Preliminary thoughts on re-envisioning the European Union. EUMA Papers Vol. 6, No. 4, April 2009

Today in particular, as we are on the brink of a period of deep and possibly prolonged economic recession, if not depression, democracy and identity in Europe may be particularly challenged. If the EU does not respond collectively and effectively to the economic crisis, or if it does not bring the public along with it as it responds to the crisis, the European project itself could be jeopardized. It is for this reason that I consider some of the deeper issues related to EU economic integration and their implications for EU democracy and identity. This essay begins with a discussion of EU identity, focused on how member-states’ four differing discourses about the nature, borders, and actions of the EU might co-exist, if not be reconciled, by re-envisioning the EU as a region-state while ending unanimity and uniformity rules. It follows with a set of suggestions for how to re-envision the EU in terms of European politics and political economic policies