After 60 years of widening and deepening into a union of 28 member states, the EU is about to lose the UK, despite offering several opt-outs and a special-status deal to keep it in. Brexit is viewed by some as the start of an unravelling, while others view the UK as unique in believing it can gain more sovereignty and prosperity outside the bloc.
In this opening session, Alan Cochrane, Volker Patent and Richard Heffernan examine the EU’s central institutions, their relationships to national governments, and the main ways that both are (mis)understood by the public. They will also consider the role of its democratic deficit in provoking demands for re-expanding member states’ decision-making power, and the extent to which a European mentality has replaced or reinforced loyalty to the nation-state. Will Brexit enable remaining member states to integrate more effectively, or will an EU without the UK become unbalanced and vulnerable to wider disintegration?
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