Levels of Decision-Making Determinants in the European Council of the EU in 2010–2022

The European Union has been recognised as an international system whose decisions and actions are conditioned by environmental determinants, which is a dynamic process of change. The article attempts to explain the EU’s decisions based on the conclusions of the European Council in 2010–2022. 93 documents containing the conclusions of the European Council adopted during that period were analysed. It was found that the determinants of EU decisions and actions function – firstly – at the international system level and, secondly, at the level of the domestic systems of the Member States. In addition, the article: 1) reconstructed the discussion in the science of international relations on behavioural determinants, 2) reconstructed the perception of determinants in the conclusions of the European Council; 3) a model for organising the analysis of the determinants of the decisions of the European Council was proposed.

REFERENCES:

• A Roadmap. (2020). A Roadmap for Recovery strategy. Towards a more resilient, sustainable and fair Europe. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/43384/roadmap-for-recovery-final-21-04-2020.pdf
• Boix, C. (2011). Democracy, Development and the International System. American Political Science Review, 105(4), 809–828.
• Chaudoin, S., Milner, H., & Pang, X. (2015). International Systems and Domestic Politics. Linking Complex Interactions with Empirical in International Relations. International Organization, 69, 275–309.
• (2021) 2030 Digital (2021) Compass: the European Way for the Digital Decade, Brussels, 9 March 2021, COM/2021/118.
• Condruz-Bacescu, M. (2014). Euroscepticism Across Europe: Drivers and Challenges. European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 6(2), 52–59.
• Cronin, A. K. (2002; 2003). Behind the Curve: Globalisation and International Terrorism. International Security, 27(3), 30–58.
• Czachór, Z. (2013). Kryzys i zaburzona dynamika Unii Europejskiej. Warszawa.
• Doyle, M. W. (1986). Liberalism and world politics. American Political Science Review, 80(4), 1151–1163.
• EU-China. A strategic outlook. (2019). European Commission, JOIN, 5 final, Strasbourg.
• EUCO 1/16. Session of the European Council 18 and 19 February 2016, Conclusions.
• EUCO 1/18. Session of the European Council 22 March 2018, Conclusions.
• EUCO 1/19. Session of the European Council 21 and 22 March 2019, Conclusions.
• EUCO 1/19. The European Council 21 and 22 March 2019, Conclusions.
• EUCO 1/22. Session of the European Council 24 and 25 March 2022, Conclusions.
• EUCO 104/13. The European Council 27-28 June 2013, Conclusions.
• EUCO 11/15. Session of the European Council 19 and 20 March 2015, Conclusions.
• EUCO 12/1/16. Session of the European Council 17 and 18 March 2016, Conclusions.
• EUCO 13/10. The European Council 17 June 2010, Conclusions.
• EUCO 13/18. Session of the European Council 18 October 2018, Conclusions.
• EUCO 13/20. Extraordinary session of the European Council 1 and 2 October 2020, Conclusions.
• EUCO 139/1/11. The European Council 9 December 2011, Conclusions.
• EUCO 14/17. The European Council 19 October 2017, Conclusions.
• EUCO 147/14. Special session of the European Council 16 July 2014, Conclusions.
• EUCO 15/20. Session of the European Council 15 and 16 October 2020, Conclusions.
• EUCO 163/14. Special session of the European Council 30 August 2014, Conclusions.
• EUCO 169/13. The European Council 24-25 October 2013, Conclusions.
• EUCO 17/18. Session of the European Council 13 and 14 December 2018, Conclusions.
• EUCO 17/21. Session of the European Council 21 and 22 October 2021, Conclusions.
• EUCO 17/21. Session of the European Council 21 and 22 October 2021, Conclusions.
• EUCO 18/22. Extraordinary session of the European Council 24 February 2022, Conclusions.
• EUCO 19/1/17. Session of the European Council 14 December 2017, Conclusions.
• EUCO 2/11. The European Council 4 February 2011, Conclusions.
• EUCO 21/1/10. The European Council 16 September 2010, Conclusions.
• EUCO 21/22. Extraordinary session of the European Council 30 and 31 May 2022, Conclusions.
• EUCO 217/13. The European Council 19-20 December 2013, Conclusions.
• EUCO 22/15. Session of the European Council 25 and 26 June 2015, Conclusions.
• EUCO 22/20. Session of the European Council 10 and 11 December 2020, Conclusions.
• EUCO 22/20. The European Council 10 and 11 December 2020, Conclusions.
• EUCO 22/21. Session of the European Council 16 December 2021, Conclusions.
• EUCO 237/14. The European Council, 18 December 2014, Conclusions.
• EUCO 24/22. Session of the European Council 23 and 24 June 2022, Conclusions.
• EUCO 25/10. The European Council 28-29 October 2010, Conclusions.
• EUCO 26/16. Session of the European Council 28 June 2016, Conclusions.
• EUCO 28/15. Session of the European Council 17 and 18 December 2015, Conclusions.
• EUCO 29/19. Session of the European Council 12 December 2019, Conclusions.
• EUCO 3/13. The European Council 7-8 February 2013, Conclusions.
• EUCO 30/10. The European Council 16-17 December 2010, Conclusions.
• EUCO 34/16. The European Council 15 December 2016, Conclusions.
• EUCO 37/13. The European Council 7-8 February 2013, Conclusions.
• EUCO 52/1/11. The European Council 23 October 2011, Conclusions.
• EUCO 7/1/14. The European Council 20-21 March 2014, Conclusions.
• EUCO 7/11. Extraordinary session of the European Council 11 March 2011, Statement.
• EUCO 7/21. Session of the European Council 24 and 25 June 2021, Conclusions.
• EUCO 75/13. The European Council 22 May 2013, Conclusions.
• EUCO 76/12. The European Council 28-29 June 2012, Conclusions.
• EUCO 79/14. The European Council 26-27 June 2014, Conclusions.
• EUCO 8/17. Session of the European Council 22 and 23 June 2017, Conclusions.
• EUCO 9/18. Session of the European Council 28 June 2018, Conclusions.
• EUCO 9/19. Session of the European Council 20 June 2019, Conclusions.
• EUCO 9/19. The European Council 20 June 2019, Conclusions.
• Euroscepticism and Europhobia: the threat of Populism. (n.d.). http://www.robert-schuman.eu/en/europeanissues/0375-euroscepticism-and-europhobia-europe-under-the-test-of-populism
• First time asylum applicants EU 27. (2019). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/news/themes-in-the-spotlight/ asylum2019
• First time asylum applicants EU 28. (2017). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/news/themes-in-the-spotlight/asylum2017
• First time asylum applicants EU 28. (2018). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/news/themes-in-the-spotlight/asylum2018
• Gałganek, A. (1992). Zmiana w globalnym systemie międzynarodowym: supercykle i wojna hegemoniczna. Poznań.
• Gourevitch, P. (1978). The Second Image Reversed. The International Sources of Domestic Politics. International Organization, 32(4), 881–912.
• Groom, A. J. (2007). Foreign Policy. Analysis: From Little Acorn to Giant Oak? International Studies, 44(3), 195–215.
• Haass, R. N. (2008). The Age of Nonpolarity What Will Follow U.S. Dominance. Foreign Affairs, 87(3), 44–56.
• Hoffman, F. (2007). Conflict in the 21st Century. The Rise of Hybrid Wars. Arlington.
• Hoffmann, S. (1965). The State of War: Essay on the Theory and Practice of International Politics. New York.
• Hogge, L., & Marks, G. (2008). A postfunctionalist theory of European integration: from permissive consensus to constraining dissensus. British Journal of Political Science, 39(1), 1–23.
• Jervis, R. (1997). System Effects; Complexity in Political and Social Life. Princeton.
• Kaldor, M. (1999). New and Old Wars. Organised Violence in a Global Era. Cambridge.
• Kaplan, M. (1964). System and Process in International Politics. Willey.
• Karta praw podstawowych Unii Europejskiej. (2010). 2010/C 83/02.
• Kayser, M. (2007). How Domestic is Domestic Politics? Globalisation and Elections. Annual Review of Political Science, 10(1), 341–362.
• Kuźniar, R. (2019). Przegląd sytuacji międzynarodowej – aspekty globalne i regionalne. Rocznik strategiczny 2018/2019. Warszawa.
• Lindberg, L. N., & Scheingold, S. A. (1970). Europe’s would Be Polity. Patterns of Change in the European Community. Prentice Hall.
• Łoś-Nowak, T. (2006). Stosunki międzynarodowe. Teorie – systemy – uczestnicy. Wrocław.
• Mandel, R. (Ed.) (1999). Deadly Transfer and the Global Playground: Transnational Security Threats In a Disorderly World. Westport.
• Mearsheimer, J. J. (2019). Bound to Fail. The Rise and Fall of the Liberal International Order. International Security, 43(4), 7–50.
• Milner, H. (1997). Interests, Institutions, and Information. Princeton.
• Moravcsik, A. (1997). Taking Preferences Seriously. A Liberal Theory of International Politics. International Organization, 51(4), 513–553.
• Morgenthau, H. (1978). Politics among nations. The struggle for power and peace (5th ed.). New York.
• Munkler, H. (2005). The New Wars. Malden.
• Pachauri, R. K., & Meyer, L. et. al (Eds.) (2014). Climate Change. Synthesis Report. Geneva.
• Pietraś, M. (2009). Dynamika globalnego środowiska międzynarodowego. Analiza uwarunkowań systemowych. In K. Wojtaszczyk (Ed.), Demokratyczna Polska w globalizującym się świecie. Warszawa.
• Pietraś, M. (2021). Unia Europejska w środowisku wielopoziomowych i wielowymiarowych zmian. Propozycja modelu analizy. Przegląd Sejmowy, 166(5), 99–132.
• Public opinion in the European Union. (2016). Standard Eurobarometer 85, Spring 2016.
• Public opinion in the European Union. (2019). Standard Eurobarometer 92, Autumn 2019.
• Public opinion in the European Union. (2020). Standard Eurobarometer 93, Summer 2020.
• Putnam, R. (1988). Diplomacy and Domestic Politics. The Logic of Two-Level Games. International Organization, 42(3), 427–460.
• Richmond, O. (2002). Maintaining Order, Making Peace. New York.
• Rosenau, J. N. (1969). Toward the Study of National-International Linkages. In J. N. Rosenau (Ed.), Linkage Politics Essays on the Convergence of National and International Systems. New York.
• Rosenau, J. N. (1997). Along the Domestic-Foreign Frontier: Exploring Governance in a Turbulent World. Cambridge.
• Scholte, J. A. (1996). Beyond the Buzzword: Towards a Critical Theory of Globalization. In E. Kofman, & G. Youngs (Eds.), Globalisation: Theory and Practice. London.
• Sil, R., & Katzenstein, P. (2010). Analytic Eclecticism in the Study of World Politics: Reconfiguring Problems in and Mechanisms across Research Traditions. Perspectives on Politics, 8(2), 411–431.
• Singer, D. (1961). The Level of Analysis Problem in International Relations. World Politics, 14(1), 77–92.
• SN 18/21. (2021, March 25). Statement of the Members of the European Council, Brussels.
• SN 2/21. (2021, February 26). Statement of the Members of the European Council, Brussels.
• Snyder, Q. (2010). Rising Powers and International Politics: A Liberal Systemic Perspective. APSA 2010 Annual Meeting Paper. https://ssrn.com/abstract=1643369
• Sprout, H., & Sprout, M. (1956). Man-milieu relationship hypotheses in the context of international politics. Princeton.
• (164/20). Conclusions by the President of the European Council following the video conference with members of the European Council on COVID-19. Statements and Remarks 164/20, 17.03.2020.
• Strategic compass for security and defense. For a European Union that protects its citizens, values and interests and contributes to international peace and security. (2022). https://www.eeas.europa.eu/sites/default/files/ documents/strategic_compass_en3_web.pdf
• The Commission calls for a climate neutral Europe by 2050. (2018, November 28). Brussels.
• The Global. (2019). Climate in 2015–2019. Geneva.
• Traktat o Unii Europejskiej. (n.d.). https://www.arslege.pl/glowne-wartosci-unii/k78/a11010
• Waltz, K. (1954). Man, the state, and war. A theoretical analysis. New York.
• Waltz, K. (1979). Theory of International Politics. Reading.
• Wright, Q. (1955). The study of international relations. New York.
• Zakaria, F. (2008). The Future of American Power. How America Can Survive the Rise of the Rest. Foreign Affairs, 87(3), 18–43.
• Zakaria, F. (2011). The Post-American World. New York.