THE DESERTEC PROJECT AND ITS IMPACT ON THE EU POLITICAL INTEGRATION AND INSTITUTIONALIZATION
THE DESERTEC PROJECT AND ITS IMPACT ON THE EU POLITICAL INTEGRATION AND INSTITUTIONALIZATION

Summary/Abstract: The DESERTEC Project is anticipated to be a huge investment in building solar plants in the region of Middle East and North Africa for covering up to 15-20% of the EU electrical energy demands. The main goal of this paper is to estimate the impact of the DESERTEC Project on the EU integration. The theories of neo-functionalism and of supranational governance, as proposed by Sandholtz and StoneSweet, are taken as theoretical starting points for explaining and predicting the outcomes of this project. Emphasis is put on the main neo-functionalist argument - the concept of spillover. This paper tries to show that the problems that will occur with the implementation of DESERTEC Project will cause business elites involved in it to put pressure on their governments and Brussels for the expansion of supranational authority in the domains of energy and Common Foreign and Security Policy.

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