Division of responsibilities within the European Union

The communitarisation of policy at European level depends largely on the approval of the Council of the European Union, which comprises representatives of the Member States. Alongside the European Parliament, the Council can act as a veto player in the ordinary legislative procedure. Within this institutional framework, the question arises as to why the governments of the Member States are prepared to cede sovereignty to the European level, even though this entails a certain loss of influence. In this research project, various motives for integrationist European strategies are elaborated and examined. This work will make a small contribution to research in this area, which has as yet been poorly explored. The results reveal various implications. The responsiveness of governments to their electorate and the European Commission as an agenda-setter can be identified as factors influencing member state positions. However, a shift in the decision-making level due to diverging interests at the national level cannot be demonstrated.