Title: Rising intergovernmental European Union: old wine in new bottles?

Authors: Paulo Vila Maior

Addresses: Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, University Fernando Pessoa, Praça Nove de Abril, 349, PT4249-004, Porto, Portugal

Abstract: In the context of the sovereign debt crisis, the prevailing perception is that decisions implemented bear the imprint of national interests. EU institutions representing supranational interests (especially the commission and the European Parliament) seem to be largely absent, or at least deprived of resources to counteract intergovernmental activism. Within this context, recent events are examined through the lens of European integration history. The question is whether events represent a setback on the supranational ideal of European integration, or do they just symbolise 'business as usual'. For that purpose, I bring to the analysis key events of European integration historiography to find out which actors (national authorities or EU institutions) prevailed and compare their theoretical imprint with the assessment of recent events in the Euro-zone crisis' context.

Keywords: sovereign debt crisis; Eurozone governance; European integration theories; Economic and Monetary Union; EMU; European Union; EU supranational interests; intergovernmental activism.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRCS.2013.055919

International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies, 2013 Vol.1 No.3, pp.209 - 223

Received: 13 Dec 2012
Accepted: 28 Jan 2013
Published online: 31 Mar 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article