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Conclusion Looking back on more than fifty years of European integration, the EU has clearly transformed the political and economic landscape of Europe. These five decades have witnessed some remarkable successes such as the creation of an internal market of 485 million consumers; some hitherto unimaginable projects, particularly the implementation of a single European currency; and also policies that have been widely criticized over the years, for example, the Common Agricultural Policy. Despite some setbacks, the European Union has delivered on its initial objectives of promoting economic prosperity and establishing peace on a war-ravaged continent. In recent times, however, fundamental differences of opinion have appeared over the future of the EU. The failed 2005 referendums in the Netherlands and France on the ratification of the constitution, as well as the failed referendum in Ireland in 2008 on the Reform Treaty caused much consternation among the European political elites with voters, sending out the clear message that European integration either had gone far enough or had already gone too far. The issue of Turkey’s future accession resulted in a further rift, as some member states are concerned about the political, economic, and institutional implications of integrating such a large country that is not only substantially below EU levels economically but also has distinctly different cultural and social standards. 18-EUE Conclusion (144-46).indd 144 9/24/08 9:11:23 AM Conclusion · 145 We therefore ought to remind ourselves that Europe is not the European Union and that the European Union is not Europe. Instead, the EU is the organizational vehicle that aims to make sense of Europe with all its national differences and idiosyncrasies . For much of the second half of the twentieth century, European integration delivered through the EU made sense to the member states and the majority of their citizens, as national governments gave up some of their national sovereignty in order to achieve goals that could not be attained by the states individually. Once national governments no longer see the rationale of working with the EU for the sake of enhancing one’s own national interests than the reason for the EU to exist in its current form will become questionable. Given the current doubts over the future course of European integration, one might want to examine other potential avenues. There are four possible options for the future shape of the EU. United States of Europe. Altiero Spinelli and Jean Monnet’s dream of a federal Europe along the lines of the United States has receded as the EU has enlarged. Their idea would call for a division of responsibilities between a central authority and states, regions, or provinces. This would mean closer integration in such fields as taxation, economic, foreign, and social policy. The original six founding states have traditionally advocated this model, although support for it has faded and only remains to some extent among the political elite in Luxembourg and Belgium. It is difficult to imagine a United States of Europe with an EU of twenty-seven or more member states. Multi-Speed Europe. First introduced in the 1990s by the Germany politician Wolfgang Schäuble, and the former French foreign minister Dominique Strauss Kahn, this proposal would allow an inner core of countries (France, Germany, Belgium , the Netherlands, and Luxembourg) to move ahead with closer integration. This asymmetry among European partners already exists, given the single currency system, which does not include the UK, Sweden, and Denmark, and the Schengen agreement, which is not implemented by Ireland, Denmark, and the UK. In the future , it certainly remains possible that some member states will feel disappointed by the slow progress of the European project and decide to pursue their own common objectives for economic models that are more socially oriented than those promised by EU integration. We would then witness the start of a union within a union, thus introducing another organizational tier to the political landscape of the continent. Free-Trade Europe. This concept has sometimes been called the British model of European integration. It argues that future European cooperation should be kept at an intergovernmental level, preferably with national vetoes. The cornerstone of this model is the Single Market, allowing for the free movement of goods and the removal of trade barriers. But any political form of integration, such as a more coherent foreign policy, is only possible with the unanimous consensus of member states. With the 2004 and 2007 enlargements and the pending integration of Turkey, Britain has...

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