Current Challenges of European Integration

Crises have long been a recurring feature of European integration. In many cases, further steps toward integration have only been possible under the pressure of such crises. However, in recent years, the EU has faced multiple, overlapping crises, at times calling the integration process itself into question. In 2015, the eurozone crisis escalated to the point where, for the first time, a member state faced the possibility of exiting the eurozone. At the same time, the massive influx of refugees into the EU exposed significant shortcomings in both the Schengen area and the common asylum policy. Finally, the British referendum on 23 June 2016 resulted in a majority vote in favor of Brexit, marking the first-ever departure of a member state from the EU. Against this backdrop, the 12th Network Europe conference examined the numerous challenges facing the EU as well as potential future scenarios for European integration. The publication includes contributions from André S. Berne, Jelena Ceranic Perisic, Viorel Cibotaru, Alex de Ruyter, Ivana Kunda, Tobias Lock, Lee McGowan, Peter Christian Müller-Graff, Tatjana Muravska, and Attila Vincze. Network Europe was founded in 2003 by the Europa Institute at the University of Zurich with support from the Swiss government. It serves as a forum for scholarly exchange on legal and political aspects of European integration, bringing together researchers from across Europe.