Abstract
This paper reports a descriptive analysis of the historical development and the modes of differentiated integration in the treaties and legislation of the European Union. Whereas the number of differentiations has increased in the course of European integration, it has remained stationary relative to the growth of the EU’s membership, policy portfolio and legal production. Differentiated integration is predominantly multi-speed integration, typically originating in enlargement, focusing on internal market policies and affecting the comparatively poor Southern and Eastern new member states. In addition, durable differentiations originating in the deepening of the integration of core state powers have created a multi-tier structure, but the core is inclusive and open. The crisis period of European integration has reinforced the differentiation of the EU for the time being, but both Brexit and the stagnation of widening and deepening are likely to slow down differentiation.
Highlights
This report from the InDivEU project provides a descriptive analysis of differentiated integration (DI) in the EU
It updates the descriptive analysis in Schimmelfennig and Winzen (2020, Chapter 4) with the most recent data in the EUDIFF1 and EUDIFF2 datasets, bringing the analysis of treaty-based differentiation up to 2019 and the analysis of legislative differentiation up to 2018.1 It describes and discusses the basic trends and patterns of DI since the beginnings of European integration and highlights important recent developments
While it would seem straightforward to base the count of differentiations on the number of treaty articles that exempt any of the member states each year, we decided in favour of a more aggregated measure
Summary
This report from the InDivEU project provides a descriptive analysis of differentiated integration (DI) in the EU. We count differentiations over time, across member states and integrated EU policies. While it would seem straightforward to base the count of differentiations on the number of treaty articles that exempt any of the member states each year, we decided in favour of a more aggregated measure. Our datasets and analyses further distinguish differentiations by their origins (enlargement or widening vs treaty revisions or deepening), their durability, the (groups of) countries they concern and the policies they affect. These features are important to examine the modes of differentiation to which we turn. In contrast with multi-speed and multi-tier integration, we speak of ‘multi-menu’ integration
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