The Harmless Spectre of a Multi-speed Europe

Abstract

The idea of a ‘two-speed Europe’ has often been viewed negatively, as a threat to European unity and a departure from the European ideal. This article argues that the EU has always allowed ‘variable geometry’, or selective membership, in certain policies and projects. Speaking of ‘the danger’ of a two-speed Europe therefore makes little sense. Instead of fearing a multi-speed Europe, we should embrace the term as a positive expression of the EU's ability to accommodate the preferences of different national electorates. The variable geometry makes it possible to keep countries inside the EU instead of forcing them out of the Union by imposing unacceptable policies on them. The new set of laws concerning economic governance has introduced even more ‘speeds’; however, in principle this does not represent a departure from the existing pattern.