Is flexible integration both necessary and desirable in an enlarged European Union?

Sciences politiques | 4 pages | 05-03-2006 | Format : | Note : Non noté

PRIX : 3.60€ |

Résumé

When talks about the European Constitution collapsed in Brussels last December, it fuelled support for a multi-speed or a core Europe: France hinted that it could engage in a Franco-German union. Since negotiations have got back on track, statements about a core Europe have appeared less frequently. However, with the imminent enlargement to ten new countries, diversity in the European Union will increase substantially, and some view flexible integration as a necessary means of managing this diversity. Flexible integration – or differentiated integration – is a general concept which refers to methods of European integration that do not require all member states to participate in every integration project or which allow member countries to implement European policies at their own pace . The 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam introduced provisions on “closer cooperation”, which allowed a sub-group of member states to deepen a number of policies in the first and third pillars. The Treaty of Nice extended the scope of the instrument to the second pillar and changed the name for “enhanced cooperation”. According to Article 43 of the Treaty establishing the European Union, enhanced cooperation is a last resort and requires eight participating states (not a majority in an enlarged Union). In the first pillar, the Commission has the right to propose enhanced cooperation after interested member states have requested to do so. The decision is taken by qualified majority voting and the European Parliament is consulted, or co-decision applies, depending on the area. In the second and third pillars, the triggering mechanism is a bit different, with less power for the Commission. The draft constitutional treaty currently discussed left those provisions mostly unchanged ...

Recommandations

Du même auteur

Nouveautés dans la rubrique Sciences politiques

Les plus visités dans la matière Sciences politiques