RN section proposal on differentiated integration: Call for panels and papers

Dear colleagues,

In the framework of the ECPR Research Network on DI, we (Cristina Fasone and Thomas Winzen) will submit a section proposal on “Differentiated European Integration” for the ECPR General Conference in 2022. Please find a draft panel description below.

Please send proposals for individual papers (ca. 150 words) or full panels (including panel chair(s), panel title, 100-word panel summary, and if available paper abstracts) to Cristina Fasone (cfasone@luiss.it) and Thomas Winzen (Thomas.winzen@essex.ac.uk) by 17 November 2021.

Best wishes,

Cristina and Thomas

Section proposal: “Differentiated European integration”

Differentiated integration (DI) has become a crucial feature of the European Union triggered by the combination of the deepening of the integration process and its enlargement. Provided by the EU Treaties and secondary law, differentiation has also at times evolved to respond to crises and emergencies. It has been seen as a temporary arrangement with a view to achieving “an ever closer Union” amongst the Member States or as the only way for the EU to survive in a context characterized by increasing heterogeneity. What is the status quo of DI in the EU post-Brexit and in the aftermath of the implementation of NGEU’s recovery package? What are the stakes in the governance of DI in the present “critical juncture” and almost five years after the publication of the European Commission White Paper on the Future of Europe? Moreover, after extensive research on its historical development and origins, what can we say about the governance, consequences, and limits of as well as alternatives to differentiation?

This section, proposed in the framework of the ECPR Research Network on DI, invites submissions of papers and, preferably, panels (ideally, consisting of four papers) on a wide range of questions related to DI. Contributions could show a normative, empirical-analytical, or descriptive account, take a historical perspective or be more forward-looking, deal with the internal or external dimension of DI, investigate the various forms of DI (enhanced cooperation, opt outs, etc.) and their drivers (e.g. the divide between capacity and sovereignty DI), focus on the institutional governance of DI, on the relationships between the EU institutions and the Members States as well as on its impact on the composition and functioning of the EU institutions, or follow a more policy-oriented approach. The section welcomes contributions on DI in specific policy areas such as those experiencing significant challenges at present (e.g., Economic and Monetary Union, migration, defence, or health). This section also wishes to stimulate discussion on the “boundaries” of DI, its sustainability, its relation to compliance with the rule of law, citizens’ support for differentiation, the risk of disintegration, and on how to govern diversity in the EU with or without Treaty reforms and depending on the outcomes of the Conference on the Future of Europe.

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