What a fair relationship between ‘euro ins’ and ‘euro outs’ could look like

The relationship between Eurozone members and non-euro states has been cited by David Cameron as one of the key issues in his attempted renegotiation of the UK’s EU membership. Nicolai von Ondarza writes that while some actors have proposed stronger blocking powers for non-euro states, a far better arrangement would be to simply give these countries the power to delay decisions. He argues this would generate increased public scrutiny over outcomes, encouraging Eurozone members to find a suitable compromise that takes the views of non-euro states into account

The Brexit revolution: new political conditions change the dynamics of the next phase of EU-UK negotiations

Following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU), the Brexit negotiations are entering the decisive next phase: In a transition period of now only 10 months, the future relationship between the EU and the United Kingdom with regard to economic, internal security, and foreign policy as well as an overall institu­tional framework must be negotiated. But the signs point to confrontation. The main aim of the domestically strengthened British government is absolute dissociation from the EU; the list with potential points of conflict with the Union’s negotiation objectives is long. Together, the negotiators must find a new model of cooperation between partnership and competition. (author's abstract

The European Parliament's involvement in the EU response to the corona pandemic: a spectator in times of crisis

Since the beginning of 2020, European Union (EU) institutions have adopted a number of measures in response to the corona pandemic to coordinate Member States' con­tain­ment efforts and provide European resources for joint reconstruction. The EU re­covery fund will set the course that will shape European integration. Nevertheless, despite its budgetary rights, the European Parliament (EP) has remained an onlooker for most of these decisions, as it did during the euro and refugee crises. In order to strengthen democratic legitimacy and the European perspective, the EP should be more closely involved in the EU recovery fund in the short term, and in the long term be given a co-decision role in the EU's crisis policy instruments. (author's abstract

Blocked for good by the threat of treaty change? Perspectives for reform in the European Union

The European Union faces a fundamental dilemma. On the one hand, pressure to reform its structures is growing. The hard negotiations with Greece in summer 2015 have revived the debate on deepening the Eurozone, while at the same time London is pushing to roll back integration, at least for itself. On the other hand, national governments reject any moves that would require a treaty change (such as transfer of powers) as politically impossible. Legal options for evading the dilemma and developing the Union by "covert integration" do exist, but these require unanimous political agreement among all the national governments - and would in the medium term require treaty changes to restore transparency and democratic legitimacy. (author's abstract

Strengthening the core or splitting Europe? Prospects and pitfalls of a strategy of differentiated integration

"Differentiated integration has become the de facto method for the EU during the European debt crisis. Fuelled by the pressure to find agreements for closer cooperation of the Euro Member States, new measures like the Fiscal Compact, the Euro-Plus-Pact or Enhanced Cooperation for the financial transaction tax have been adopted only by subgroups of member states. In practice, the EU is therefore splitting into three groups - the Euro-17, the pre-ins like Poland who are committing to joining the common currency and the permanent outsiders like the UK. As a result, the EU has already arrived at a 'core Europe' changing the governance, balance of power and cohesion in the EU. With further deepening of the economic and monetary union on the agenda, the EU now has to address the consequences of differentiated integration and formulate possible strategies for its future use. This conversation must begin with the understanding that deeper integration, intended as a strategy for overcoming the European debt crisis, can only be achieved by means of differentiated integration. In this context, this research paper explores the overall impacts of differentiated integration on the EU to date and examines how its uses have affected EU structures during the European debt crisis. The analysis will provide the basis for a set of recommendations on how the EU and the Eurozone can take the integration steps that are necessary to strengthen the Union's capacity for action while avoiding the fragmentation and unravelling of the EU as a whole." (author's abstract

Euro-sceptics in power: integration-critical parties in the European Parliament and national governments

Following a string of crises that have eroded trust in the European Union, Euro-sceptic parties achieved major gains in the 2014 European elections, and have expanded their share of the vote in almost all regional and national elections held since. Seven national governments now either include or are tolerated by Euro-sceptic parties. In practice, however, their impact on the legislative process in the European Parliament and the Council has been minimal. But the crumbling of the European consensus limits the room for national governments to find compromises at the EU level, above all in relation to the Union's major challenges. The EU therefore needs to secure its future on the basis of its existing level of integration. (Autorenreferat

Core Europe and the United Kingdom: risks, opportunities and side-effects of the British reform proposals

The EU is in the midst of completing one of its most delicate negotiations to date – the talks on the “EU Reform” with which British Prime Minister David Cameron hopes to persuade the British to vote to stay in the Union. The heart of his vision for the EU is flexibility. Britain should be given the opportunity to cut loose from further EU integration and concentrate its membership on a deepened internal market. As such, Cameron is proposing to consolidate his nation’s existing special position within an increasingly differentiating Union. Concrete political considerations aside, the EU states must therefore find answers to two central questions in the negotiations: How much differentiation, how many opt-outs, can the European Union withstand? And how can a single market of 28, a Eurozone of 19 and more permanent differentiation be better managed? (author's abstract