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Multi-speed Europe

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Multi-speed Europe or two-speed Europe (called also "variable geometry Europe" or "Core Europe" depending on the form it would take in practice) is the idea that different parts of the European Union should integrate at different levels and pace depending on the political situation in each individual country. Indeed, multi-speed Europe is currently a reality, with only a subset of EU countries being members of the eurozone and of the Schengen area. Like other forms of differentiated integration such as à la carte and variable geometry, "multi-speed Europe" arguably aims to salvage the "widening and deepening of the European Union" in the face of political opposition.

Reasons and actuality of the concept

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The concept entered political discourse when, after the end of the Cold War, an eastward enlargement of the European Union began to materialise and the question arose how "widening" could be made compatible with "deepening",[1] i.e., how the imminent enlargement process could be prevented from diluting the idea of an "ever closer union among the peoples of Europe", as the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community of 1957 had put it. In 1994 – still at a time of the EU12 – the German Christian Democrats Wolfgang Schäuble and Karl Lamers published a document[2] in which they called for a Kerneuropa (= core Europe). This idea envisaged that "core Europe" would have a "centripetal effect", a magnetic attraction for the rest of Europe. A precursor to that concept had been a proposal by two advisors to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Michael Mertes and Norbert J. Prill, published as early as July 1989. Mertes and Prill called for a concentric circles Europe, built around a federal core consisting of the Inner Six (EU6) and like-minded EU member states.[3] In 1994 they partly revoked their original idea, arguing that the post-Cold War EU would rather look like a "Europe of Olympic rings" than a "Europe of concentric circles".[4]

The multi-speed Europe concept has been debated for years in European political circles, as a way to solve some institutional issues. The concept is that the more members there are in the Union, the more difficult it becomes to reach consensus on various topics, and the less likely it is that all would advance at the same pace in various fields.

The Inner Six alongside the Outer Seven from 1960 to 1972
  Inner Six (EEC)
  Outer Seven (EFTA)

Intermediate forms could be limited to some areas of close cooperation, as some historical examples are given below. It is also possible now for a minimum of nine EU member states to use enhanced co-operation, but this new framework has been used only once. A second proposal, a unified European patent, is nearing completion [as of December 2010] with only two countries (Italy and Spain) not participating.[5]

The idea of a multi-speed Europe has been revived because of the following initiatives:

Furthermore, important events were:

European Political CommunitySchengen AreaCouncil of EuropeEuropean UnionEuropean Economic AreaEurozoneEuropean Union Customs UnionEuropean Free Trade AssociationNordic CouncilVisegrád GroupBaltic AssemblyBeneluxGUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic DevelopmentCentral European Free Trade AgreementOrganization of the Black Sea Economic CooperationUnion StateCommon Travel AreaInternational status and usage of the euro#Sovereign statesSwitzerlandLiechtensteinIcelandNorwaySwedenDenmarkFinlandPolandCzech RepublicHungarySlovakiaBulgariaRomaniaGreeceEstoniaLatviaLithuaniaBelgiumNetherlandsLuxembourgItalyFranceSpainAustriaGermanyPortugalCroatiaSloveniaMaltaCyprusRepublic of IrelandUnited KingdomMonacoAndorraSan MarinoVatican CityTurkeyGeorgia (country)UkraineAzerbaijanMoldovaSerbiaBosnia and HerzegovinaArmeniaAlbaniaNorth MacedoniaMontenegroKosovoRussiaBelarus
An Euler diagram showing the relationships between various multinational European organisations and agreements

Currently in the EU there are the following cases of non-uniform application of the European Union law:

permanent deviations[a] request by states to cooperate more than EU
(post-accession: request to participate at EU level instead of less)
request by states to cooperate less than general EU level
allowed by the EU Enhanced co-operation Opt-outs in the European Union
Minor EU law derogations or exemptions
special territories status
not allowed by the EU Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification
Eurozone/Schengen suspensions
(post accession: benchmarks for adoption of EU level)

Overview of non-uniformity inside the EU

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Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and Slovenia participate in all EU provisions.

Participant European Union Agreements Enhanced cooperation PESCO Open method of coordination Related Intergovernmental treaties Symbols
Schengen AFSJ CFR Euro Patent Divorce Int. couples' property EPPO Euro+ SRM ESM Prüm
Bulgaria Bulgaria x x x c x x x x x x x o x x
Croatia Croatia x x x x o o x x x o x x o o
Cyprus Cyprus c x x x x o x x x x x x o x
Czech Republic Czech Republic x x x c x o x x x o x o o o
Denmark Denmark x o x o x o o o x x c o o o
Estonia Estonia x x x x x x o x x x x x x o
Finland Finland x x x x x o x x x x x x x o
Greece Greece x x x x x x x x x x x x c x
Hungary Hungary x x x c x x o o x o x o x x
Republic of Ireland Ireland o o x x x o o o x x x x o o
Italy Italy x x x x x x x x x x x x c x
Latvia Latvia x x x x x x o x x x x x o o
Lithuania Lithuania x x x x x x o x x x x x o x
Malta Malta x x x x x x x x o x x x o x
Netherlands Netherlands x x x x x o x x x x x x x o
Poland Poland x x o c x o o x x x c o o o
Portugal Portugal x x x x x x x x x x x x c x
Romania Romania x x x c x x o x x x x o x x
Slovakia Slovakia x x x x x o o x x x x x x x
Spain Spain x x x x o x x x x x x x x x
Sweden Sweden x x x c x o x x x o o o c o
  •  x  – Member
  •  c  – Candidate (or conditions to be fulfilled before joining)
  •  o  – Non-member

Membership in European Union agreements

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  EU, Schengen, EMU, AFSJ (All agreements): 18 c.
  EU, Schengen, AFSJ: 6 c.
  EU, EMU, AFSJ: 1 c.
  EU, Schengen: 1 c.
  EU, EMU: 1 c.
  EEA, Schengen: 3 c.
  Schengen, Bilateral treaties: 1 c.
  Candidates, some agreements: 9 c.
  Microstates, some agreements: 4 c.
  Association Agreement: 1 c.
  some agreements: 0 c.

A small group of EU member states have joined all European treaties, instead of opting out on some. They drive the development of a federal model for the European integration. This is linked to the concept of Multi-speed Europe where some countries would create a core union; and goes back to the Inner Six references to the founding member states of the European Communities.

At present, the formation of a formal Core Europe Federation ("a federation within the confederation") has been held off at every occasion where such a federation treaty had been discussed.[citation needed] Instead, supranational institutions are created that govern more areas in "Inner Europe" than existing European integration provides for.

Among the 27 EU state members, 18 states have signed all integration agreements: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. The agreements considered include the fifth stage of economic integration or EMU, the Schengen agreement, and the Area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ).

Thus, among the 27 EU countries, 20 have joined the Eurozone, 25 have joined Schengen, and also 25 have no opt-outs under AFSJ.

Further, some countries which do not belong to the EU have joined several of these initiatives, albeit sometimes at a lower stage such as the Customs Union, the Common Market (EEA), or even unilaterally adopting the euro, and by taking part in Schengen, either as a signatory state, or de facto.

Thus, 6 non-EU countries have adopted the euro (4 through an agreement with the EU and 2 unilaterally), and 4 non-EU states have joined the Schengen agreement officially.

The following table shows the status of each state membership to the different agreements promoted by the EU. It lists 47 countries, including the 27 EU member states, 9 candidate states, 3 members of the EEA and Switzerland, Kosovo which has applied for membership, 4 microstates, and the United Kingdom and Armenia as special cases.

Hence, this table summarises some components of EU laws applied in most European states. Some territories of EU member states also have a special status in regard to EU laws applied. Some territories of EFTA member states also have a special status in regard to EU laws applied as is the case with some European microstates. For member states that do not have special-status territories the EU law applies fully with the exception of the opt-outs in the European Union and states under a safeguard clause or alternatively some states participate in enhanced co-operation between a subset of the EU members. Additionally, there are various examples of non-participation by some EU members and non-EU states participation in particular Agencies of the European Union, the programmes for European Higher Education Area, European Research Area and Erasmus Mundus.

European Union Agreements
State Map EU EEA Customs Union Schengen EMU (Euro) AFSJ
Austria Austria Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Belgium Belgium Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Croatia Croatia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Estonia Estonia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Finland Finland Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
France France Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Germany Germany Yes[7] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Greece Greece Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Italy Italy Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Latvia Latvia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Lithuania Lithuania Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Luxembourg Luxembourg Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Malta Malta Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Netherlands Netherlands Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Portugal Portugal Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Slovakia Slovakia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Slovenia Slovenia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Spain Spain Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Bulgaria Bulgaria Yes Yes Yes Yes ERM II Yes
Czech Republic Czech Republic Yes Yes Yes Yes Obliged to join Yes
Hungary Hungary Yes Yes Yes Yes Obliged to join Yes
Poland Poland Yes Yes Yes Yes Obliged to join CFR partial opt-out
Romania Romania Yes Yes Yes Yes Obliged to join Yes
Sweden Sweden Yes Yes Yes Yes Obliged to join Yes
Cyprus Cyprus Yes Yes Yes Obliged to join Yes Yes
Denmark Denmark Yes Yes Yes Yes Opt-out, ERM II Opt-out
Republic of Ireland Ireland Yes Yes Yes Opt-out, Visa Free Yes Opt-out (Opt-in)
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein No Yes No (Swiss-Liecht CU) Yes No No
Norway Norway Applications withdrawn[8] Yes No Yes No No
Iceland Iceland Applications withdrawn[9] Yes No Yes No No
Switzerland Switzerland Application withdrawn[10] Bilateral treaties[11] No (Swiss-Liecht CU) Yes No No
Albania Albania Candidate No, EC, ECAA No No, Visa Free No No
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Candidate No, EC, ECAA No No, Visa Free No No
Georgia (country) Georgia Candidate No, EC, ECAA No No, Visa Free No No
Moldova Moldova Candidate No, EC, ECAA No No, Visa Free No No
Montenegro Montenegro Candidate No, EC, ECAA No No, Visa Free Unilaterally adopted No
North Macedonia North Macedonia Candidate No, EC, ECAA No No, Visa Free No No
Serbia Serbia Candidate No, EC, ECAA No No, Visa Free No No
Turkey Turkey Candidate No Customs Union[Note 1] No No No
Ukraine Ukraine Candidate No, EC, ECAA No No, Visa Free No No
Andorra Andorra No No Customs Union[Note 1] No, Visa Free Yes[Note 2] No
Monaco Monaco No No de facto, with France de facto, with France Yes[Note 2] No
San Marino San Marino No No Customs Union[Note 1] Open border Yes[Note 2] No
Vatican City Vatican City No No No Open border Yes[Note 2] No
Kosovo Kosovo Applicant, SAA signed No, EC, ECAA No No, Visa Free Unilaterally adopted No
Armenia Armenia No ( CEPA signed ) No, EC, ECAA No No No No
United Kingdom United Kingdom No (withdrew) No (withdrew) No No, Visa Free No No

Notes:

  1. ^ a b c In a customs union with the EU.[12][13][14][15]
  2. ^ a b c d Formal agreement with the EU to issue euros.

Participation of European countries in non EU-only integration initiatives

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A number of countries have special relations to the European Union implementing many of its regulations. Prominently there are Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein which are the only remaining EFTA members while all other former EFTA members have converted into EU members. Through agreements Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein (not including Switzerland) are members of the European Economic Area since 1994. As a consequence of taking part in the EU single market they need to adopt part of the Law of the European Union. Formally they would not need to fund the EU government[citation needed] but in practice they have opted to take on their part of financing EU institutions as required by EU law (see EEA and Norway Grants) with the financial footprint of Norway being equal to that of an EU member since 2009.[citation needed] Especially Norway and Iceland are known to forfeit EU membership on the basis of EU fishery regulations that they want to opt out on. Both Norway and Iceland have signed and implemented the Schengen zone agreements from the start. During the turmoils of the financial crisis, Iceland was looking into membership of the Eurozone and it did apply for EU membership in 2009. Norway has joined all EU political treaties[vague] and it has applied to EU membership multiple times but while fulfilling the requirements the membership was rejected by referendums in 1972 and 1994. This leaves Norway to be integrated into Inner Europe's institutions while not being part their governing body.

Participant EU OSCE CoE Schengen Euro EUCU EEA Energy Community ECT ECAA EEA EMCDDA EMSA EASA ERA EDA ESA Prüm NATO
Albania Albania c[b] x x x x x x
Andorra Andorra x x s s x
Armenia Armenia x x o x x
Austria Austria x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan x x x
Belarus Belarus x x
Belgium Belgium x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina c x x x x x
Bulgaria Bulgaria x x x x c x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Croatia Croatia x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x o x
Cyprus Cyprus x x x c x x x x x x x x x x x x o
Czech Republic Czech Republic x x x x c x x x x x x x x x x x x o x
Denmark Denmark x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x o x
Estonia Estonia x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Finland Finland x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
France France x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Georgia (country) Georgia c x x x x x
Germany Germany x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Greece Greece x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x c x
Hungary Hungary x x x x c x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Iceland Iceland x x x x x x x x x x x
Republic of Ireland Ireland x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x o
Italy Italy x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x c x
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan x x
Kosovo Kosovo c[c] x[d] x x
Latvia Latvia x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x o x
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein x x x x x x x x
Lithuania Lithuania x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x o x
Luxembourg Luxembourg x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Malta Malta x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x o
Moldova Moldova c x x x x x
Monaco Monaco x x s s x
Montenegro Montenegro c[b] x x x[d] x x x x
Netherlands Netherlands x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
North Macedonia North Macedonia c[b] x x x x x x
Norway Norway x x x x o x x x x x x x x x
Poland Poland x x x x c x x x x x x x x x x x o x
Portugal Portugal x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x c x
Romania Romania x x x x c x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Russia Russia x
San Marino San Marino x x s s x
Serbia Serbia c[b] x x x x
Slovakia Slovakia x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Slovenia Slovenia x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Spain Spain x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Sweden Sweden x x x x c x x x x x x x x x x x x c x
Switzerland Switzerland x x x x x x x x
Turkey Turkey c[e] x x x o x x x x
Ukraine Ukraine c x x x x x
United Kingdom United Kingdom x x x x x
Vatican City Vatican City x o s

x – member
c – conditions to be fulfilled before joining
s – unilateral adoption/participation through another state who is a member/some instruments signed, but not yet ratified
o – observer

Post-Brexit-vote revival of "multispeed Europe" ideas

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In March 2017, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker released a five-point view of possible courses for the EC and its to-be-27 post-Brexit members, looking forward to the year 2025. The points, among which Juncker expressed no preference, "range from standing down from policing of government financing of companies, for example, to a broader pullback that would essentially strip the EU back to being merely a single market", per one report. The updated possibilities would entail member countries or groups of countries adopting different levels of participation with the union. The EC was approaching a March meeting of the 27 members in Rome and Juncker's paper addressed the options that "once invited scorn from convinced Europhiles" and seemed maybe even to have some backing "of lifelong federalists" like the president.[16]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ In addition to the permanent deviations there are temporary transition periods for the application of certain EU law provisions in some member states, but these have an already set dates for lapsing.
  2. ^ a b c d EU candidate negotiating
  3. ^ EU applicant
  4. ^ a b De facto uses the euro.
  5. ^ EU candidate negotiations frozen

References

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  1. ^ Marcin Zaborowski: Germany and EU Enlargement: From Rapprochement to "Reaproachment"? In: Helene Sjursen (Ed.), Enlargement in perspective, ARENA Report February 2005, p. 46.
  2. ^ Karl Lamers / Wolfgang Schäuble: Überlegungen zur europäischen Politik (Reflections on European Policy). See also Gilles Andréani: What future for federalism?, Centre for European Reform Essays, September 2002, ISBN 1-901229-33-5, p. 7-8.
  3. ^ Michael Mertes / Norbert J. Prill: Der verhängnisvolle Irrtum eines Entweder-Oder. Eine Vision für Europa, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 19 July 1989.
  4. ^ Michael Mertes / Norbert J. Prill: Es wächst zusammen, was zusammengehören will. "Maastricht Zwei" muss die Europäische Union flexibel machen, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 9 December 1994, p. 11.
  5. ^ "Countries press ahead with limited single EU patent plan" Archived 30 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine, out-law.com, 17 December 2010.
  6. ^ 'Coalitions for the willing' Archived 6 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine, The Economist, 1 February 2007.
  7. ^ 3 October 1990 for East Germany
  8. ^ accession suspended (1962 and 1967). Then rejected in two referendums (1972 and 1994)
  9. ^ "Iceland withdraws EU accession bid | News | DW.COM | 12.03.2015". Dw.de. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  10. ^ "Retrait de la demande d'adhesion de la Suisse a l'UE" (PDF). Swiss Federal Council. 27 July 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  11. ^ "Trade – Switzerland". European Commission. Archived from the original on 25 March 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  12. ^ "Andorra : Customs Unions and preferential arrangements". European Commission. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  13. ^ "San Marino : Customs Unions and preferential arrangements". European Commission. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  14. ^ "Trade : Turkey". European Commission. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  15. ^ "Turkey : Customs Unions and preferential arrangements". European Commission. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  16. ^ Valentine Pop, "Once Scorned, ‘Multispeed Europe’ Is Back" (subscription) Archived 2 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine, The Wall Street Journal, 1 March 2017. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
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