Division and Cohesion in the Multi-level System of the EU

Abstract

The financial and sovereign debt crisis has induced new or aggravated existing divides in the EU: among member states, within member states, and in the European polity as a whole. Distinct economic divides between North and South, rich and poor, or debtor and recipient countries and ensuing social divides increasingly threaten cohesion in the Union. These divides in turn result in manifold political divides which hamper decision-making and forceful action in the EU multi-level system. This panel deals with the increasing political divides in the European polity as part and consequence of the crisis, as well as the emerging countervailing forces and practices which tend to bridge these divides. On the one hand, it analyses the divisive impacts of shifting power relations and changed practices in decision-making between and among EU institutions, the member states, and the European and national government levels. On the other hand, it analyses institutional responses to the increasing divisive forces and new practices aimed at restoring or improving cohesion in the EU.