Atlantic Sentinel

Tag: Multispeed Europe

  • Juncker Falls Back on More-or-Less Europe Dichotomy

    Jean-Claude Juncker Frans Timmermans
    President Jean-Claude Juncker and other members of the European Commission listen to a debate in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, September 14, 2016 (European Parliament)

    European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker’s proposal for closer EU integration is a throwback to the false dichotomy of more or less Europe.

    In his annual State of the Union address, the Luxembourger called for merging the presidencies of the European Commission and the European Council, completing the eurozone and shifting from unanimity to majority voting on important decisions.

    His plans contradict the vision of a “multispeed Europe” that was endorsed by the governments of France, Germany, Italy and Spain earlier this year. (more…)

  • Poland’s Opposition to Multispeed Europe Is Ill-Considered

    Poland’s ruling party has come out against a proposal for more flexible integration in Europe that is supported by the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

    “We cannot accept any announcements of a two-speed Europe,” Jarosław Kaczyński, the head of the conservative Law and Justice party, told the weekly W Sieci.

    This would mean either pushing us out of the European Union or downgrading us to an inferior category of members.

    This is hyperbole.

    The whole idea of a multispeed Europe, as endorsed by the “Big Four” earlier this month, is to break through the false dichotomy of more or less Europe. It would allow countries to integrate at not just one or two but many speeds.

    For example, countries that wish to pool their defense procurement could do so within the context of the EU without militarizing the union as a whole, which is something Poland opposes. (more…)

  • Europe’s Big Four Endorse Integration at Different Speeds

    The leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Spain met on Monday to endorse a proposal from the European Commission to allow countries in the EU to integrate at different speeds.

    German chancellor Angela Merkel said that Europe must accept “that some countries go ahead and can make progress a little faster than others.”

    Her Italian counterpart, Paolo Gentiloni, similarly argued that European Union could see “different levels of integration”.

    Their governments had earlier supported the notion. France and Spain were seen as reluctant. They worry that a multispeed Europe could give way to looser cooperation altogether.

    François Hollande, the outgoing French president, cautiously endorsed the notion of “differentiated cooperations” while Mariano Rajoy said Spain was ready to go further even if other countries lag behind. “Our countries must make choices,” he said. “Because without choices, we will undermine the EU.” (more…)

  • EU Sees Five Possible Futures. Which Is Best and Which Is Likely?

    European Parliament Strasbourg
    Three young women listen to a debate in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, September 14, 2016 (European Parliament)

    The European Commission published a white paper on Wednesday that sets out five possible futures for the European Union.

    The scenarios range from muddling through to something resembling a federal Europe, with three options in between.

    The fact that the EU executive recognizes that it would be misleading to boil the choice down to “more” or “less” Europe is itself a welcome change.

    That doesn’t mean the five scenarios are all-encompassing. One could add an EU collapse on the one end and a United States of Europe on the other. But neither is likely to happen. (more…)

  • From Two to Many Speeds: Striking the Right Balance in Europe

    Angela Merkel
    German chancellor Angela Merkel arrives in Meise, Belgium to meet with other European conservative party leaders, December 19, 2013 (EPP)

    Brexit hasn’t killed off the idea of a two-speed Europe. Patrick Wintour reports for The Guardian that the big three in Western Europe — France, Germany, Italy — are keen to push ahead with closer integration on finance, tax and security, which would leave a peripheral group to continue in a looser federation.

    The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has allied herself to the cause, saying, “We certainly learned from the history of the last years that there will be as well a European Union with different speeds, that not all will participate every time in all steps of integration.”

    That worries countries outside the EU core. (more…)

  • Two-Speed Europe Isn’t the Answer to Britain’s Exit

    Gideon Rachman argues in the Financial Times that European leaders should seize the opportunity of Britain’s exit from the bloc to formally augur in a two-speed Europe that meets the conflicting expectations of pro- and anti-federalist member states.

    As I have reported here, the idea of integration at two speeds was an objective of Britain’s former prime minister, David Cameron, who wrongly betted that a looser relationship with the rest of the EU would convince his electorate to vote to stay in it.

    The British weren’t impressed, however, and voted to leave the European Union in a referendum this summer.

    As an idea, a two-speed Europe is nevertheless still very much alive. It has been embraced by Germany’s Angela Merkel, Europe’s most powerful leader, as well as France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, its once and possibly future president. (more…)