The Future of Europe after Brexit: Towards a Reform of the European Union and its Euro Area

Abstract

The European Union (EU) is under pressure. Crises, undesirable developments, and loss of confidence are mixed up into a diffuse picture of justified criticism, unease, ignorance, and populist rejection. Paradoxically, perhaps the fact that the EU, with all of its advantages, is so naturally present in the everyday lives of citizens today implies a risk for future of European integration. What is taken for granted may suddenly dissolve, not overnight, but in a creeping process that will only be realized in a historical retrospective. The EU has been in a crisis mode for several years now,12 culminating in a ‘poly-crisis’ in 2016. With the global financial crisis and the crisis in the euro area fuelled by it,3 as well as the migration and security crisis in the ‘area of freedom, security and justice’ (the so-called Schengen Area),4 it became evident that two of the integration steps initiated with the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 had led to ‘fair weather areas’ that were not sufficiently prepared for stormy times. In addition, Brexit has, for the first time, confronted the EU with the challenge of dealing with the withdrawal of a member state in organizational (Article 50 of the Treaty of European Union (TEU)) and—behind the scenes—in political terms: The impression of an EU in constant crisis, unable to deliver solutions and stability is supposed to be one of the—many—reasons for the negative result of the British referendum in 2016.5 There can be no doubt that European integration has been a successful project for peace, one which started in 1951 with the creation of a common market for coal and steel (European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) Treaty). It was in this spirit that the Treaty on the European Economic Community (EEC Treaty) of 1957 emphasized in its preamble the goal of an ‘ever closer union’, in the course of which the integration of the national economies into a single market was to serve to secure peace and motivate Europe’s states and peoples subsequently to pursue political integration too. With the EEC Treaty and the 1985 White Paper on the completion of the internal market, including the limited 1986 reform treaty (the Single European Act), a European single market gradually came into being. Implementation of the single market brought in its wake the Europeanization and partial harmonization of flanking policies, resulting in the development of European environment, health, consumer protection and—in part—social policies.6 This made the EU a European community of values, a process reinforced by the 1992 Maastricht Treaty: drawing lessons from the dictatorships of the twentieth century, it guarantees human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.7 However, what has been achieved threatens to erode: a common and efficient response to the crises is made difficult because there is no consensus, either among the 27 among European on the and future of the EU This is not to the fact that in the euro area on as the Europeanization of financial and with for national In the Schengen no are in the area of a European and including internal security with to the European internal market, the of which is to as a result of and the with it and in the of and a difficult to In an EU that has with is to in that are the time, has made the EU and This not only to and in the but to in Europe’s of the European on the national and that are for and Union in which been a in European are on the the result is that European is not and The goal of the of European achieved by of its is up the in the European citizens the EU and its to this is not the there is a by the EU, on the one and on the In this the EU two national were successful in on the of political in were not of so to European and Implementation and in the are for the fact that the European in the to in and in The and of European is under in as well as in it is that of crises not been for a time, in the political It is in this that the EU has to and efficient it to and The on the of be an in this in all in and the of the However, this process is to be the EU will to and a in to a In this the White Paper on the future of by the on for for the to of the Treaty of the European Union the EU on the of for human freedom, democracy, the rule of and for human are the to the the of the EU a of and by all member states as a for to the EU the of the of national and in the The of the that all a of in of the rule of democracy, and the of and for the of the and by all EU with to the EU the of national and the common of European a of to this European and national are and a in the of which is not only to the European the European to and national In the of European integration this in the process of that European a the of a political by which the European of can be The European rule of is the of European of the rule of the EU is a of It was the European first the of to that the of European is a and a for the common the with which is by the and the of of the European Union as as 1986 it has the European Economic Community as community on the rule of of the in which the the Community are from are in with the the the as a and In the of the to from the of the the Treaty on the to its a state to to its of national the and from its to the Community into the of Community and the of and all of the of the state which the Community This in the of by by the fact of to the Community the of the Community This of in European in the of in a for in an and This as well to European in Europe’s of the European on the national and that are for and Union among the in of the and of the is a for in the EU and the of the EU among its With to the rule of this was by the The European that the of a European the of may be in of a and of the of as by a under the the to that to the of the rule of in there are two to this for the of the national to from the EU as the rule of the of that a to with European it is not to its the can and up the in and EU to the of the single market, the euro the of for citizens the Schengen but not to the and for the by the of the and by the of in to an and European that into the of among as well as the of the EU as a EU is by a of EU but by the of a and of that This by the EU and the of its on the one and on the is to the and in in the of the to the of The as an in the White this It from a of EU as the and of EU is in the of by This is in the a this may be in the of the so-called migration crisis, the EU has been for its to the of the EU and the in the of and and as a of European integration are on the that all a of in of the rule of democracy, and and the has fuelled the the of the and with it in a European Union as a community of the in as well as the in the of and are a The political it difficult for the to a on the and the future of the This is the White Paper on the future of by the European not a and of it for for the development of the up to In are by on the of and the reform of the and and the The is that in the of the on the White Paper was to for on the by be by a and and and a of for reform from the which of the in the European this of This is one of the the White Paper on the future of the EU not a with reform it that are not to be as but are to a process of the and citizens the for is on the process of as the in the crisis of 2016. In the wake of the the and EU the in to the the EU and a for the of the EU the of the Community be in the of of the for there is no in the and Europe’s and not and no is taken of the European of internal there is a risk that on the internal be on a and the the EU to the single market and to This the single market the by in the wake of the 1985 White The on the environment, consumer health, and the protection of be into as and only a development to the of a market in of the Treaty on the of the EU it in the of European for to the and the national This not only of but and the and and only the EU can the of the to up of a for the which from under to the of a with In this the and be to In the EU on a of the political and be in in to on and on the its in be up This is not to the that the EU is in the and is not in of the European in this is to the what the EU and a that the of European This a to the that the EU in the and to deliver on the the integration (the of for a in for a this are the by all of the to and all European The EU is the it to a European and in the euro a European migration and security in the Schengen area and a European and to this by the with the so-called by the European to the two the of state and were to to the for the future in the White Paper and the so that the European in on was supposed to on a reform for the to be by This not in the as the Brexit and its the the on the migration and the of the euro area a reform this the on the of the for a and deliver However, are not an in to an has to be With this the EU has to a the and the This not be but a and on a of the efficient implies that the EU has a to which the EU to the and that citizens it to European and European on and on for the of that the EU on the EU has the for on political to the first and political with an to the In the the and of a single market, including protection and its for all policies, and as well as the stability of the euro by closer political of and with In addition, the of Union citizens in the ‘area of freedom, security and justice’ is to be the of with a migration and security This is to be by the development of a European and efficient with to political the EU, the time, to the of the for this is a European to that a for the political the for the of political to the European in the to the so a for in the of the of of the European and the of of the European be under a single the two of of the European and of the European the of the EU and by the and the European and deliver on in of the of a in that the process and in and This not an to will a of the will to European is on a European be an to the and of the EU European In with the of and the the of the of the two the of citizens European this were in the of the European with the process and the by by and the result be a the of the EU that the to with The EU has to on the be to a of for a and all for the on a by a European with a citizens the European in all the of the is a of political to the Treaty of its be with no Treaty the and harmonization of the European on the one and the European on the will a The political process this challenge will as the will an on the in the of for the European the EU to the of one from to the with the of in the euro the is to the creation of a European Economic and the of the and the of the with the of the European into a European the EU to a limited of in by political it has to deliver on which are In this efficient can be in a of can be by a of the with no Treaty by the so In the area of the internal market and for the of is for this in the and for the to and in be be Treaty as well as are not only a of and but a of on efficient with to the and as well as in the and in This because of a of EU as the and of EU is in the of by the and the EU is in of a of a the EU and its the of as a a the of be on the of a of on the one and the of on the In this the of in serve as a The for the and national for in the of a of in the the a the had with national is the 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