetary powers of the European Parliament. The French Foreign Minister Couve de Murville referred to the lack of legitimacy in a parliament that did not emerge from general elections and criticized the increase in parliamentary competence in general. De Murville then declared on the night of July 1, 1965, despite the offer of a revision of Hallstein's commission proposals, the negotiations had failed. As a result, France stopped its participation in the Council of Ministers, the Committee of Permanent Representatives , the European Commission and the Advisory Committee on the Realization of Economic Union by withdrawing over six months.
Effects
France's stance sparked a serious "Community constitutional crisis". The EEC could not make any decisions for half a year.
rating
Not only from today's perspective is there certainty about the evaluation of the political classification of the disputes with France, in which there was a dispute behind the dispute.
The background: future integration concept?
Behind France's blockade of the activities of the EEC was a fundamental dissent about the future concept of integration. Before that, France had not been able to assert itself within the framework of the Fouchet plans at the end of 1961 / beginning of 1962.
The behavior of France
The policy of the empty chair , closely linked to the person of the then President Charles de Gaulle , is therefore an example of intergovernmental European policies in the integration process of the European Union . In the historical-political-scientific assessment, one can claim that de Gaulle used his influence with what he saw as a low-risk calculation that the negotiating partners would in the medium-term anyway be an acceptable offer for France in the atmosphere of political pressure to act at that time (European economic community, financing of agricultural policy) do.
literature
- Alexander Berens: The European Economic Community's path to the empty chair policy and the Luxembourg compromise . Dissertation, University of Düsseldorf 2002.
- Matthias Schönwald : Walter Hallstein and the "Empty chair" Crisis 1965/66. In: Wilfried Loth (Ed.): Crises and compromises. Nomos, Baden-Baden 2001, ISBN 3-7890-6980-9 , pp. 157-172.
- Rudolf Streinz: The Luxembourg Agreement. Legal and political aspects of voting in the Council of the European Communities since the Luxembourg Agreement of January 29, 1966. Florentz Verlag, Munich 1984, ISBN 3-88259-308-3 .