The Competitiveness Problematique in the EU and Possible Ways to Tackle It

Abstract

At the inception of the European integration, the solidarity necessary to achieve the defined objectives was given, and the project was strongly supported by society. However, at that time, circumstances were substantially different: fewer member states and more moderate internal differences combined with dynamic economic growth. In our days, the future path of European integration should be determined jointly by a large number of member states that are exhibiting considerable and, in part, growing differences, and are more or less successful in finding the sources of post-crisis growth. In the course of searching for the solution, it is worth carrying out an in-depth analysis of intra-EU competitiveness differences and their potential impact on integration. At the same time, ensuring solidarity is an intellectual challenge. Differentiated integration appears to be the most feasible way; nevertheless, out of its large variety, the one that puts a halt to or, in the optimal case, reverts intra-EU divergence, has to be selected in a smart way, or else the EU may head towards disintegration with which no member state, and thus neither the EU, can win.