Pavel Havlicek: in the modern EU, the balance between the federalist and sovereign approaches of the elites is vague
25.01.2024
Pavel Havlicek
Recent developments and trends raise concerns about whether the EU, and particularly the member states, will be able to maintain a balance between federalism and sovereignty. What will be the process of deepening European integration? Pavel Havlicek, a researcher at the research center in Prague, shared his vision with our media.
In today’s European Union, the balance between the federalist and sovereign approach of EU member states’ elites is vague and unclearly defined. This has been the case since the beginning of European integration in the 1940s and 50s, however, now it has become a more tense debate in the past years, especially since the 2016 Brexit decision.
A couple of years ago, the European Commission under the leadership of Jean-Claude Junker presented several options for the future development of the European Union. In between, deeper integration followed the federalist ideas or went back to the member-state level following the sovereignties’ logic. However, no conclusion has been made so far, even if the latter has become more prominent in recent years, being strongly advocated by Orbán’s Hungary and the previous government in Poland (PiS). Now, the European Parliament elections in June 2024 will be exactly about that too.
As for Czechia, the country has largely oscillated in both directions, more inclined to more powers within national capitals rather than doing things together from Brussels, which is also represented in the traditionally more Euroscepticist society or its lukewarm position on Europe. The country itself is domestically torn on these issues, which prevents Prague from being more active in the EU discussions and processes. This is likely to stay, since there is no consensus on this, neither in the ruling coalition nor between the government and the current opposition.
Maryna Kovalchuk, Newssky’s correspondent (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland), head of the V5 Media project, and deputy editor-in-chief, contributed.
