23 Jun 2017

The mixed blessing of the ‘multi-speed’ EU

"The UK decision to leave the EU kicked off the debate of how the remaining 27 member states want to repair and further advance a European integration project. The 60th anniversary of the Rome Treaty celebrated in March 2017 provided an additional impulse to this discussion. In particular, the European Commission (2017) published the White Paper on the Future of Europe followed by the Rome Declaration of the EU27 leaders issued on March 25, 2017. While their language concentrates on declaring EU unity, setting vision of prosperous Europe and willingness to resolve today policy problems it remains less concrete in respect to reform measures required to achieve those goals. However, the process of preparing both documents and, partly, their content triggered a new round of debate on the ‘multi-speed’ EU."

In the latest issue of the World Commerce Review, CASE Fellow Marek Dąbrowski examines the rationale behind a multi-speed European Union and the potential risks that could encourage anti-EU sentiments.

Read the article

Photo: Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0