State building in Greece
Even though Greece avoided imminent collapse and civil unrest in 2015, the reform process has not reached the threshold of irreversibility. Response by Achilles Skordas to the suggestions made by v. Bogdandy and Ioannidis.
Formal and Informal Elements of Institution-Building. A Comment on Armin von Bogdandy and Michael Ioannidis
The fact that Greece seems to be in trouble again should be considered an opportunity! Response by András Jakab to v. Bogdandy/Ioannidis' suggestion to use the Greek diaspora as a tool for a new approach to institution building.
New Forces for Greek State Reform
Current attempts to solve the crisis in Greece aim at economic solutions. With a new bailout programme being stalled and the next tranche once more postponed, the search is on for new solutions off the beaten paths.
The End of the Eurocrats‹ Dream
The premise of this timely and important book is that the Euro crisis has placed the EU in an existential predicament that cannot be resolved in the usual fashion of yet more of the same. Though there is surprisingly little by way of a sketch of what might have been the Eurocrats’ dream, the reader is left in no doubt that we are currently living through what might best be termed the Eurocrats’ nightmare – a form of governance that falls far short of the current challenges confronting the EU, and is indeed partly promotive of them.
The End of the European Union as We Know It
The European Union is facing a political crisis unprecedented in its 59-year history. This club of democratic countries established primarily to promote peace and prosperity in post-war Europe is facing a nationalist and populist surge that threatens the democratic principles at the very heart of the EU. Capitalizing on the European sovereign debt crisis; backlash against refugees streaming in from the Middle East, Brexit and public angst over the growing terror threat, previously fringe political parties are growing with alarming speed.
The Future of the EU between Independence and Interdependence
Almost all contributions to the collection ‘The End of Eurocrats’ Dream’ touch upon a tension that has been implicit in the integration process from the very start, but has only explicitly manifested itself during the Euro-crisis: the tension between independence and interdependence. This tension is also evident in the refugee crisis, and in (the aftermath of) Brexit: how can we at once accept Member State autonomy (in fiscal policy, border control or deciding on the conditions for EU membership) while at the same time sustaining collective commitments towards, say, a monetary union, Schengen or free movement?
Governing at a distance: democratic responsibility and social solidarity in the Eurozone
As stated in its preface, this impressive collection of essays has the ambitious aim of launching a “fundamental debate” about European integration in the wake of the crisis and, in particular, the institutional reforms and policy choices made since 2008. The volume’s title already contains the basic diagnosis. European integration has fallen prey to a technocratic project - a dystopian dream which has corroded the EU’s constitutional integrity, its legitimation basis, its very point and purpose. This dream has to end, or better yet be brought to an end through an effective, if laborious, intellectual and political work. This is the basic message of the volume, shared by all its contributors.
After the Eurocrats‘ Dream, the Contingence of the History
The Eurocrats’ dream was the stealth Europe. The Monnet method of bureaucratic integration has been mechanical and furtive, dominated by necessity. The principal leaders of integration, on the right and the left, have been driven by a crude determinism that presumed that economic development would inevitably lead to desired institutional improvements. The hidden hand of functional imperatives has been more important than reflection and choices, as if integration could be carried out without the need to make express decisions of the kind that are contained in constitutional moments.
What comes after ,Ever Closer Union‘? From Teleology and the ›Managerial Constitution‹ to Democracy
The process of European integration was from the outset marked by an integrationist teleology as formally stated in the objective of “ever closer union among the peoples of Europe” in the preamble of the Treaty of Rome. The core message of The End of the Eurocrats’ Dream is that this integrationist teleology has come to an end.
Putting Europe back on its feet – A timely wake-up call
Are „Eurocrats“ to blame for the bad shape of Europe? First of all, one has to ask whether „Eurocrat“ is a meaningful term at all. Obviously one can find lots of examples in the European law and politics that demonstrate a kind of hubris and at the same time a complete failure to accomplish the goals of the „European Project“ – one needs to mention only the grand „Lisbon“ prospect of technological modernisation.
