European sovereignty and federalism: a necessary alliance to rescue political agency. Egmont Commentary, 12 November 2015

Heine, Sophie (2015) European sovereignty and federalism: a necessary alliance to rescue political agency. Egmont Commentary, 12 November 2015. [Policy Paper]

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Abstract

Populism and euroscepticism are on the rise everywhere in Europe. No longer confined to the margins of the political spectrum, they have become increasingly close to the mainstream. These movements perceive Europe as the main cause of all the current ills affecting our societies – immigration, unemployment, low growth, poverty and insecurity. But this is not a purely contingent phenomenon. The upsurge of these movements can only be explained by deep causes related to long-term historical evolutions. If one accepts this premise, only alternatives addressing these underlying factors are likely to constitute adequate responses to this phenomenon. This is exactly what a renewal of European federalism creating an effective sovereignty at the European level is about. This article has also been published on the Oxford university politics blog. For a full version of this argument see: Sophie Heine, “Federalist Rescue of Sovereignty in response to Populism and Euroscepticism”, in Studia Diplomatica (to be published).

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