De facto differentiation in action: why Poland will stay in the EU, with or without the blessing of Brussels

Tensions between the Polish government and the European Union have raised speculation about a potential ‘Polexit’. Tobias Hofelich writes that while there is no mechanism for expelling a member state, inaction risks undermining the EU’s legal framework and pushing the principle of differentiated integration to its limits

De facto differentiation in the EU’s economic and monetary union - A rationalist explanation

Although there are various legal tools to make European integration more flexible, the EU and its member states uphold long-term arrangements of de facto differentiation circumventing EU law. This article assesses their role in the EU’s system of differentiated integration. To that end, it advances a model based on rational choice theory, outlining the steps and conditions under which tolerated arrangements of de facto differentiation can emerge. This is illustrated in three case studies in Economic and Monetary Union (EMU): (1) Sweden’s de facto opt-out from EMU; (2) Kosovo’s adoption of the euro as sole legal tender, and (3) the Fiscal Compact. Data was gathered via document analysis and 11 expert interviews. The article concludes that de facto differentiation may constitute a viable alternative and useful means to make EU integration more flexible if strong national demand for differentiation meets the need for discretion or timely, pragmatic action.publishedVersionPaid open acces

De facto differentiation in the EU’s economic and monetary union - A rationalist explanation

publishedVersionPaid Open Acces

Why the EU’s system of flexible integration will likely accommodate Switzerland’s special requests

On 26 May, Switzerland pulled out of negotiations over a new partnership with the European Union. Stefan Gänzle, Tobias Hofelich and Uwe Wunderlich write that while the rhetoric on both sides is likely to become more heated in the coming months, there remains ample scope for a compromise

The European Political Community: a step toward differentiated integration in Europe?

The first meeting of the European Political Community – a new initiative incorporating both EU and non-EU states – will be held later today in Prague. Ahead of the meeting, Stefan Gänzle, Tobias Hofelich and Uwe Wunderlich examine what the new community might mean for cooperation across Europe

Differentiated Disintegration in the Economic Community of West African States, the Eurasian Economic Community and the European Union: A Comparative Regionalism Approach

The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union has sparked interest in voluntary withdrawals from regional organisations (RO). While Brexit is a well-researched subject, other exits from ROs around the globe have been somewhat neglected. We still know relatively little about states’ motivations to leave and how such exits play out in the short and long run. This article addresses both gaps. First, it conceptualises withdrawals from ROs as differentiated disintegration to better grasp the pre- and post-exit dynamics. Second, it puts forth three factor groups explaining states’ reasoning composed of (i) geopolitical and geoeconomic conditions, (ii) intra-regional tensions and (iii) domestic factors. Third, it applies this framework to Uzbekistan’s exit from the EurAsEC, Mauritania’s departure from ECOWAS and the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Despite great differences in the regional setup and level of institutionalisation, we find that strong parallels can be drawn between all three cases

COS Ambassadors

A collection of materials and resources for COS ambassadors