Mit diesem Beitrag soll die These begründet werden, dass die Ursachen der Krise der Europäischen Union sich nicht in der Fehlfunktion einiger Regeln und Institutionen, die vor zwanzig Jahren entworfen und beschlossen wurden, erschöpfen. Sie reichen zeitlich weiter in die Integrationsgeschichte zurück. Eine wesentliche Krisenursache ist der politische Dissens über Intensität und Richtung der europäischen Integration. Das Unionsrecht istauch nach seiner Ertüchtigung durch Rettungsfonds, Sechser-und Zweierpakete, durch Semester, Verfahren und Kennziffernnur begrenzt geeignet, den Konflikt zu lösen. Die Folgebereitschaft der Mitgliedstaaten ist nicht in jedem Fall gegeben, und das Handeln der Unionsorgane hat eine Durchsetzungsschwäche offengelegt. Notwendig ist eine Debatte über die Wirtschaftspolitik in der Union. Die Europapolitik und die sie tragenden gesellschaftlichen Kräfte sollten ihr romantisches Integrationsverständnis endgültig aufgeben oder stärker an realpolitischen Bedingungen eines "europäischen Deutschlands" ausrichten. Sechs kürzere Analysen sollen die These begründen, im Sinne eines Zwischenrufs zur europäischen Krise, die bereits eine Legislaturperiode andauert. This contribution argues that the causes of the European crisis should not only be sought in the malfunctioning of a particular set of rules and institutions that were created twenty years ago. Instead, a closer look at the history of the EU appears necessary. One major factor is the ongoing political disagreement on the intensity and direction of European integration. EU law is only partially capable of resolving this conflict, despite its recent expansion through rescue funds, six-and two-packs, semesters, further procedures and benchmarks. The willingness of the Member States to adhere to European law is not uniform, exposing a deeply rooted inability of the Union's organs to implement their decisions and triggering a wider debate on European economic policy. Germany's political actors and the social forces that support them should finally abandon their romantic ideal of integration and instead accept the Realpolitik-based condition of a "European Germany". Six short analyses are presented to support this hypothesis, summarising insights drawn from a European crisis that has already spanned an entire electoral term.
Sixty years after the promulgation of the German constitution, which from the beginning was distinguished by its “visionary openness towards Europe,” the German Federal Constitutional Court reassessed the historic process of European integration. It reviewed the compatibility of the legal foundations of the European Union with the German Basic Law and provided a thorough overview. The Treaty of Lisbon and its sweeping, integrating reform of the European Union is compatible with the Basic Law, the Court's Second Senate ruled, so long as it is applied within the framework outlined by the Federal Constitutional Court. However, the Court found that the German implementation law is not consistent with the Basic Law. Accordingly, the Court made clear that Germany can continue with the ratification of the treaty only after introducing a new implementation law. The 147-page decision could be summarised in the following way: The European Union is an association of sovereign states and, hence, a secondary political area.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.