Administrative and Political Perspectives of the EU’s Reform: Focus on Permanent Structured Cooperation

Valentin Naumescu

doi:10.24193/tras.si2018.4

Abstract

Shortly after the Brexit referendum, it became clear that the EU 27 needs structural reforms. The main discourses on the EU’s reform usually incorporate political and administrative approaches, reflecting ideological and strategic orientations but also public policy options and governance criteria. One of the most important and debated topics in this process is the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in the field of defense, which was constantly rejected by the UK until June 2016. The aim of this article is to identify, explore and compare the main perspectives with regard to the reform of the European Union, with a focus on PESCO. We take into consideration the views expressed by European political leaders as well as high ranking officials from central administration in the EU Member States but also at NATO level. Based on a qualitative comparative research of the major discourses and projects in the field, this analysis indicates possible directions in which PESCO could advance in the coming years, but also some vulnerabilities, limitations and risks related to European defense and security as a public policy.

Highlights

Why does the EU need reforms?In the weeks and months following the shocking result of the Brexit referendum, a number of significant proposals coming from prominent European politicians gave the first indication that the EU 27 is ready to assume essential reforms of its strategy and policies
Based on a qualitative comparative research of the major discourses and projects in the field, this analysis indicates possible directions in which Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) could advance in the coming years, and some vulnerabilities, limitations and risks related to European defense and security as a public policy
The purpose of this paper is to identify, explore and compare the main political and administrative perspectives regarding the European Union’s reform, with a special focus on the Permanent Structured Cooperation

Summary

Introduction

In the weeks and months following the shocking result of the Brexit referendum, a number of significant proposals coming from prominent European politicians gave the first indication that the EU 27 is ready to assume essential reforms of its strategy and policies. It was still in the summer and autumn of 2016, before the crucial electoral year 2017 brought encouraging victories for the pro-European candidates in France, Germany and the Netherlands. The structure of the article comprises four sections: an introduction meant to present the defining aspects with regard to this research, a theoretical framework reviewing the literature of the EU reforms, an empirical research on PESCO as it is profiling nowadays, and the concluding remarks

Theoretical framework

Findings

Conclusion