Where are the Limits of Vertical Integration? Means, positions and approaches toward the EU deepening.
Where are the Limits of Vertical Integration? Means, positions and approaches toward the EU deepening.

Author(s): Maria Staszkiewicz
Subject(s): EU-Approach / EU-Accession / EU-Development
Published by: AMO – Asociace pro mezinárodní otázky
Keywords: European Union integration; vertical integration; deepening and widening; spill-over theory; permissive consensus; democratic participation; intergovernmental decision-making; EU constitutional treaty; public opinion; political elites;
Summary/Abstract: The paper discusses the question of vertical integration, i.e. the process of “an ever closer Union”, as it is present in national contexts, especially in regard to attitudes towards the Constitutional Treaty. After a brief theoretical introduction into the problem of deepening, where the basic concepts are outlined, the paper proceeds to discuss how different interests of various Member States meet and merge on the European level. Numerous actors pursue their visions, using different tools. Joshka Fischer with his speech of May 2000 at the Humboldt University in Berlin ignited the engine that propelled the authors of the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe. The political process was launched in Leaken in December 2001 and has yet not come to an end, since this document reifies certain federalist ideas, which are not acceptable for some political actors. Currently, it is seems plausible to argue that a new document will be outlined thanks to the allied forces of the Trio Presidency (idea that itself is provided for in the Constitutional Treaty), i.e. Germany, Portugal and Slovenia. Yet, the amended text of a new treaty will depart much from the initial federalist-like design. What do the trade-offs related to the Constitutional Treaty can tell us about the limits of vertical integration?

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