Economic Integration/Political Fragmentation Paradox: The Euro Crisis and the Future of European Union

Abstract

The Euro-zone project has been struggling for survival since it was hit hard by the global financial crisis in 2008. When the crisis first erupted, the member countries immediately plunged into a vicious cycle of ‘blame-game’ by trying to transfer the burden on the shoulders of other members. In this article, we argue that the structural problems pertaining to the very architecture of the Euro-zone rather than the individual policy choices of member states were at the heart of the deep crisis that the European Union is currently confronted with. Our central argument, therefore is that the ‘economic integration/political fragmentation’ paradox constitutes a central underlying element of the Euro-zone crisis. We claim that the future of the Euro-zone and thereby the European Union will mainly be shaped by the response of the European leaders to the economic integration/political fragmentation paradox. The most-likely response of the EU to this paradox will be a La Carte Europe, which foresees different integration level among EU member countries. Finally, the type of European leaders’ response to the paradox in question will closely affect the future of Turkey-EU relations. The emergence of a more flexible Europe may open up new avenues for Turkey-EU relations.

Keywords

Euro-zone Crisis, Economic Integration/Political Fragmentation Paradox, Multi Speed Europe, A La Carte Europe, Variable Geometry Europe, Future of Turkey-EU Relations

Citation

Öniş, Ziya and Kutlay, Mustafa, “Economic Integration/Political Fragmentation Paradox: The Euro Crisis and the Future of European Union”, International Relations, Volume 9, Issue 33 (Spring 2012), pp. 3-22.

Affiliations

• Ziya ÖNİŞ, Prof. Dr., Koç University, Department of International Relations
• Mustafa KUTLAY, PhD Candidate, Koç University, Department of International Relations