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Abstract:
The Treaty of Rome talked of 'ever closer union', and it was assumed that all Member States would move forward together in each stage of European integration. However, following 'opt-outs' in the Maastricht Treaty and further enlargement, it has seemed increasingly likely that the European Union will become less uniform in future. This text explores the forms that it might take.
The author shows that there has been a great deal of confusion in the usage of concepts such as a 'multi-speed Europe' and 'a Europe of variable geometry', which the Treaty of Amsterdam has done little to allay. After elucidating the various models of integration implied by the different terms, Junge examines the problems that will be encountered with enlargement and asks whether the 'flexibility clause' will be sufficient to deal with the complexity of the European Union in the 21st Century.
Individual chapters look at the interdependence of deepening and widening in the process of European integration; the dilemma between deepening and widening in the late 1990s and possible solutions; and the debate on differentiated integration in the context of the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference and the flexibility clause of the Treaty of Amsterdam.
The publications in the European Dossier series, started in 1989, present accessible analyses of EU policies, institutions and related themes. Concise yet comprehensive, they are commissioned by the London European Research Centre, University of North London. The European Dossiers are a useful resource for teachers and an invaluable source of information for anyone with an interest in the EU. Issued five times per year, the Dossiers are published by Kogan Page in association with the London European Research Centre.
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