Alkuin Kölliker. Flexibility and European Unification: The Logic of Differentiated Integration. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2006. xxii + 323 pp. $75.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-7425-3613-5.

Reviewed by Don Jones (Department of History, University of Central Arkansas)
Published on H-German (January, 2007)

Rethinking the European Integration Process

When the European unity movement was launched in 1950 with the Schumann Plan, the godfather of the movement, Jean Monnet, envisioned a scheme whereby all member states would subscribe to a predetermined set of obligations that would eventually lead to a supranational entity. Although the Monnet formula worked well for a time, eventually changed circumstances demanded a modified approach. Specifically, in the 1970s and 1980s a number of countries that were originally skeptical of European unification realized the consequences of being left out and sought admission. Enlargement, however, often pitted nations skeptical of unity against those who were strong advocates. Hence, a policy of "legal differentiation" or "flexibility" emerged which the author defines as one that "allows individual countries to have different rights and obligations with respect to common European policies" (p. xviii).

In this volume, Alkuin Kölliker's goal is to analyze the impact of the policy of "differentiation" or "flexibility" on the progress and development of European integration. In the course of ten well-constructed chapters, the author fashions his argument, lays out his methodology, evaluates the evidence and assesses the implications. Then in a concluding chapter, he effectively summarizes his findings and their consequences for the future. Overall, Kölliker seeks to develop a theory of differentiated integration since, in his view, no acceptable theory exists. He notes that "none of the already existing general theories of integration have made a serious effort to integrate the empirical fact of differentiation within the EU into their theoretical framework. It can plausibly be argued that this failure, among other things, is responsible for the fact that the dynamics of European integration have been underestimated by scholars and politicians alike, ever since the re-launch of European unification in the mid-1980s" (pp. 30-31).

From the outset of the European unity movement, integration was undertaken in a series of small steps or what is often referred to as the sector-by-sector approach. Consequently, this tactic led to the European Coal and Steel Community, the failed European Defense Community and later the successful European Economic Community. As the author rightfully points out, integration in the early years was achieved by six committed nations that accepted the principle of supranationalism, while those lukewarm to the notion of unity were intentionally kept out for fear of diluting the goal. But after Britain, Denmark and Ireland were admitted in 1973, skepticism on the part of the three new members about the path of future integration led to a curb on the rigid rules that had governed the integration movement from the beginning. Although the author recognizes that differentiated integration had existed among the original six on a limited basis from the beginning, he argues that broad use of differentiated integration appeared in the late 1980s, but especially with the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. As he views it, the Maastricht Treaty "introduced opt-outs for a number of reluctant member states in areas such as monetary, social, and defense policies, and with respect to justice and home affairs" (p. 268). Subsequently, flexibility or differentiated integration has played a key role in a number of areas including the adoption of a common currency (EMU) and the Schengen Agreement on the relaxation of border controls. Following Maastricht, flexibility or differentiated integration, long talked about or hinted at on the periphery of the European integration movement, emerged as an accepted facet of European Union law.

Obviously in a short review, it is impossible to delve into the minutiae of the author's contentions, but overall, Alkuin Kölliker has achieved his objective. He has successfully formulated a theory of differentiated integration that contributes to an understanding of the progress of the European integration movement from the 1990s to the present. Kölliker argues correctly that differentiation violates the concept of unity and has led to varying levels of integration within the European Union resulting in what one might interpret as a two or three tiered organization. In my view, he makes a valuable contribution to a larger question: today, why does the European Union reflect the longstanding British philosophy of intergovernmental cooperation as opposed to the Monnet vision of supranationalism? Kölliker's book is an important addition to the vast body of literature on integration studies and is a must-read for those who seek to understand the dynamics that have driven the European unity movement since it inception.

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Citation: Don Jones. Review of Kölliker, Alkuin, Flexibility and European Unification: The Logic of Differentiated Integration. H-German, H-Net Reviews. January, 2007.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=12780

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