Picture This: EU History at a Glance
Center Student Begins Work on EU Infographics
Have you ever encountered a reference to an EU institution or policy that was just a little difficult to wrap your mind around? Us too! That’s why CES has enlisted the help of one of our undergraduate students to develop infographics that walk viewers through the processes and institutions of the EU!
After attending trainings with our program assistant, learning about branding and visual identity with UNC Data and Visualization Services Librarian Lorin Bruckner, and, of course, their own research and coursework about the EU, our student has tackled this challenge with zeal. See below for the first of six EU Institution Infographics, accompanied by a brief description of the thought process that motivated it.
Though the names of the major institutions of the EU might come to mind rather quickly (or not, in some cases), they haven’t always been so easily distinguishable. For example, there was a point in time where there were separate commissions for different European communities (what a headache coordination must have been!).
For this reason, I thought it could be helpful to visualize the development of EU institutions. While it’s a little difficult to go into great detail in an infographic, as the form privileges a heavy image to text ratio, it seemed that locating major institutional developments or shifts could be beneficial to understanding how and why the EU is the way it is today.
For example, we could infer that some of the perceived weaknesses of the might EU actually derive from unwillingness on the part of member states to pool sovereignty in certain areas. As major shifts in the structure of the EU typically require a sharing of power, or pooling of resources in the EU — as we see in the consolidation of institutions under the Merger Treaty — sometimes a lack of political will among members can hamper efforts toward integration.
Similarly, a timeline helps us understand that the current iterations of EU institutions are only the most recent of a long line of developments. The European Parliament, for example, even though it was created in 1957, has undergone successive rounds of strengthening in various treaties. Again, the issue here stems from member states pooling power in EU institutions. Even though the parliament is over 60 years old, states weren’t immediately willing to give it the level of power it has today. But as time goes on, states can decide to grant more power to institutions, and make them stronger as integration continues.
In short, the growth of EU institutions is an ongoing story that began decades ago, and we can learn a lot by considering how different iterations came to be. Likewise, by locating these developments chronologically, we can gain further insight by considering the geopolitical/social/etc. contexts of the time.
Thanks for reading, and remember to check back in as we develop more infographics! If you have any comments, ideas, or topics you’d like to see, let us know in the comments!
Interested in reading more about the work CES students do? Check out the Students tab on our blog!
Curious to see our other infographics? Head over to the Infographics tab on our blog!
This post was produced by EURO major Brett Harris.
This post’s production was supported by a 2018–2021 Jean Monnet Center of Excellence grant from the European Union.
The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
