Showing papers on "Political union published in 2022"

Autonomy without Collapse

Abstract: Abstract This chapter is devoted to setting out the central dilemma discussed in the book as a whole: how to foster national autonomy within the European Union without threatening dis-integration or the systemic ‘collapse’ of the Union. In the chapter, we discuss the roots of the Union’s current predicament, which we relate to the inability of the Union either to decisively consolidate its political and legal order or to return competences to the Member States. We further define the categories of ‘autonomy’ and ‘collapse’ and suggest two main routes to addressing the dilemma explored in the volume as a whole: the differentiated integration of EU law and policy, and altering central principles of the EU’s present constitutional structure.

Do Central Bankers Dream of Political Union? From Epistemic Community to Common Identity

Abstract: AbstractThe European Central Bank (ECB) started life as a symbol of European commitment to unity and to the value of central bank independence. As such, the ECB and the euro were positive sources of identification with Europe. During the crisis, however, the role of the ECB changed. The instruments monetary policymakers used to respond to the crisis had different impacts across member states, and the decisions they took to address tensions in financial markets often appeared arbitrary. In this context, the ECB ceased to operate as a symbol of commitment to integration and central bank independence became a contested rather than a shared value. This essay explains how that transformation took place and why it is important for the constitutive role of the ECB in the European project. The argument ends with populist movements using the ECB as a symbol for negative identification. European Central Banks can only fight back by promoting some kind of European political union to shore up their unique institutional arrangement.KeywordsEuropean identityCentral bank independencePolitical unionEuropean Central BankEuro

Eurozone Policy and Crisis

Abstract: Abstract This chapter investigates the relation between Ordoliberalism and the reforms of European economic governance undertaken during the Euro crisis. First, it reviews the main reforms of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) adopted in the years of the crisis (the Six-pack, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the Fiscal Compact, the Two-pack and the Banking Union). Then, it reconstructs the Ordoliberal debate about the Euro crisis and its influence in German politics. After that, it analyses the extent to which the European reforms reflect Ordoliberal principles. The chapter concludes by arguing that the specific character of the ‘Ordoliberalisation’ ensuing the reforms consists in the generalisation of the concept of national responsibility as the cornerstone of European economic governance: in order to promote growth and sustainable public finances, the Member States cannot rely on European coordination, but must commit themselves to austerity and structural reforms.

Ukraine in the vortex of international integration

Abstract: The process of international integration is considered as a result of modern global economic processes. The preconditions of international integration and the specifics of the conditions for Ukraine are analyzed. The geographical closeness of the countries is defined as an important, but not a single prerequisite for the international integration of the countries. The closeness of the levels of economic development and the degree of market maturity of the integrating countries is determined as strategic precondition for effective international integration. The existence of a significant gap between the level of economic development of Ukraine and the degree of market maturity of the European Union is emphasized and the threats to the country's integration in such conditions are listed. The evolution of international integration processes on the territory of the former Soviet Union, which directly or indirectly concerned Ukraine, is studied: CIS, Customs Union, Common Economic Space, Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC), and GUAM. The list of important arguments in favor of the European direction of Ukraine's international integration is determined. The Copenhagen criteria for the integration of Eastern countries into the European Union are considered: political, economic, organizational (commitments), legal. The danger of the consumer strategy of national economy development, which is a threat to Ukraine's European integration, is emphasized. It is concluded that Ukraine cannot remain outside economic and political groups because it is not only in the geographical center of Europe, but also in the vortex of world trade, the center of intersection of transport routes and geopolitical events influenced by the imperial ambitions of the Russian Federation. It is summed up that the European Union remains a strategic direction of Ukraine's international integration, which will provide long-awaited static and dynamic economic effects, safe living conditions and welfare of the population.