At a glance - European Parliament

At a glance
Infographic
February 2016
Differentiated integration in the European Union
As the number of European Union Member States has increased and the competences of the Union have widened,
some Member States have on occasion been exempted from joining their partners in new fields of integration. Whilst
the single market and its ‘four freedoms’ remain at the heart of the Union, it has found ways to allow the majority
to move forward, notably in the fields of Economic and Monetary Union and Justice and Home Affairs, without all
Member States taking part.
The graphics below illustrate the differing arrangements for Member States’ participation in EMU and JHA. This is
variously known as differentiated integration, variable geometry, multi-speed or à la carte Europe. Even if some see
the current situation of the United Kingdom as further entrenching the practice, the Union has always maintained
the possibility for non-participating Member States to re-join their partners. Furthermore, new Member States do
not immediately participate fully in certain policy areas, such as the euro area.
Economic and Monetary Union
Although all 28 Member States participate in the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) to some degree, at its heart
is the euro area – from the initial 11 at the launch of the new currency in 1999, it has grown to 19 countries today.
All but two of the remaining Member States (Denmark and the United Kingdom) are formally committed to steering
their economies towards joining the euro area, meeting the convergence criteria required. Whilst the monetary
side of EMU was strong from the outset, the economic dimension has seen major developments in recent years.
In particular, putting in place tools for ‘economic governance’, and strengthening the EU’s instruments for fiscal
surveillance through the Stability and Growth Pact was seen as essential in the wake of the economic crisis.
European Union
Cyprus
UK
Luxembourg
Banking Union
CZ
Malta
HR
TSCG
Euro Plus Pact
Euro area
TSCG non-euro
SE
EU Euro Euro Plus Pact
EU
Euro Plus Pact
EU
EU
EU
EU
TSCG Banking Union
TSCG Banking Union
TSCG Banking Union
TSCG
Banking Union
PL
AT
EL
IT
NL
Ch. III
BG
Ch. IV
DK
RO
BE
ES
LT
PT
CY
FI
LU
SI
DE
FR
LV
SK
EE
IE
MT
The euro-area Member States established the European Stability
Mechanism (ESM) in 2012 as an instrument to provide financial
assistance and loans for resolving crises in public finances. At the
same time, Member States sought to develop further coordination
in the area of economic policies, through the voluntary Euro Plus
Pact. Like its binding successor, the intergovernmental Treaty on
EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service
Authors: Aidan Christie and Giulio Sabbati
Members’ Research Service
PE 573.961
HU
EPRS
Differentiated integration in the European Union
Stability, Coordination and Governance (TSCG or ‘Fiscal Compact’), it was opened to Member States beyond the euro
area. The TSCG includes provisions on economic policy coordination (chapter IV) and imposes limits on government’
budget deficits and public debt (chapter III), but Member States outside the euro area can choose whether to be
bound by those two chapters. Most recently, the development of a Banking Union, including tools for bank resolution,
has made the European Central Bank the ultimate regulator of banks within the euro area. Again, Member States
outside the euro area may choose to participate in the Banking Union. Thus all but two Member States have signed
the intergovernmental agreement which creates a common resolution fund to deal with bank failures which threaten
the stability of the financial system.
Schengen area
From 1995 on, the development of the Schengen area has
made cross-border travel with no formalities the norm for
much of Europe. Schengen members rely on each other to
manage the external borders of the area, including through
the issue of visas to third-country nationals, and have developed a range of tools to share information among immigration and law enforcement agencies. Apart from the UK and
Ireland, the Schengen area should extend to all EU Member
States; those that have yet to be integrated have to comply
with certain conditions in border management and law enforcement cooperation before they can join. The Schengen
area extends also to the associated Nordic countries plus
Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Schengen EU
Schengen non-EU
Cyprus
Luxembourg
Malta
Liechtenstein
EU pre-Schengen
EU non-Schengen
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
Belgium (BE)
Greece (GR)
Denmark (DK)
Portugal (PT)
Germany (DE)
Spain (ES)
France (FR)
Austria (AT)
United
Ireland
UK Kingdom (UK)
IE (IE)
Denmark
Cyprus
DK (CY) (DK)
Finland (FI)
ü
Croatia
(HR)
ü
Italy (IT)
Croatia
(HR)(DE)
Germany
Sweden (SE)
ü
ü
Luxembourg (LU)
ü
Three Member States have specific arrangements in respect of EU policies in this area, covering border checks,
Greece (GR)
Belgium
(BE) Ireland
Finlandand
(FI) the UK
Ireland
asylum and immigration, and police and judicial cooperation in
civil (IE)
and criminal
matters.
are
not automatically bound by any legislation in this field, but mayItaly
choose
to
opt
in
to
such
acts
either
before
or
after
Portugal (PT)
Denmark (DK) Sweden (SE)
(IT)
their adoption. Denmark is not bound by any legislation in this field, but after its adoption may seek to participate by
Spain (ES)
Germany
Republic
(CZ)
Luxembourg
(LU)acts
means of a complementary agreement. The table shows a number
of key legal
in this(DE)
field, Czech
with the
participation
status of the three Member States.
Estonia
(EE)(BE)
Belgium
Netherlands (NL) France (FR)
Austria (AT)
Dublin III Regulation
Asylum Procedures Directive 2013 (recast)
Schengen Information System (SIS II)
European Investigation Order
Framework Decision on combatting terrorism
Europol (2009)
Eurojust
European Arrest Warrant
ü
ü
ü
France (FR)
Netherlands (NL) Ireland (IE)
Czech Republic (C
Estonia (EE)
ü
ü
United Kingdom (UK)
Cyprus (CY)
ü
üItaly (IT)
ü
üLuxembourg (LU)Croatia (HR)
Croatia (HR)
ü
ü
Netherlands (NL)
United
Kingdom
(UK)
Disclaimer and Copyright. The content of this document is the sole responsibility of the author and any opinions expressed therein do not
necessarily
represent
the
official position of the European Parliament. It is addressed to the Members and staff of the EP for their parliamentary work. Reproduction and translation for nonCroatia
(HR)Union, 2016.
commercial purposes are authorised, provided the source is acknowledged and the European Parliament is given prior notice and sent a copy.
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