Project description
A theory of EU differentiation
Brexit occurred during a challenging period for the EU: simultaneously with the Euro crisis and the European migration and refugee crisis. Brexit spotlighted some of the EU’s vulnerabilities, and a number of Member States expressed concerns that brought into question the integration project overall. Today, the EU is considering differentiation options, with the EU’s White Paper recommending differentiation to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the circumstances. It remains unknown whether the current differentiation is the problem or part of the solution. The EU-funded EU3D project will implement a novel and rigorous analytical approach to studying the multilevel EU’s institutional and constitutional structures. It will develop a theory of differentiation analysing its acceptability, sustainability and legitimacy, apposite to the current debate.
Objective
The UK’s decision to leave the EU sent shock-waves through an EU that had gone through an unprecedented process of integration extending for seven decades. Brexit came at a propitious moment for a Union that was still reeling from the effects of the Euro-crisis, the refugee crisis and other challenges, which had exposed the EU’s vulnerabilities, and served as a reminder that member states may not continue on the same integrationist track. It is widely recognised that the EU that emerged from the crises is more differentiated, but it is not clear if differentiation is part of the problem or part of the solution. All political systems are differentiated, but the EU is distinct in the way it is structured, and in the way in which the process of integration is structured and conducted. The EU’s White Paper contains proposals that variously recommend more and less differentiation. EU3D’s main objective is to develop and apply to the EU and beyond a theory of differentiation that specifies the conditions under which differentiation is politically acceptable, institutionally sustainable and democratically legitimate, and the conditions under which it is not, i.e. when conditions of dominance prevail. EU3D does that through comprehensive analyses of the multilevel EU’s institutional and constitutional make-up across a range of policy areas. To properly address this critical issue, EU3D has devised an innovative analytical approach and a framework of research that provides the necessary benchmarks and that moves research well beyond the state-of-the-art, both theoretically and empirically. Further, EU3D will have an impact on the debate on the future of Europe by a) systematically analysing a broad range of proposals; b) mobilising knowledge and competence of a broad and multidisciplinary network of scholars, practitioners, stake-holders and publics from across Europe; and c) providing policy and polity recommendations that have been tested against EU3D’s benchmarks.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
- H2020-EU.3.6. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Europe In A Changing World - Inclusive, Innovative And Reflective Societies Main Programme
- H2020-EU.3.6.1.2. - Trusted organisations, practices, services and policies that are necessary to build resilient, inclusive, participatory, open and creative societies in Europe, in particular taking into account migration, integration and demographic change
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
H2020-SC6-GOVERNANCE-2018-2019-2020
See other projects for this callSub call
H2020-SC6-GOVERNANCE-2018
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
0313 Oslo
Norway