TFL Vsebine / Revija Javna uprava

Avtor obravnava vprašanje ali gre pri Evropski uniji za državno zvezo (konfederacijo) ali za zvezno državo (federacijo). Pravni temelj Unije so namreč mednarodne pogodbe, po drugi strani pa je organizirana in deluje kot nekakšna zvezna država. Zato Unije ni mogoče uvrstiti niti v kategorijo federacije niti v kategorijo konfederacije, hkrati pa so v njej prisotni tako elementi konfederacije kot tudi elementi federacije. Njene članice so sicer še vedno povsem samostojne države, tudi v mednarodnih odnosih, vendar pa so pomemben del suverenosti prenesle na organe Unije. Prednost take ureditve je zlasti ohranitev (dela) suverenosti članic in neposrednega vpliva držav članic na temeljne odločitve Unije. Pomanjkljivost take ureditve v primerjavi z zvezno državo je zlasti nejasna razporeditev pristojnosti, pa tudi precejšnja nestabilnost odnosov znotraj Unije. Njena ustavna ureditev, ki se sicer lahko spreminja le s soglasjem vseh članic, se namreč v resnici spreminja dokaj pogosto, kar lahko bistveno vpliva na položaj držav članic Unije.

The author deals with the question whether the European Union should be categorised as a confederation or a federation. Namely, the Union is based on the founding treaties as international treaties while it is organised and functions as a kind of federal state. Thus, the Union is nor a confederation or a federation though both elements are present in its constitutional order. Member states are still independent states, even in international relations, nevertheless, they conferred an substantial part of its sovereign rights upon the Union. The advantage is especially that member states preserved some important part of its sovereignty and that they preserved direct impact on basic decisions in the Union. The main disadvantage in comparison with a federal state is unclear division of powers between the Union and its members, but also some instability of relations inside the Union. Namely, the constitutional order of the Union, though it can be changed only by the consent of all members, in fact has been changed quite often which can have an important influence on the status of member states.