Differentiated Integration and European Union Politics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Schimmelfennig
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Path Dependence ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Institutional Practice ◽  
European Democracy ◽  
Differentiated Integration ◽  
International Diversity ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
Relationship Of

Differentiated integration has become a core feature of the European Union. Whereas in uniform integration, all member states (and only member states) equally participate in all integrated policies, in differentiated integration, member and non-member states participate in EU policies selectively. At its core, differentiated integration is formally codified in EU treaties and legislation. The study of differentiated integration has long remained limited to policy-oriented conceptual debate. “Multi-speed integration,” “core Europe,” and “Europe à la carte” are prominent labels that have resulted from this debate. Theoretical and systematic empirical analysis of differentiated integration is a more recent phenomenon. Demand for differentiated integration is theorized to be rooted in international diversity of country size, wealth, and national identity, which result in heterogeneity of integration preferences, interdependence, and state capacities. In addition, agreement on differentiated integration depends on the size and bargaining power of the insider and outsider groups, the externalities that differentiation produces, and the institutional context in which negotiations take place. Finally, differentiated integration is subject to centrifugal and centripetal dynamics of path dependence and institutional practice. Evaluations of differentiated integration vary between negative assessments based on the principles of legal unity, European democracy, and solidarity and positive assessments based on demoi-cratic standards and the facilitation of integration. More research is needed on the relationship of differentiated integration with other forms of flexibility in the EU, citizen attitudes, and party positions on differentiated integration and the effects of differentiation.

13. The European Commission

2020 ◽  
pp. 238-256
Author(s):  
Simon Bulmer ◽  
Owen Parker ◽  
Ian Bache ◽  
Stephen George ◽  
Charlotte Burns
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Relations ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Actor ◽  
Member States ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
Eu Policies

This chapter examines the European Commission’s functions and structure, along with its role in policy making. The Commission initiates legislation, may act as a mediator, manages some policy areas, is guardian of the Treaties, is a key actor in international relations, and the ‘conscience of the European Union’. The chapter proceeds by discussing the debate on the extent to which the Commission is an autonomous political actor or simply an agent of the member states. Finally, it analyses the increasing challenges faced by the Commission in securing effective implementation of EU policies and its response to concerns over its financial management of EU programmes.

scholarly journals Economic convergence on different spatial levels: the conflict between cohesion and growth

2006 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Kramar
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Common Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Level ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
Conflicting Goals

Abstract The analysis of economic disparities within the European Union strongly depends on the regional level considered. Whereas the economic gap between the member states has decreased over the last decades, regional disparities have rather deepened. The reason for these contradictory findings can be found in the increasing disparities within many of the member states: Especially in growing economies the gap between urban centres and rural peripheries tends to widen. The spatial concentration of research and development, high skilled labour, infrastructure and foreign investment in the capitals will therefore supposably become a big challenge for the accession countries, which will have to face increasing international competition. Joining a common market of more than 450 million people means new opportunities, challenges and threats for economic development, which have to be faced by local, regional and national governments as well as by European institutions. EU-policies act in the dichotomy between the conflicting goals of economic growth and cohesion. Since they strongly influence regional conditions for production it is of great political interest whether a certain measure fosters economic efficiency by favouring the highly developed centres or rather enhances convergence by promoting lagging regions. The answer is, however, not trivial and needs closer examination: Measures encouraging regional cohesion on the European level can also increase disparities within a state or a region at the same time. This is the reason why the regional effects of EU-policies have to be analysed on different spatial levels. Dealing with the spatial impacts of various European Policies (Regional Policy, TransEuropean Networks, Common Agricultural Policy, Research and Technological Development Policy) there is some evidence that these policies try to compensate the effects of growing competition in the common market by concentrating their efforts on urban growth poles within the underdeveloped countries. Doing that, the European Union comes up to the two conflicting goals of growth and cohesion by promoting efficient economic development in the member states on the one hand and regional convergence on the European level on the other. This approach is of course mainly directed at European objectives and brings about new problems for the member states: According to the principle of subsidiarity the growing divergence within the member states is, however, not a policy task of the European Union but of the member states: Therefore national politics are still required to take on responsibility for these intranational problems by adopting their transport, regional and economic policies to the new challenge.

scholarly journals Enhanced Cooperation, EMU Reforms and Their Implications for Differentiation in the European Union

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-106
Author(s):  
Tomasz Kubin
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Maastricht Treaty ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Future ◽  
Differentiated Integration ◽  
Treaty Of Amsterdam ◽  
The Eu

Abstract Initially, before the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty, differences in integration between members of the European Communities (EC; later the European Union) were relatively few and usually temporary in nature. The Schengen Agreement, the Maastricht Treaty and the Treaty of Amsterdam, and the possibility of establishing enhanced cooperation meant that the problem was becoming more and more important in the functioning of the EU—both in theory and in practice. The objective of the paper is to show that for several years, along with the stagnation in the deepening of integration between all the EU Member States, differentiation of integration in the EU is progressing very rapidly. The progressing differentiation in the EU is a consequence of mainly two processes: the development of enhanced cooperation and reforms in the eurozone, which are strengthened by the widening of the EU. The article covers the issue of the categorization of differentiation of European Union integration, which constitutes the theoretical framework for further considerations. Specified processes which contribute to increasing the differentiation of the EU are discussed, showing the development of enhanced cooperation in the EU and presenting the reforms of the eurozone. The article concludes with the identification and the consequences of differentiated integration, both those that have already occurred and those that may occur in the future.

scholarly journals European Union & its Contribution to the Development of Society and Nation

2019 ◽  
pp. 42-69
Author(s):  
Masum Billah
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Monetary Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
Economic Union ◽  
Common Policies ◽  
Full Force ◽  
The Eu

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2 (1,728,099 sq mi) and an estimated population of about 513 million. The EU has developed an internal single market through a standardized system of laws that apply in all member states in those matters, and only those matters, where members have agreed to act as one. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the internal market, enact legislation in justice and home affairs and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. For travel within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished. A monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002 and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency.

scholarly journals Polityka w zakresie badań i rozwoju technologicznego Unii Europejskiej jako przykład integracji formalnie i faktycznie zróżnicowanej

Politeja ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (54) ◽  
pp. 79-92
Author(s):  
Leszek Kwieciński
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Research And Development ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Development Policy ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Structural Policy ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Differentiated Integration

Research and Development Policy of the European Union as an Example of Formal and Real Differentiated IntegrationIn this paper has been analysed a concept of the differentiated integration and their main criteria. This allows to show the formal and legal sphere of this concept, especially in the Research and Technological Development Policy of the European Union. As a result it was noted that the described EU structural policy is an area of deep formal and real diversity that runs both between EU Member States and other public‑private stakeholders, such as universities or enterprises. This fact contributed to present two scenarios for the further evolution of European integration in the area of Research and Technological Development Policy.

Micula and Others v. Romania

2021 ◽  
Vol 196 ◽  
pp. 629-677
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Investment ◽  
The State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Union Law ◽  
Member States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Municipal Law ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Arbitration Award

629Arbitration — Arbitration award — International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) — ICSID Convention, 1965 — Article 54 — Enforcement proceedings — Arbitration (International Investment Disputes) Act 1966 implementing ICSID Convention in domestic lawRelationship of international law and municipal law — Treaties — ICSID Convention, 1965 — Obligations of the State under ICSID Convention — European Union law — Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union — Article 351 — Duty of sincere co-operation — Whether obligations of the State under EU law interfering with enforcement of an ICSID arbitration awardTreaties — Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union — Article 351 — Obligations of Member States of the European Union — Conflicting treaty obligations — Obligations arising under pre-EU treaties — Obligations arising under EU Treaties themselves — Whether EU Treaties affecting duty of a Member State to respect rights of non-member States under prior agreement — The law of the United Kingdom

13. The European Commission

2014 ◽  
pp. 231-248
Author(s):  
Ian Bache ◽  
Simon Bulmer ◽  
Stephen George ◽  
Owen Parker
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Relations ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Actor ◽  
Member States ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
Eu Policies

This chapter examines the European Commission’s functions and structure, along with its role in policy making. The Commission initiates legislation, may act as a mediator, manages some policy areas, is guardian of the Treaties, is a key actor in international relations, and the ‘conscience of the European Union’. The chapter proceeds by discussing the debate on the extent to which the Commission is an autonomous political actor or simply an agent of the member states. Finally, it analyses the increasing challenges faced by the Commission in securing effective implementation of EU policies and its response to concerns over its financial management of EU programmes.

scholarly journals Justice and Home Affairs in the European Union

Social Work ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Trauner ◽  
Ariadna Ripoll Servent
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Opt Out ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
The Eu

Justice and home affairs (JHA) has grown into a relevant and complex field of research. It encompasses European Union (EU) policies of high political salience including asylum, migration, border control, counterterrorism, and police cooperation, as well as criminal and civil law. The processes of European integration and “communitarization” have drawn the attention of the academic community. In the 1990s, the EU’s cooperation on JHA expanded when it embarked on the objective of creating an Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice (AFSJ). It implied that the member states lifted competences that touch upon core features of the state—notably, the capacity to control the territory and to exert the use of legitimate force—to the EU level. From the outset, this was too intrusive for some member states such as the United Kingdom, which gained far-reaching “opt-out” rights. As a matter of fact, JHA encompasses a range of highly sensitive policies and has become increasingly politicized since the 2000s. Questions of security, civil liberties, and belonging are now at the forefront of the political and media agenda. There is an intense struggle over how to define identities in an increasingly diverse European society and how to distinguish “oneself” from an external “other.” Having a clear stance on these questions can determine whether governments win or lose elections. The EU’s cooperation and role in JHA are therefore interlinked with the debate over the meaning of nationhood in the interconnected world of the early 21st century. To what extent can and should European states be free to decide on issues such as immigration? JHA has also become a defining factor in the EU’s relations with the rest of the world. It is a challenge for the EU to define—and implement—immigration regimes for third-country nationals as well as to cooperate with (at times authoritarian) third countries on counterterrorism and other JHA issues. This contribution offers a summary of the main literature in the JHA field. It is important to note that there are specialized debates and discussions in some subfields of JHA (for instance, migration studies). We only touch upon these policy debates and focus on studies looking at EU JHA more generally. Our approach is to offer a description of classic literature with newer JHA research. We start by looking at books discussing the development of JHA in the EU. We then outline the main debates in JHA research (e.g., security versus liberty), followed by an analysis of the main dynamics of EU decision-making. We also reflect upon different debates in the literature on the external dimension of EU JHA policies. The contribution ends with a discussion on data sources and networking opportunities.

Normalization

2020 ◽  
pp. 107-119
Author(s):  
Frank Schimmelfennig ◽  
Thomas Winzen
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
European Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
New Member States ◽  
Differentiated Integration ◽  
Accession Process ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Empirical Analysis

Focusing on the 2004 and 2007 Eastern enlargement of the European Union, this chapter traces the ‘normalization’ of differentiated integration after new countries become member states. The chapter explains pre-accession tensions between demands of member states to limit the membership benefits of the applicant countries, and demands of the applicants to help them deal with the burdens of joining a competitive European market. It also explores the post-accession process in which new member states are in a better position to avoid discriminatory differentiation but still have to cope with the repercussions of accession differentiation. The empirical analysis shows that almost all accession differentiation—both preferential and discriminatory—disappears within ten to fifteen years of membership.

scholarly journals Changes in the standard of living of chosen countries that joined the European Union after 2004

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (4 (48)) ◽  
pp. 1295-1307
Author(s):  
Mateusz MUSIAŁ
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
Standard Of Living ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
Taxonomic Methods ◽  
Level Of Living ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

Abstract: The article is devoted to the issue of changes in standard of living, which were noted in the Member States that joined the EU structures after 2004. An attempt was made to capture the impact of EU policies on the level of living standards in the Member States. The time taken in the study covers the years 2004-2014. The year of the largest enlargement in EU history was adopted as the beginning of the period. The study used taxonomic methods, in particular the Hellwig development index.

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