Define the terms you use in this essay, for example "federalism". Analyze thoroughly when defending your argument. A well-organized structure and deep analyzation is necessary for this essay.

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European Union Can Be Interpreted As A Federal Structure

Whether the European Union is a federal structure is an essential concern, especially when seeking integrations from an agentic footprint. However, this concern is a non-issue at all, considering Federalism is a state-centric concept. Essentially, this implies that the Union is an international regime and not a state (Vila Maior, 2). Nonetheless, in both arguments, the comparative dimension emerges whenever individuals mention Federalism concerning the European Union. Many individuals explore other issues and attempt to grasp some examples of federal states to which the European Union might be related. The essential ingredient in this comparison is uniqueness, and it's possible to comprehend such issues by discarding any comparison with other international organizations and other countries (Vila Maior, 2). For this reason, the comparative technique is essential in discovering whether the European integration encompasses the federal aspects or not and whether the Union is a Federal polity.

Federalism is a heterogeneous concept and shelters different realities based on the choice of the methodology one adopts. There is no particular consensual explanation of Federalism since, as a terminology, it is superseded in its plural implication. It can accommodate various outcomes, either a tendency to centralize an opposite bias or power towards decentralization with contrasting implications whenever the discussion of European integration emerges. Besides, Federalism may imply varying things when an individual explores different countries. For this reason, it is challenging to achieve consensus on a terminology that embodies varying perceptions and meanings. As such, political scientists are divided on the methodological instruments available to arrange a definition, and that discrepancy might be a hindrance to an indisputable explanation of Federalism (Saurugger, 3). Thus, Federalism comprises a multi-layer governance system that constitutionality entrusts the lower segments of the government with autonomous authority. In other words, it offers non-central units of government a chance to have an opinion in the decision-making process both at the state and local level and supranational level when it comes to the European context.

European Union federalism and integration sheds facets of uniqueness that might not be seen as a state-centric or conventional Federalism analysis. It is also vital to be aware of the dynamism of the federal Union. One of Federalism's most salient attributes is distributing competencies in the constitution between the government arms. In other words, the distribution of competencies in Federalism is not static, and it also possesses an intrinsically temporary nature of competencies allocation. When using a comparative technique of analyzing whether the European Union is Federalism, scholars should be cautious since the federalism concept is about flexibility and creative politics. In essence, the European Union is not the only one incurring changes. Federalism is also experiencing a continuous evolution. As such, prudence is the primary element when the European Union and Federalism association is explored.

The European Union was established to be the connection between the individuals living in European countries and continuously advancing European nations' integration. Currently, the Union is not classified as a federal state. However, the Union is connected with intergovernmental and supranational components, which many scholars argue that such facets hint that it offers more than just acting as an international organization (Vila Maior, 2). Nonetheless, the European Union's final aspect is intentionally unexplained or unclear throughout its preambles and treaties.

The integration process of the Union and its history needs to be explored to understand the connection between the European Union and Federalism. It has gone through varying stages of development and integration, with the most vital ones being supranationalism and inter-governmental. It was established as an avenue to ensure peace in the wake of the Second world war by connecting boundaries economically, which resulted in the creation of the ECSC –the European Coal and Steel Community. Later, the member states of the Union did not only combine their sovereign regarding steel and coal into one organization, but they also decided to venture into other economic sectors, which resulted in the European Economic Community and Euratom. After a few decades, the integration also depends on financial and political matters, especially in the 1990s when the Maastricht Treaty proclaimed the European Union.

The European Union has attempted to implement a constitution in the constitution. However, the efforts failed because of a referendum against a constitution in Netherlands and France, which ensured that the constitutional treaty could not be ratified. The treaty of Lisbon in Portugal is assumed to have similar agendas of establishing a European Constitution and states the competencies within the Union (Vila Maior, 3). Although the various treaties are referred to in many countries within the Union, acknowledging them as constitutional charters or constitutions could be seen as a political order favoring a confederal and federal European Union. Currently, the European Union is not yet a federal-state, although it possesses some nation-state attributes.

It is common research assessment practice to people the European Union against several states that possess Federalism attributes to assess how many characteristics exist. When the administrative process applications in terms of federal law in the United States and Germany are compared to the European Union, several attributes emerge. In both countries, the Bundeslader or the States possess decision-making powers in specific policy segments that could be closely associated with the member states' fates within the European Union (Vila Maior, 2). The Union also depends heavily on ion the national administrations to develop, plan and implement some of its policies that makers the countries' actors vital to the entire process. Besides, the European Union functions according to the subsidiary's principle. The country's administrations are the lowest possible segments that could execute the task of implementing the laws and regulations of the European Union. As a result, the European Union has a system closely related to the German relative to that of the United States.

Establishing own rules and enforcing them is one of e two of the four primary attributes of the state, such as the territory, population, sovereignty, and government. The law enforcement within its sovereignty or territory legitimately and legal is an essential element in the comparison of Federalism and the European Union. Besides, the council of the Union and the German Bundesrate, which is responsible for representing the decision-making process in German among federal states, is a great comparison level. For instance, the comparison is made since the European Union council is made up of the heads of the governments and stats of the member countries, which is closely related to the state legislatures (Moravcsik, 167). It also focuses on essential elements of democratic government, such as representation and participation. Both characteristics are crucial for any country to have legitimate power and govern within its state's territory. A comparison between the European Union and Canada also reveals some essential attributes in the definition of Federalism. Because of its structure and combination of the member states and doctrines such as a subsidiary, there is a high chance that the European Union resembles a federal state relative to a unitary state.

The United States of America is one of the first countries to combine various single states or a central level of government on an equal level. The history and Federalism of the United States represent two federalism segments, which separates them based on the two governments' relationship. The primary components defining Federalism in the United States are cooperative Federalism and dual Federalism. Based on dual Federalism, the government-level areas where it can function adequately are explained clearly (Moravcsik, 167). The central and the federal governments are expected to operate separately but on a comparable basis in each of their domains, establishing two sovereignties within one state. In some instances, this is known as dual sovereignty.

On the other hand, cooperative Federalism stipulates that both government levels possess a shared severity in all areas implying that neither their function nor their powers function separately. Based on these arguments, American Federalism is different from European Federalism. For instance, with American Federalism, the government or executive powers are stipulated by the legislative authorities as explained in the constitution. The states, in this case, can execute and implement federal law and standards.

The European Federalism, which has incurred changes over time, is determined and characterized by some German federal States' attributes. Its constitution argues that the federal states possess the executive powers for a federal law, which contrasts the federal law's stipulations. The German law, on the other hand, does not rule out any exceptions. The central government has to control and monitor the states in their adoption and execution of Federalism. It might even engage in the implementation by the conditions that fail to meet its requirements and expectations (Moravcsik, 167). Where the United States federalism operates with what is sometimes known as non-commandeering, the European Federalism is issued with an authority that undermines the states' sovereignty in executive powers and indicates the inferiority of the member's conditions to the Union. The state-level integration is slowly integrated into federal administration, which implies a unitary character to some level. In essence, the German and the European Union Federalisms are executive Federalism.

The European Union is a unique project since it possesses an outstanding and exemplary development of institutional and legal structures. It has implemented various treaties along the way that establishes the European Union's foundation by providing a detailed description of all actors and their liberties, duties, and privileges. The Union is currently operating using the European Union Treaty, The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The treaties explain the set of the Union coupled with its institutions. It also presents its general functions of different institutions, which are crucial in defining the federalism principles embedded in the Union.

Citizenry and a shared territory are relevant criteria used to determine whether the federal states fulfill. As such, the European Union possesses common external borders, which are its member states' borders. According to the stipulations of article 67 of TFU, the Union has the responsibility of ensuring that there are no internal borders. Within the external boundaries, there is a need to create an area of security, freedom, and justice. Thus, the treaty offers sovereignty in choosing their border location, which implies that the Union does not influence this matter. Concerning the citizens, the individuals belonging to member states are the citizens of the Union. The Union citizenship is based on the members' citizenship, which will not be replaced by union citizenship (Moravcsik, 167). Nonetheless, the European Union possesses no actual power on the rules and regulations concerning both issues and relies on each member states' decisions. In essence, it may appear as if the European Union meets Federalism's criterion on the surface, but based on a more detailed perspective, it fails to meet these standards.

In conclusion, the process of European Union integration has evolved while encountering a series set of challenges since its inception. For instance, its structural arrangement and institutions have received negative referenda such as Netherlands and France. However, based on federalism components, the European Union has fulfilled over fifty percent of the essential elements. In terms of sensitive matters such as territory, border, and external policy, the Union's framework aligns effectively with the federalism principles. Besides, the member states' citizenship is one of the requirements of becoming a citizen of the Union, although the power and control remain with the member states. Such issues may not be the case for other federal governments such as the United States. Based on such criteria, it is apparent that Federalism's theoretical standards are never unreachable and not artificially high. However, the requirements of religion, shared language, and national identity are some of the criteria that the Union fails to meet to be classified as a federal structure. For this reason, although the Union has fulfilled the theoretical standards or general requirements requirement when explored deeply, tits structure falls short of some competencies of Federalism.

Works Cited

Moravcsik, Andrew. "Federalism in the European Union: Rhetoric and reality." The federal vision: legitimacy and levels of governance in the United States and the European Union (2001): 161-87.

Saurugger, Sabine. "The European Union and Federalism: possibilities and limits." (2018).

Vila Maior, Paulo. "The European Union as a federal polity? An input to an unfinished symphony." 21st. World Congress of the International Political Science Association (IPSA),‘Global Discontent. 2009.