scholarly journals Narrating Integration and Disintegration in Europe: Italy’s View

2017 ◽  
pp. 6-24
Author(s):  
Victoria Vdovychenko
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Economic Governance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Eurozone Crisis ◽  
Specific Interest ◽  
Pragmatic Approach ◽  
Founding Member ◽  
Differentiated Integration ◽  
The Eu

EU’s economic and political challenges open a new page of the European integration history. The Eurozone crisis and challenges presented by Brexit enhanced scholars from various countries to analyze and rethink about the future of the European integration and EU as a whole. The paths of the differentiated integration present a specific interest in this article. This kind of integration is becoming more and more popular among politicians and researchers in their affords to demonstrate a pragmatic approach how to re-start the integration process. This article will outline the issues framed by the differentiated integration in Italy, a founding member of the European Union. Moreover, it presents an attempt to apply the principles of differentiated integration to some of the politics: political and economic governance in the EU. The article poses the question to what extent the political fluidity will be necessary in order for the EU to still remain solid tackling common economic and political challenges. The article presents the opinions of the Italian scholars and politicians referred to the differentiated integration. The first part of it theorizes the concept of differentiated integration and presents an evolution of scholars’ thoughts starting from the mid-90s. The second part of the article reveals the challenges of the EU, the European integration process and the implications on the Italian Republic. It tries to show how Italy manages to overcome the present integration challenges.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Frank Schimmelfennig ◽  
Thomas Winzen
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Slippery Slope ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Class Membership ◽  
Differentiated Integration ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Reform Debate

The concept of differentiated integration has become a cornerstone of the debate on the reform and future of the European Union. This chapter introduces key concerns in this debate including the view that deeper integration will require greater differentiation and the fear that this will put the EU on a slippery slope towards ‘ever looser union’ and ‘two-class membership’. This introductory chapter summarizes the book’s arguments about the EU reform debate and differentiated integration. Among others, it states that differentiated integration has not produced ‘ever looser union’ but has been predominantly ‘multi-speed’ differentiation. Whereas differentiation has facilitated European integration under conditions of increasing international heterogeneity, it is an obstacle towards European solidarity and the consolidation of integration. It concludes with an overview of the chapters.

scholarly journals Differentiated Integration and Disintegration in the EU: Brexit, the Eurozone Crisis, and Other Troubles

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 489-507
Author(s):  
Menelaos Markakis
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Outer Core ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Eurozone Crisis ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
Differentiated Integration ◽  
The Eu

Abstract This article looks at theories of differentiated integration and disintegration in the wake of the Eurozone crisis and the Brexit referendum. It advances four distinct, albeit interrelated, arguments with respect to these proposals. First, it could be contested whether certain policy areas should be pushed to the ‘outer core’ of European integration. Second, it would be very difficult to disentangle those areas to be pushed to the ‘outer core’ from those areas remaining in the ‘inner core’. Third, the legal and institutional arrangements for organizing differentiated integration are equally important. Fourth, even if the problems adumbrated above could be addressed satisfactorily, the emerging arrangements for differentiated integration would differ little from the degree of flexibility or variation that already exists within some of those areas. Brexit may be viewed as an opportunity for reform to ‘fix’ those issues that are regarded as problematic in the design or functioning of the EU. Should it appear desirable to pursue differentiated integration, the better course of action would be to build on those opportunities for differentiated integration that are offered by the EU Treaties. Any forthcoming Treaty revision to take stock of Brexit could be used to give added impetus to differentiated integration.

scholarly journals EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AND GOVERNANCE – CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES

2018 ◽  
pp. 186-213
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Economic Governance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Governance Model ◽  
Standards Of Living ◽  
Governance Challenges ◽  
Decision Making System ◽  
The One ◽  
The Eu

European integration is largely seen as a process that has delivered stability and peace, as well as the economic prosperity of the Member States of the European Union (EU). It has helped to raise standards of living and build an internal market. But, there are more and more arguments that the EU decision-making system is not effective and the governance model is obsolete. Some are pointing out increasingly rising divergence on crucial EU policy matters. Others are arguing that the EU has been confronted with the challenge of heterogeneity, stressing the issue of immigration as the one of the most contentious policy matters currently facing the EU. Besides those controversial issues inside EU and different positions among member states there is Brexit. The paper analyses in particular the issue of EU economic governance and one of its main pillars – the European Semester. The Country Specific Recommendations, as the integral part of the economic governance model are presented in a view of the new framework envisaged to tighten budgetary coordination and keep the deficit and debt levels in accordance to the EU rules.

Comment on ‘The European Union building from Public Choice to Ordo, Röpke’s and Einaudi’s ideas of Europe’ by Francesco Forte

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-36
Author(s):  
Domenico D’Amico ◽  
Carla Scaglioni
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Economic Governance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
European Economic ◽  
Original Insight ◽  
Second World

In his very elaborate analysis, Forte takes on several issues regarding the European integration process, offering an original insight into the foundations of European economic governance. In particular, the author looks to expand current results in the relevant literature in several directions. On the theoretical front, Forte departs from James Buchanan’s economic theory of clubs to provide a club-theoretic template to both the European Union and European Monetary Union. He arrives at the belief of ‘the incompleteness of the European institutional construct and the misunderstandings about its basic principles’. His argument relies on the similarities that he recognises between Buchanan’s view of European federalism and the German ordoliberalism roots of the European integration process, which can be traced from the founding of the European Community onward. On the empirical front, Forte identifies a potential polarisation among countries within the euro area during the crisis that occurred over the last ten years. According to him, this dualism within the euro club is due to a ‘violation’ of the ideals and the operational suggestions proposed by Buchanan, Ordo, Röpke and Einaudi. In this comment, we briefly describe what became for most member states of the European Union the worst economic and social crisis since the Second World War that led to a new architecture of European economic governance. Subsequently, we highlight significant results presented by Forte and elaborate how these results fit into the existing literature.

Complexity and Cultural Sources of Law in the EU Context: From the Multilevel Constitutionalism to the Constitutional Synallagma

2007 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Martinico
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Complex Systems ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Complex Entity ◽  
The Eu

In this work I will try to analyse the latest trends of the European integration process in light of the notion of complexity, conceived as a bilaterally active relationship between diversities.This notion of complexity comes from a comparison among the different meanings of this word as used in several disciplines (law, physics, mathematics, psychology, philosophy) and recovers the etymological sense of this concept (complexity from Latin complexus= interlaced). The effort to find a common linguistic core could cause ambiguity but I would like to take the risk because only a multidisciplinary approach can “catch” the hidden dimension of the European process I argue that the European Union legal order is a “complex” entity that shares some features with complex systems in natural sciences: non-reducibility, unpredictability, non-reversibility and non-determinability.

scholarly journals Presidency of Germany in the European Union as factor of development of European integration process (the second half 2020)

2021 ◽  
pp. 25-37
Author(s):  
Andrii Martynov
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
The United States ◽  
Modern World ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Eu

The article is devoted to Germany’s presidency in the European Union in the second half of 2020. This was a critical period in the modern history of the process of European integration. Conflicting tendencies emerged during the negotiations on the terms of the Brexit. The budget policy of the European Union required approval. The key tasks of the German presidency were the internal problems of the European Union. But it was not possible to focus exclusively on immanent issues. The pandemic has exacerbated international problems. German diplomacy joined in the settlement of the Greek-Turkish controversy. Germany and France have reached a common position on an agreement on the terms of Britain’s withdrawal from the Brexit. Germany has reached a compromise on the adoption of the European Union budget for the period up to 2027. A large fund was created to support the European economy during the pandemic. Germany has set trends for the development of the European Union’s relations with key partners: the United States, Russia, and China. Germany welcomed Joseph Biden’s victory in the US presidential election. The European Union is considering resuming negotiations on a transatlantic free trade area with the United States. The EU and the US are ready to renew the Euro-Atlantic partnership. The interaction between the EU and the US is designed to protect liberal democracy in the modern world. With the assistance of Germany, the European Union has signed an investment agreement with China. Beijing has pledged to introduce social security guarantees and limit human rights abuses. Russia’s authoritarian threats remain a challenge to the European integration process. During Germany’s presidency of the European Union, the results of the presidential election in Belarus and the poisoning of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny became conflicting issues. The German presidency was successful. In the internal policy of the European Union it was possible to form a strategy of ecological renewal of the European economy. The success of the environmental modernization of the EU economy systematically depends on the internal capacity of elites and European societies to implement this course and on the favorable balance of power in a globalized world.

scholarly journals Analysis of the European integration process Baltic countries: experience for Ukraine

2020 ◽  
pp. 22-27
Author(s):  
Yu. Masyk
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Member States ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
The Eu

The article analyzes the peculiarities of the integration of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia into the European Union. The stages are highlighted, the principles and mechanisms of the European integration policy of the Baltic States are clarified. The problems of Ukraine's adaptation to the requirements of the European Union, in particular the conditions of the Copenhagen criteria, ways to use the relevant experience of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are revealed. Recommendations for further rapprochement of Ukraine with the EU are considered. The accession of dozens of new countries to the EU in May 2004 marked a qualitatively new stage in the integration process both in Europe and in the world. As a result of the largest enlargement of the European Union, the state of the economy in the old member states has changed significantly, but rather it has had decisive consequences in all areas of the economy for the new member states. Analysis of the positive and negative phenomena that accompanied the enlargement of the EU is important for countries that have or are considering joining the EU in the future, in the formation of long-term economic policy and deciding on the directions of their integration. The closest to Ukraine in terms of development in the EU are the countries of Central Europe and the Baltics, so their experience will be useful for our country. Integration with the European Union was less difficult for the three Baltic states than for many other accessing countries, due to their strong social impetus to join Western political, economic and legal culture after they regained their independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. However, the accession of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had several distinctive features related to constitutional origin and institutions, which had a strong impact on the resolution of problems between the government and the EU institutions. The path taken by the Baltic countries upon accession to the EU was difficult and their role in the EU was not easy. Today, the EU-related agenda requires more skills than ever before in finding allies and choosing partners.

scholarly journals Morality in the Service of Mercantilism: Ordoliberalism, the German National Interest and European Economic Governance in the Eurozone Crisis and Beyond

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel Goodliffe
Keyword(s):  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Governance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eurozone Crisis ◽  
Comparative Political Economy ◽  
European Monetary ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
The Eu

<p>Numerous studies attribute the Eurozone crisis and the failure to resolve it to German elites’ and voters’ fealty to Ordoliberalism. This interpretation is shared by the otherwise antagonistic historical institutionalist and ideational schools of comparative political economy, which both hold that it was German policy institutions’ or leaders’ ordoliberal principles that brought them to blame the crisis in the Eurozone’s periphery on fiscal profligacy and to intervene “too little, too late” for fear of violating Ordoliberalism’s central liability principle. This article posits that this ordoliberal interpretive and prescriptive framework is inadequate to explain Germany’s response to the Eurozone crisis. Deploying a neoclassical realist framework, the article argues that Ordoliberalism was pursued as a strategic idea when it was consistent with core German economic and political interests, notably the preservation of the country’s export-led growth model and leadership of the European Union (EU), as well as the principal institutions, such as the Single Market and European Monetary Union (EMU), advancing these interests. Conversely, when a strict application of its principles ran counter to the latter, German decisionmakers demurred from pursuing Ordoliberalism. The article considers the political implications of Germany’s selective pursuit of Ordoliberalism for the EU. It concludes that this strategy may be undermining the functional basis and political legitimacy of German hegemonic governance in Europe.</p>

The Takeoff after Lisbon: The Practical and Theoretical Implications of Differentiated Integration in the EU

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Boglárka Koller
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Lisbon Treaty ◽  
The Self ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Differentiated Integration ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Eu

Differentiated integration is one of the ‘magic’ concepts of integration theories. Although differentiated integration exists in the European integration since the establishment of the Rome Treaty, only in the last ten years became a new direction of European integration. Supporting this, the evolution of the concept is introduced with special emphasis on the various political, legal and academic interpretations. This paper analyses differentiated integration within the Lisbon Treaty and argues that it is a milestone in the realization of it. The paper further argues that differentiated integration is an approach that reinterprets the existing and so far used ‘big’ theories of European integration (federalist, liberal intergovernmental, neo-functionalist, MLG theories etc) and provides new ideas for the self-definition of the European Union itself and in the same time may serve as a pragmatic way out from the scepticism and incapacity that surrounds the contemporary discourses on the ‘finalité politique’ of the EU.

Brexit and the Future of the European Union

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Fabbrini
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
European Integration ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Member States ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

This book examines how the European Union has changed during Brexit and because of Brexit, while also reflecting on the developments of the EU besides Brexit and beyond Brexit. It argues that the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU—the first ever case of disintegration since the start of the European integration process—creates an urgent need to reform the EU. In fact, while the EU institutions and its Member States have remained united in their negotiations vis-à-vis the UK, Brexit has created transitional problems for the EU, and exposed other serious fissures in its system of governance which need to be addressed moving forward. As the EU goes through another major crisis in the form of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the case for increasing the effectiveness and the legitimacy of the EU grows stronger. In this context, the book analyses the plan to establish a Conference on the Future of Europe, considering its precedents and discussing its prospects.

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