Europe: The Journey Ahead Berlin, May 12 - 13, 2017

MERCATOR Briefing notes (2017) 

Losing one of its Member States has forced the EU and European leaders to fundamentally question the existence and construct of the EU cooperation model. The Mercator European Dialogue’s national parliamentarians convened in Bratislava in October to address this very question and explore future scenarios for a post-Brexit Europe. The scenario most commonly known under the label of ‘multispeed Europe’ was identified as the most probable future avenue. To a great degree, participating parliamentarians concluded, Europe is already operating at multiple speeds and it is how these different speeds will be managed that will ultimately determine the fate of the European Union.

This briefing aims at providing a collection of some of the most salient elements of the current debate, with a particular focus on the themes of economic governance and security and defence. The brief provides an overview of some key arguments, challenges and voices in the debate, yet is in no way intended as exhaustive. Its purpose is that of serving as a prompt for conversation and to stimulate further discussions on perspectives from national parliaments.