Debunking the Myth: Does 80% of Legislation in the EU Really Come from the Union Government?
By Miguel Suárez
In the realm of European Union (EU) discussions, a prevailing assertion stands out: that as much as 80% of the legislation within the EU stems from the Union government. If this statement holds true, it would portray a highly centralized governance system where the Union wields considerable influence over member states. Nevertheless, a more thorough analysis of the EU's legislative procedures unveils a much more complex reality. Along this article, the 80% claim will be put to question, and with the scope of the upcoming European Elections in June, we will try to determine to what extent Brussels actually decides the legislation of the Member States.
The genesis of the claim can be traced back to Jacques Delors, who was the president of the European Commission between 1985 and 1995 (Drake, 1994), he was a crucial figure in the creation of a European common market, and this figure we are referring to, was not a statement about the actual total weight of European decision on national legislation, it was a suggestion on how it should be working by 2000, an expectation that, as we are going to prove, wasn’t fulfilled at all.
Delors defended that "in ten years, 80% of the legislation related to economics, maybe also to taxes and social affairs will be of Community origin." (Bíró-Nagy & Buzogány, 2023) in a public speech in 1988. Afterwards this was used by mistake -intentional or not- on several occasions, most times to exaggerate the importance of the EU in national affairs appealing to more independence, and some other times, like in the past few months, to emphasize the relevance of voting in European elections (Toeller, 2012).
Anyway, the usage of this percentage is nothing but a fundamental misunderstanding of the EU's complex legislative framework which has been repeatedly used by some media and political parties and that has stuck in the common imaginary, but it was never a reality. At its core, the EU operates on the principle of subsidiarity, which stipulates that decisions should be made at the most appropriate level, whether that be at the EU level or by member states. The idea that the EU acts unilaterally in legislation oversimplifies the process (Shelk, 2004).
The competences that correspond to States or the Union are varied, the Treaty of Lisbon defines three forms of competences: exclusive to the EU -Article 3-, shared competences -Article 4- and supporting competences -Article 6- (Pernice, 2008). The first group is the only one in which the EU has the capacity to act without considering the preferences of member States, and these fields only include: customs union, competition rules for the internal market, monetary policy, common fishery policy and common commercial policy (ibidem). Even though it is undeniable that these fields are key for any Member State, defending that they constitute an 80% of the total set of laws is perhaps a little far-fetched. Even if considering the shared competences the percentage is still too high, so in theoretical terms the figure seems, at least, an exaggeration.
Apart from this line of argumentation, another theoretical scope to approach this figure is the revision of the European Union legislation process, even in those competences that are exclusive for the EU the role of Member States is still key. As a summary, we could say that laws are proposed by the Commission, then shared with the European Parliament for amendments and modifications and then to the Council to ratify or modify the legal text (European Parliament). Two facts are important in this regard, first, without the approval of all three institutions no legislation can be adopted, and second, the Council is constituted by the heads of the governments of the member states, thus the interests of the national governments are more than represented in the decision-making process. So again, we can conclude that, from a theoretical perspective,this figure is in fact false, and national governments have a much bigger say on the legislation within their borders than the EU.
Nevertheless, if the theoretical perspective wasn't enough, some statistical studies have been carried out in order to determine this question, and the results, again, are noticeably distant to this proposal of the 80%. First of all, it needs to be said that if there is any coincidence between all the studies it is that it is almost impossible to determine which percentage of the laws come from Brussels, thus any figure provided by any of this studies must be considered, in the best case scenario, as a founded estimation, but it can never be trusted as it stands due to the complexity of the legislative process of the EU.
All the studies agree on a percentage between 10% and 30%, depending on the country, the first one, carried out by CEPS suggests an influence between 10% -the lowest- and 36% -the highest- being Denmark in 2007 the least affected and Germany the most (Kaczyński, 2011). Another similar research, in this case performed by a group of scholars in 2012 through a comparative analysis, agrees on assigning between 10% and 30% of laws in member states to have their origin in the EU (Brouard, Costa & König, 2012). Finally, the latest piece of analysis on the subject is provided by Toeller, coincides to a big extent with the percentages provided by previous study, between 10% and 30% as maximum (Toeller, 2012). All these papers reinforce the perspective that the amount of laws coming from the EU varies a lot depending on the country, but it is in any case lower than 40%, less than half of what Delort’s figure proposed.
Apart from considering the country perspective it is also important to come back to the different markets where European laws are effective, some of them like customs, environment or fishery, find a bigger regulation coming from the European Union, while others depend more on national politics. So if the intent is to talk about figures, it is also important to highlight the fact that depending on the area, the influence of the EU, and thus the percentage, should vary a lot. (European Council, 2014)
In debunking the myth surrounding the EU's legislative process, it's crucial to acknowledge the significant impact that EU laws have on the lives of European citizens. While the claim that 80% of legislation originates solely from the Union government may be misleading, there's no denying that a substantial portion of laws affecting various aspects of European life emanate from EU institutions. Regulations on consumer rights, environmental protection, healthcare standards, and trade are just a few examples of areas where EU laws play a vital role in shaping daily experiences. Therefore, participating in EU elections and exercising one's right to vote remains essential. By electing representatives to the European Parliament, citizens have a direct say in shaping EU policies and laws, ensuring that their voices are heard in the decision-making process. Engaging in the democratic process empowers individuals to contribute to the formation of laws that impact not only their own lives but also the collective future of the European Union.
A final remark that is also important to highlight, and that can be seen between lines through the whole article, is the fact that the European Union can not be considered as an independent monster ruling over the States, as Toeller puts it, the EU should not be viewed as a "Brussels-based monster, but rather as a set of institutions that were founded by some of the member states and other member states deliberately joined later." (Toeller, 2012) (Khatsenkova, 2024). Member States are the ones constituting the European Union, it is true that it has its own independent institutions like the European Parliament, and that’s why it is so important to vote in the European elections, nevertheless the final say is, in most cases, in the hands of national governments.
In conclusion, it's evident that the claim of 80% of legislation in the EU originating solely from the Union government is a misleading oversimplification. The EU's legislative process is far more intricate, involving a delicate balance between institutions and member states, where decisions are reached through negotiation, compromise, and consensus-building. Debunking this myth is not only essential for fostering a deeper understanding of the EU's functioning but also for promoting informed discussions on matters of European governance.
However, beyond dispelling misconceptions, there lies a crucial call to action: the importance of active participation in both national and European elections. As citizens, our votes hold the power to shape the future trajectory of our nations and the European Union as a whole. By exercising our democratic right to vote, we contribute to the vitality of our democracies and ensure that our voices are heard in the corridors of power.
So, let's make our voices count. Let's stand together in front of the ballots, united in our commitment to shaping a brighter, more inclusive future for ourselves and generations to come. See you in front of the polls!
References
Bíró-Nagy, A., & Buzogány, A. (2023). Beyond Institutional Adaptation: Legislative Europeanisation and Parliamentary Attention to the EU in the Hungarian Parliament. Parliamentary Affairs, 1-21.
Brouard, S., Costa, O., & König, T. (2011). The Europeanization of domestic legislatures: the empirical implications of the Delors' Myth in nine countries. Springer Science & Business Media.
Delors, J. (1990). Europe's ambitions. Foreign policy, (80), 14-27
Drake, H. (1994). Political biography: The case of Jacques Delors. Modern & Contemporary France, 2(4), 441-444.
European Council (2014). The Delors' Myth, or Europeanisation in Numbers. consilium.europa.eu . Available at: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/documents-publications/library/library-blog/posts/the-delors-myth-or-europeanisation-in-numbers/
Kaczyński, P. M. (2011). Paper tigers or sleeping beauties? National Parliaments in the post-Lisbon European Political System. National Parliaments in the Post-Lisbon European Political System (February 1, 2011). CEPS Special Reports.
Khatsenkova, S. (2024). Fact-check: Does the EU decide 80% of our laws? Euronews. com. Available at: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/03/22/fact-check-does-the-eu-decide-80-of-our-laws
Pernice, I. (2008). The Treaty of Lisbon and fundamental rights. In The Lisbon Treaty (pp. 235-256). Springer, Vienna.
Selck, T. J. (2004). The impact of procedure: analyzing European Union legislative decision-making. Cuvillier Verlag.
Toeller, A. E. (2012). Claims that 80 percent of laws adopted in the EU Member States originate in Brussels actually tell us very little about the impact of EU policy-making. EUROPP. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2012/06/13/europeanization-of-public-policy/