Unit:
Κατεύθυνση Διεθνείς και Ευρωπαϊκές ΣπουδέςLibrary of the Faculties of Political Science and Public Administration, Communication and Mass Media Studies, Turkish and Modern Asian Studies, Sociology
Author:
Panagoulias Vasileios
Supervisors info:
Λουκάς Τσούκαλης, Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Πολιτικής Επιστήμης και Δημόσιας Διοίκησης, ΕΚΠΑ.
Original Title:
Προοπτικές για το μέλλον της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης. Κριτική προσέγγιση των πέντε σεναρίων της Λευκής Βίβλου για το μέλλον της Ευρώπης.
Translated title:
Prospects for the future of the European Union. A critical approach to the five scenarios of the White Paper on the future of Europe.
Summary:
On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the European Union, the European Commission adopted on 1 March 2017 the White Paper on the Future of Europe. According to Jean-Claude Juncker, the White Paper is the contribution of the European Commission to the opening of a new chapter of the European venture and aims to launch a process by which Europe will determine its future course. In the light of this text, a broad debate will take place throughout Europe, involving the European institutions, the member-states and the citizens of the European Union.
This paper aims to participate in this discussion. The first chapter contains a brief historical review of the process of European integration. The second chapter identifies the challenges facing the European project and explores some of the proposals to address them. The third chapter reviews the five scenarios of the White Paper on the Future of Europe. Finally, the fourth chapter outlines the resulting conclusions.
The questions raised in this paper and answered in the fourth chapter are as follows:
(a) Which scenario addresses the challenges facing European Union more effectively?
(b) Which scenario is in Greece's best interest?
The opinion supported by this paper is that the most effective scenario to address the challenges facing the European project is Scenario 5: "Doing much more together". However, this scenario should also include provisions for states that are not prepared to go a long way towards consolidation or loss of national sovereignty. The proposed scenario should also address the issue of limited public and political support for the European project. Scenario 5 is also desirable for Greece, and in no case, should a scenario be adopted that will exclude states against their will.
Main subject category:
Social, Political and Economic sciences
Keywords:
European Union, Eurozone, European project, federalization, neo-functionalism, supranational.
