Why no twin-track Europe? Unity, discontent, and differentiation in European integration

Andreas H Hvidsten and Jon Hovi

European Union Politics, 2015, vol. 16, issue 1, 3-22

Abstract: European integration has grown increasingly differentiated. EU member countries now integrate at different speeds and frequently resort to opt-out clauses, while occasionally voicing deep discontent with the direction of the integration process. Nevertheless, European integration essentially remains a single-track enterprise, whereby member countries move in the same direction under the same set of EU institutions. Offering a novel perspective on EU integration, we argue that the real puzzle is not why integration has become differentiated but rather why it has not become more differentiated. Using a simple formal model to illustrate and deepen our argument, we throw new light on the bewildering coexistence of unity, discontent, and differentiation in the European project. We show that a twin-track Europe would likely leave more EU members discontented.

Keywords: Differentiation; European integration; European Union; game theory; two-speed Europe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:eeupol:v:16:y:2015:i:1:p:3-22

DOI: 10.1177/1465116514557964

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