The End of the EU as Modernising Vincolo Esterno? Differentiated Integration in Southern Europe

Abstract

The crisis in southern Europe is also a crisis of the process of European integration. Southern European member-states -Portugal, Spain, Greece and Italy- used the European Union as a vincolo esterno(external link) in order to reform their political, economic and social systems. However, such transformation led to a particular pattern of differentiated European integration . This panel proposal intends to explore how polity, politics and policy of southern European countries were shaped by this intertwined process of crisis in the EU and the region. Differentiated integration has become a major area of research. Member-states may be integrated in some areas and not in others. Cases like Sweden and UK created a two-tier Europe by opting out of some policy areas such as economic and monetary union. The continuing Eurocrisis has led to calls for a two-speed Europe. Southern Europe is at the moment confronted with the possibility of differentiated European integration by default. The economic problems of southern European countries are affecting implementation in other areas of European public policy(e.g. cohesion policy). Perceptions of the Eurocrisis have become also quite different in southern Europe and the northern richer member-states. Moreover, the centre-periphery relations inside the countries(e.g. Catalonia, Madeira) have also exacerbated. Southern European countries are often portrayed as “laggards” in terms of EU law compliance. Moreover, there is a growing rethinking of the relationship of southern European countries to the EU due to the language used to characterise the region. Is there a common pattern in the relationship with the EU in all four countries? What are the commonalities, what are the differences? Is this the end of the EU as modernising vincolo esterno? The panel looks for papers that address one of these issues in order to find out about common characteristics of differentiated European integration in southern Europe.

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