The points below summarise progress to date:
1. EU IDEA has worked to develop a multi-disciplinary – historical, philosophical, legal and political – investigation of the relationship between differentiation and the fundamental constitutional, institutional, political and ideational features of EU integration (WPs 1-2-3). Moreover, this work has been combined with an empirical analysis of the drivers, practice and implications of differentiation in key policy fields (in WPs 4-5-6) and regulatory agencies (D.2.4; D.2.5; D.6.4) as well as in relation to the special case of Brexit (WP 7). Also, it has been accompanied by an evaluation of national approaches towards EU integration and differentiation through the mapping of preferences among governments, political forces and citizens within and outside the EU (WP 8);
2. WP1 has conducted historical and philosophical investigations that traced visions of integration and differentiation to the history of political ideas, and identified theoretical and normative questions to be addressed further. In addition, it has taken a comparative regionalism perspective to analyse the characteristics and evolution of EU differentiation compared to differentiation in other regional integration experiences such as ASEAN, MERCOSUR and the African Union;
3. EU IDEA explored how to break down the concept and practice of differentiation according to different modes, sites, levels and stages of governance (D 2.1). The investigation on differentiation has been enriched by an assessment of mechanisms for democratic scrutiny and participation (D.2.2) and innovative forms of differentiation beyond governments, involving local and regional authorities, and transnational networks (D.2.3) as well as participation into EU regulatory agencies (D.2.4; D.2.5; D.6.4). The Observatory on Brexit (WP 7) has closely followed the Brexit process and output with a focus on the potential economic, political, institutional and social implications;
4. EU IDEA analysed how the EU narrative of political unity changes during times of increasing political differentiation and consequent differentiated integration (D 3.1). EU IDEA has worked on unpacking the narratives on legal uniformity (D.3.2) and identity (D.3.3) with a view to understanding the possible impact on candidate countries, potential accession countries and associated third countries;
5. WPs 4-5-6 assessed opportunities, benefits and risks of more or less differentiation in key policy areas. On the basis of these findings, EU IDEA has elaborated future scenarios (D.9.1) and flesh out different approaches to differentiated integration and their implications for the effectiveness, legitimacy and overall political cohesion of the EU over the medium term (D.9.3). The assessment of these implications helped, in turn, to develop policy recommendations for EU and national decision makers on how to approach differentiation in order to ensure democratic and effective EU governance (D.9.2).
