Asan Plenum

2014APR15

[Session 1] Back to Modernity in the EU?

  • Panelist :
    Stefan Niederhafner
[Talking Points] Session 1 Stefan Niederhafner.docx[Talking Points] Session 1 Stefan Niederhafner.pdf

RELEASE EMBARGO DATE: April 22, 2014 at 9:00 AM

Panel: Back to Modernity in the EU? (G1)
Date/Time: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 / 13:00-14:15
Talking Points for: Stefan Niederhafner, Seoul National University

Core argument: in future, the EU will be a much stronger and tighter Union than it ever was, and this will happen much faster than many currently expect.

  • The Eurozone already implemented various structures and instruments which enforce a “tighter” Union, although of multiple speeds.
  • The UK referendum will remove, one way or the other, one of the biggest obstacles to a closer political and economic cooperation.
  • The Arab spring, the Syrian civil war, but especially the implosion of Ukraine will lead to a much closer military cooperation.
  • Less obvious, but similarly important, will be the impacts of these crises on other EU politics, for example on migration and border controls as well as energy politics.
  • The borders of Europe are not unclear anymore – the EU stays as it is, besides integrating slowly all Balkan states, and the limits of NATO are clear as well.

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    The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.