The State of the European Union 2017

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There have been important signs, some of a
historic nature, in 2016 that reinforce the need
to revive the debate on political union and give
it at least the same intensity as is currently given
to the debate on economic and monetary union.
Two sides of Brexit
The United Kingdom’s departure from the EU
marks the end of a difficult coexistence be-
tween a community and a succession of govern-
ments obsessed with the national sovereignty of
a State that, since joining in 1973, constantly
asked its partners for exceptions to the applica-
tion of common rules (particularly in the areas
of the community budget, free circulation and
monetary union). Most importantly from the
point of view of political union, the United
Kingdom impeded or tried to impede major
steps forward in the process of European inte-
gration.
The climax of this difficult coexistence had
two defining moments in 2016: first, the
Agreement of the Heads of State and
Government in February on a new settlement
for the United Kingdom within the European
Union,1 and second, the British referendum in
June.
In that Agreement, to be precise in the draft
Decision that came with it, a reinterpretation of
the Treaties was made of such scope that it
threatened to undermine the foundations of
the Union.
By getting that agreement among its part-
ners, the United Kingdom not only curbed the
Union’s capacity to advance, it also caused a
setback in the realisation of the European pro-
ject just when it needed a major boost following
the convulsion caused by the global economic
crisis.
The whole draft Decision of the European
Council was steeped in an ideology very far re-
moved from the principles of economic and
1European Council: Document EUCO 1/16, Annex 1, 2016.
Available at:
ment/ST-1-2016-INIT/es/pdf.
Reviving the debate
on political union after Brexit
José Candela Castillo