Social Europe

  • EU Forward Project
  • YouTube
  • Podcast
  • Books
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

The European Union In Crisis – Is Flexible Integration The Way Forward?

Daniel Seikel 22nd July 2016

Daniel Seikel

Daniel Seikel

The UK’s Brexit referendum is the latest and most eminent manifestation of the European Union’s severe crisis of legitimacy. An ever-increasing number of Europeans fundamentally question European integration. Without legitimacy – i.e. the acceptance and support of the Europeans – the EU has no future. The right lesson to draw is that it is high time for fundamental changes. Shortly after the referendum, the French and German foreign ministers Ayrault and Steinmeier floated the idea of a ‘flexible Union’. Is differentiated integration the way forward for the EU? In what follows, I advocate a constitutional reform of the EU that leads to a more flexible mode of integration.

What should a ‘flexible Union’ look like? An ‘open’ constitution for Europe

Building on the ideas of Fritz W. Scharpf, I suggest a constitutional reform that would differ from the current framework in four respects: First, the present Treaty should be replaced by a ‘lean’ European constitution which contains only those elements that are typically included in constitutions: provisions about competences, institutions, procedures as well as fundamental social and citizenship rights. As an important side effect, this change would bring about a ‘de-constitutionalization’ of single market law: it would no longer be a part of the quasi-constitutional body of the Treaty but of ‘ordinary’ EU law. Since single market law has a market-liberal thrust, this reform would create a more ‘open’ European constitution in the sense that it would be more ‘open’ towards economic and social policy alternatives to that prevailing market-liberalism enshrined both in the single market rules and the case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The idea is to create a ‘level playing field’ for the contest between rival policy paradigms. Moreover, since single market law would become ‘ordinary’ law, it would be much easier to correct ECJ case law when it subordinates collective social rights to market freedoms (as possibly in the upcoming ruling about German co-determination rights of employees in transnational companies). Instead of unanimity, political correction of case law would require only simple majorities.

Second, the new constitution should lead to a major step in democratization by granting the European Parliament (EP) and the Council the right of initiative. Third, ordinary decision-making in the EU should be radically simplified. Already simple majorities in the Council and the EP should be sufficient to adopt legislation. Basically, this would transform the EU into a two-chamber system. European legislation would be freed from political stalemate. Fourth, this simplification of EU decision-making would necessarily have to be accompanied by the possibility of opt-outs from ‘ordinary’ legislation in order to avoid the extremely problematic situation in which the same majority of countries repeatedly over-rules the same minority of other countries. In addition, opt-outs should serve to protect sensitive national institutional peculiarities such as extensive co-determination rights of employees that do not have majority backing among all member states. However, these opt-outs should be controlled politically: a qualified majority in the Council and a simple majority in the EP should be able to deny opt-outs. As another welcome side-effect, opt-outs would upgrade the role of national parliaments since applications for opt-outs would have to be debated and decided upon by national legislative bodies. Presumably, this would be accompanied by a (desirable) politicization of European affairs in national public discourses. Thus, citizens would gain more direct influence over European integration.

The trade-off between uniformity and differentiation

The basic idea behind this proposal is to trade off the multiple veto points within the European policy-making system for opt-outs. In my view, given the vast institutional and socio-economic heterogeneity of the (currently) 28 member states, this reform is the necessary precondition for any future deepening of European integration that carefully respects democracy and social gains. It would not only make it much easier to find common solutions for conflicts and shared problems despite the considerable diversity of EU member states but also provide protection for sensitive national peculiarities.

The price paid for this reform would be a less uniform application of EU law across member states, probably leading to a more differentiated integration in the end. However, this would not result in a backwards step compared to the status quo. On the contrary, these changes would enable progress in many important policy areas such as taxation (requires unanimity), where at present any advancement is blocked by the high majority thresholds of European legislation in combination with the divergent interests of member states. In addition, should policy-makers deem uniform application a necessity, they can always fall back on the logic of the ‘community method’ (approval by a qualified majority). Only Treaty changes would still require unanimity.

I assume that accepting differentiated integration is a hard pill to swallow for many pro-European integrationists, not least for those striving for a social Europe among the political left who often, understandably, object to the idea of differentiated integration by arguing that no country should be left behind. Differentiated integration, however, is a matter of fact already today and even for some of the key integration projects (EMU, Schengen). Perhaps it is especially those advocating a social and democratic Europe who have to realize that member states cannot be made ‘more social’ via European-level intervention against their will, i.e. when there are neither political majorities in the respective member states nor at European level supporting this ambition. The choice is between a standstill for all for the sake of uniformity – which seriously threatens to undermine European integration – or progress for some.

What’s more, I expect that these changes, by increasing political problem-solving ability and removing structural market-liberalism from European politics, could effectively reduce public discontent with the EU. The remaining discontent would no longer have to result in a complete rejection of EU membership but could instead be channeled into less disruptive debates about selective opt-outs.



Don't miss out on cutting-edge thinking.


Join tens of thousands of informed readers and stay ahead with our insightful content. It's free.



Daniel Seikel

Daniel Seikel is a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI) at the Hans-Böckler-Foundation.

Harvard University Press Advertisement

Social Europe Ad - Promoting European social policies

We need your help.

Support Social Europe for less than €5 per month and help keep our content freely accessible to everyone. Your support empowers independent publishing and drives the conversations that matter. Thank you very much!

Social Europe Membership

Click here to become a member

Most Recent Articles

u4219834dafae1dc3 2 EU’s New Fiscal Rules: Balancing Budgets with Green and Digital AmbitionsPhilipp Heimberger
u42198346d1f0048 1 The Dangerous Metaphor of Unemployment “Scarring”Tom Boland and Ray Griffin
u4219834675 4ff1 998a 404323c89144 1 Why Progressive Governments Keep Failing — And How to Finally Win Back VotersMariana Mazzucato
u42198346ec 111f 473a 80ad b5d0688fffe9 1 A Transatlantic Reckoning: Why Europe Needs a New Pact Beyond Defence SpendingChristophe Sente
u4219834671f 3 Trade Unions Resist EU Bid to Weaken Corporate Sustainability LawsSocial Europe

Most Popular Articles

u4219834647f 0894ae7ca865 3 Europe’s Businesses Face a Quiet Takeover as US Investors CapitaliseTej Gonza and Timothée Duverger
u4219834674930082ba55 0 Portugal’s Political Earthquake: Centrist Grip Crumbles, Right AscendsEmanuel Ferreira
u421983467e58be8 81f2 4326 80f2 d452cfe9031e 1 “The Universities Are the Enemy”: Why Europe Must Act NowBartosz Rydliński
u42198346761805ea24 2 Trump’s ‘Golden Era’ Fades as European Allies Face Harsh New RealityFerenc Németh and Peter Kreko
startupsgovernment e1744799195663 Governments Are Not StartupsMariana Mazzucato
u421986cbef 2549 4e0c b6c4 b5bb01362b52 0 American SuicideJoschka Fischer
u42198346769d6584 1580 41fe 8c7d 3b9398aa5ec5 1 Why Trump Keeps Winning: The Truth No One AdmitsBo Rothstein
u421983467 a350a084 b098 4970 9834 739dc11b73a5 1 America Is About to Become the Next BrexitJ Bradford DeLong
u4219834676ba1b3a2 b4e1 4c79 960b 6770c60533fa 1 The End of the ‘West’ and Europe’s FutureGuillaume Duval
u421983462e c2ec 4dd2 90a4 b9cfb6856465 1 The Transatlantic Alliance Is Dying—What Comes Next for Europe?Frank Hoffer

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. The background to this is the implementation of the European Minimum Wage Directive, which has led to a reorientation of minimum wage policy in many countries and is thus boosting the dynamics of minimum wages. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50 % of the average wage. However, for Germany, a structural increase is still necessary to make progress towards an adequate minimum wage.

DOWNLOAD HERE

S&D Group in the European Parliament advertisement

Cohesion Policy

S&D Position Paper on Cohesion Policy post-2027: a resilient future for European territorial equity

Cohesion Policy aims to promote harmonious development and reduce economic, social and territorial disparities between the regions of the Union, and the backwardness of the least favoured regions with a particular focus on rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition and regions suffering from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, such as outermost regions, regions with very low population density, islands, cross-border and mountain regions.

READ THE FULL POSITION PAPER HERE

ETUI advertisement

HESA Magazine Cover

With a comprehensive set of relevant indicators, presented in 85 graphs and tables, the 2025 Benchmarking Working Europe report examines how EU policies can reconcile economic, social and environmental goals to ensure long-term competitiveness. Considered a key reference, this publication is an invaluable resource for supporting European social dialogue.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Ageing workforce
The evolution of working conditions in Europe

This episode of Eurofound Talks examines the evolving landscape of European working conditions, situated at the nexus of profound technological transformation.

Mary McCaughey speaks with Barbara Gerstenberger, Eurofound's Head of Unit for Working Life, who leverages insights from the 35-year history of the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS).

Listen to the episode for free. Also make sure to subscribe to Eurofound Talks so you don’t miss an episode!

LISTEN NOW

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Spring Issues

The Summer issue of The Progressive Post is out!


It is time to take action and to forge a path towards a Socialist renewal.


European Socialists struggle to balance their responsibilities with the need to take bold positions and actions in the face of many major crises, while far-right political parties are increasingly gaining ground. Against this background, we offer European progressive forces food for thought on projecting themselves into the future.


Among this issue’s highlights, we discuss the transformative power of European Social Democracy, examine the far right’s efforts to redesign education systems to serve its own political agenda and highlight the growing threat of anti-gender movements to LGBTIQ+ rights – among other pressing topics.

READ THE MAGAZINE

Social Europe

Our Mission

Team

Article Submission

Advertisements

Membership

Social Europe Archives

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Miscellaneous

RSS Feed

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

BlueskyXWhatsApp