STAGES OF THE FORMATION OF THE INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Abstract

The article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the stages of formation of the institutional structures of the European Union from the end of the Second World War to the current stage of European integration. It is substantiated that the institutional construction of the EU is the result of a long-term and gradual process that combined political, economic, military, and legal factors driven by the need to ensure peace, stability, and sustainable development of European states. It is shown that the institutional evolution of the EU took place under conditions of a constant search for a balance between the national sovereignty of the Member States and the needs of supranational governance. The article identifies the main stages in the establishment of the institutions of the European Union, starting with the first post-war integration initiatives, the creation of the Council of Europe, economic and military associations, the formation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the signing of the Rome Treaties, and the subsequent evolution of the European Communities. Considerable attention is paid to the analysis of institutional changes related to the establishment and development of the European Commission, the Council of Ministers, the European Parliament, the Court of Justice of the European Communities, the European Council, and other bodies that ensure the functioning of the Union. It is proved that each stage of EU development was characterized by qualitative transformations of the institutional mechanism, the expansion of areas of integration, the improvement of decision-making procedures, and the gradual strengthening of the role of supranational elements of governance. It is substantiated that the European Union is a unique entity that cannot be fully identified either with a classical international organization or with a nation-state and, by its features, is close to a confederal model with a developed institutional mechanism. Emphasis is placed on the relevance of studying the institutional evolution of the EU in the context of current challenges to European security and the prospects of Ukraine’s European integration. It is concluded that the experience of the institutional development of the European Union has important theoretical and practical significance for understanding the legal conditions of Ukraine’s accession to the EU and its further integration into the Union’s institutional structures.