The EU as a global power

Traditionally it is assumed that only an independent nation state exercises international power. In today’s world this is misleading. Nowadays many large organisations wield power, such as multinational corporations and non-governmental organisations. In other words, you do not have to be a state in order to be able to influence things.

The EU exercises its power in many different ways, such as by leveraging the single market, through trade policy and through development cooperation. The single market is an EU success story, as there is no comparable system anywhere else in the world. It is the EU’s trump card, which it uses in its exercise of power. The EU’s single market is extremely attractive to both European and foreign companies, because more than 400 million people live within it. Its appeal is further increased by the fact that all operators within the market follow the same rules, whether you are a European or a foreign company. This is what the EU’s power is based on, namely legislative power. When the EU drafts and enforces new laws concerning the single market, then every operator active in the single market has to adopt the EU’s laws regardless of which part of the world it comes from and what its own domestic legislation is like. In other words, a company has to operate in accordance with EU legislation if it wants to trade in the EU. In many cases companies have adopted the EU’s stricter legislation and pushed for similar legislation in their own home countries. In this way the EU has indirectly been able to influence another state’s legislation.

Trade agreements are part of this single-market logic. The EU’s trade policy is led by the Commission, which negotiates the agreements and then takes them to Parliament and the Council of Ministers for approval. Although these agreements are called \u201ctrade agreements\u201d, trade itself plays a smaller role in them. From the EU’s side many non-commercial elements are added to trade agreements, such as both parties’ commitment to democracy and human rights. In other words, through trade agreements the EU influences the other parties in such a way that the other party has to accept EU legislation. The agreements state that the EU must advance its values in its foreign policy, and trade agreements have been a good tool for that.

• You do not have to be a state in order to be able to influence things.
• The EU exercises its power in many different ways, such as by leveraging the single market, through trade policy and through development cooperation.
• The single market is an EU success story, as there is no comparable system anywhere else in the world.
• A company has to operate in accordance with EU legislation if it wants to trade in the EU.
• In many cases companies have adopted the EU’s stricter legislation and pushed for similar legislation in their own home countries.
• In this way the EU has indirectly been able to influence another state’s legislation.

\u201cSovereignty\u201d is a problematic concept, because it is worth asking what it actually means. If it means full right of self-determination over one’s own affairs, then no state is sovereign, since all states are in one way or another dependent on one another. Today’s world is characterised by interdependence, in which the economy is the strongest dimension. Because of the economy, states are dependent on one another; decisions made in the United States affect Europe and Asia, and decisions made in Europe likewise affect the United States and Asia. It can therefore be stated that no state is fully sovereign, not even North Korea. The Finnish state cannot make decisions solely on the basis of its own interests, because it is dependent on other countries.

The EU developed through many twists and turns, but its core strength has always been the economy. The economy was largely the factor that determined European unification (integration). By binding economies together, the aim was to ensure that war would never again come to the European continent, because for any state that started a war, waging it would become fatally expensive. It was quickly noticed that such an arrangement bore fruit, because the economy recovered quickly and people’s standard of living rose. Over time European states began to cooperate more deeply, because everyone benefited from it. The current EU was built on the European Economic Community (EEC). The economy is still the EU’s greatest strength and the area in which it is able to exert influence. The EU is one of the world’s largest economic areas and competes with the United States and China. The EU is a strong actor on the economic side; for example, the Commission negotiates new trade agreements and certain economic matters fall within the EU’s exclusive legislative competence. That is, in certain economic matters the EU can decide on its own, so that it does not have to negotiate with the member states. For example, by amending competition rules the EU shapes not only the operations of European companies but also those of companies whose home country is not in Europe. The ECB is also a significant actor, as it is responsible for monetary policy.

The EU is also strong in other matters, even though they do not fall within its exclusive legislative competence. In cooperation with the member states the EU has become a significant environmental power, and the EU has also actively pursued such a position for itself.

Member states have given up economic sovereignty because they have found that, in an interdependent world where the economy is beyond the reach of individual states, it is easier and more practical to agree things within a supranational institution. Economically, socially and in many other dimensions the member states are dependent on one another, which is why the EU exists. For this reason the EU exercises power in accordance with the mandates it receives from the member states. But the fact is also that the member states themselves are not sovereign either, since they too are dependent on the EU’s institutions.

No one and nothing in this world is fully sovereign in the sense that kings once were. Every state, however large and strong, is in one way or another dependent on another, so the concept of \u201csovereignty\u201d loses its meaning. In certain economic matters the EU is an independent decision-maker, and year after year and crisis after crisis the member states have granted the EU additional powers to handle matters, because the member states struggle to respond alone to the global problems of today’s world.

• Today’s world is characterised by interdependence, in which the economy is the strongest dimension.
• The Finnish state cannot make decisions solely on the basis of its own interests, because it is dependent on other countries.
• Member states have given up economic sovereignty because they have found that, in an interdependent world where the economy is beyond the reach of individual states, it is easier and more practical to agree things within a supranational institution.
• For example, by amending competition rules the EU shapes not only the operations of European companies but also those of companies whose home country is not in Europe.

The regulation carried out by the EU has many effects on companies’ operating environment and their capacity to produce innovations. On the one hand, regulation can be seen as a challenge to companies’ operations, but regulation also significantly facilitates business activity through various effects. For example, uniform cross-border standards mean that companies do not have to adapt their services to the standards of 27 different countries; a single form is enough. This increases predictability and enlarges the size of the potential customer base, which in turn lowers companies’ unit production costs and thereby offers a significant economy of scale.

The regulation carried out by the EU is mainly intended to protect consumers’ rights. This means that consumers can trust that the products and services they buy within the Union meet sufficient quality requirements and that they are protected from exploitation when trading. Regulation also safeguards the operating environment and implements political objectives. For example, the purpose of provisions intended to protect the environment and combat climate change is to penalise market operators for the externalities their activities impose on the environment and nature, and thereby to steer consumer behaviour towards more environmentally friendly options. For instance, legislation restricting plastic waste bans, among other things, the use of plastic straws, which requires companies to take better account of the harms arising from their activities, such as plastic waste ending up in the seas, so that these harms can be reduced over the long term.

The EU can also use regulation to promote competition within the Union and to curb the emergence of monopolies. An example of this is the EU’s provisions targeting digital giants such as Google and Apple, which in practice hold a monopoly-like position with regard to the services they provide. The EU has, among other things, threatened Apple with substantial fines, since according to the Commission it has abused its gatekeeper position in the digital markets in relation to the Apple Pay payment application. According to the Commission, Apple’s conduct restricts competitors’ operations in the market, which threatens to distort the operating environment of open markets. The EU’s provisions on digital markets can therefore safeguard companies’ equal operating opportunities and promote the operation of alternative services, instead of allowing power in the digital markets to become concentrated in the hands of only a few operators.

• Uniform national standards increase predictability and enlarge the size of the potential customer base, which in turn lowers companies’ unit production costs and offers a significant economy of scale.
• Thanks to regulation, consumers can trust that the products and services they buy within the Union meet sufficient quality requirements and that they are protected from exploitation when trading.
• The EU can also use regulation to promote competition within the Union and to curb the emergence of monopolies.
• The EU’s provisions on digital markets can therefore safeguard companies’ equal operating opportunities and promote the operation of alternative services, instead of allowing power in the market to become concentrated in the hands of only a few operators.

The European Union has applied regulation to numerous products and services sold within the Union, defining the quality standards that apply to these products and services. This regulation aims to ensure that all products and services sold within the Union are safe and that consumers’ rights are realised as well as possible. Indeed, the primary objective of EU provisions is most often to ensure that the consumer protection of EU citizens is realised.

As regards food products, it is true that the EU has also set various provisions that make it possible to ensure that the fruits and vegetables sold in different member states are of sufficiently good quality and edibility. On this basis, regulations have also been formed (the provision concerning cucumbers was specifically a regulation, not a directive) that govern, for example, how curved cucumbers may be in order to meet sufficient quality limits. In addition, regulating the shape of food products can also make packing easier, since vegetables of uniform quality and shape fit into packaging better than vegetables of unusual shapes. This does not, however, mean that curved cucumbers are banned; instead, they simply fall into a lower quality classification.

The regulation in question concerning cucumbers and other vegetables was, moreover, already repealed back in 2008, as a result of which cucumbers and other vegetables are now subject only to the general requirements and recommendations concerning fruits and vegetables. In other words, the EU’s decision-making process is living, and the criteria concerning consumer protection are actively amended to correspond to prevailing conditions.

• The European Union has applied regulation to numerous products and services sold within the Union, defining the quality standards that apply to these products and services.
• In addition, regulating the shape of food products can also make packing easier.
• The regulation in question concerning cucumbers and other vegetables was, however, already repealed back in 2008.
• The EU’s decision-making process is living, and the criteria concerning consumer protection are actively amended to correspond to prevailing conditions and expectations.

The European Union and its institutions do not decide most of the appointments to significant EU posts. Instead, the appointments are made by the member states and their national parliaments and governments.

For example, Members of the European Parliament are chosen in Finland through free elections, in which only Finns themselves vote on the candidates. The candidate for Commissioner, in turn, is chosen by the Finnish government.

Very few Finnish politicians have been appointed to a high office in the EU without the appointment having been made specifically by the Finnish people, either directly or indirectly through the Finnish state leadership. The few Finnish politicians who have been appointed to high-ranking offices in a context outside of elections held in Finland have typically served in very high-ranking domestic offices (e.g. as Prime Minister in the case of Jyrki Katainen and Alexander Stubb) or have had a very long and distinguished career in politics (e.g. Heidi Hautala, who has been politically active for more than 30 years, serving during that time as, among other things, a minister and an MEP).

• The European Union and its institutions do not decide most of the appointments to significant EU posts.
• Very few Finnish politicians have been appointed to a high office in the EU without the appointment having been made specifically by the Finnish people, either directly or indirectly through the Finnish state leadership.

Finland transferred part of its legislative power to the European Union after joining as a member in 1995, which explains the regulations, directives, decisions and recommendations that appear in the news. In addition, monetary policy is now the responsibility of the European Central Bank rather than the Bank of Finland, following the adoption of the euro. It is worth remembering that only regulations enter into force directly as such in the EU’s member states. Directives are implemented within a member state’s own legislation. Decisions are supplementary and mostly concern some of the member states. Recommendations do not have to be followed, but they give indications of the direction to come. Finland nevertheless has its own legislative power in Parliament, as well as regional and municipal councils that make decisions at more local levels concerning the tasks assigned to them. In short: Although Finland has given up part of its independent action to the EU, it is able to influence its own affairs a great deal, now also the affairs of other countries that directly affect Finland. The EU’s main objective is more to harmonise cross-border legislation among the member states.

The common perception is that Germany and France decide everything in the EU between the two of them. If you read or follow EU-level negotiations that run into the small hours of the night, a compromise solution is usually almost expected from this classic Continental European power duo. Usually the small countries form their own coalitions to counterbalance these, such as the Visegr\u00e1d Group (Czechia, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary \u2013 although Hungary has recently caused resentment among the group’s other members over the situation in Ukraine) or the Frugal Four (the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden \u2013 Finland occasionally turns this into a five). In addition, with skilled Members of the European Parliament, an individual country can, relatively speaking, influence some EU-level decisions a great deal.

• Although Finland has given up part of its independent action to the EU, it is able to influence its own affairs a great deal, now also the affairs of other countries that directly affect Finland.
• Small countries form their own coalitions to counterbalance the large ones.
• In addition, with skilled Members of the European Parliament, an individual country can, relatively speaking, influence some EU-level decisions a great deal.