EU: Move Towards 'Enhanced Cooperation' Could Spur Action, But Risks Schisms

Following an informal meeting of EU leaders on 12 Feb, there is an increased prospect of a group of member states using the "enhanced cooperation model" in an effort to speed up decision-making processes at the top of the EU. The idea would be a multi-speed Europe, with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen noting in a presser on Thursday evening that “Often we move forward with the speed of the slowest, the enhanced cooperation model avoids that.”

• MNI's Policy team reported ahead of the meeting that such a development was likely to be a prominent outcome of the discussions (see 'MNI: Draghi's 'Pragmatic Federalism' Gains Support- Official).
• Enhanced cooperation, contained within the Treaty on European Union and Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, "is a procedure where a minimum of 9 EU Member States are allowed to set up advanced integration or cooperation in a particular field within the EU, when it has become clear that the EU as a whole cannot achieve the goals of such cooperation within a reasonable period."
• The move towards more widespread use of enhanced cooperation could progress at the March European Council summit.
• The use of enhanced cooperation presents two very different scenarios. For its proponents, it encourages laggard countries to join in with those pushing for reform or action for fear of being left behind or not having a say. For its critics, it risks schisms within the EU or smaller countries being dominated by larger ones, something the unanimity and qualified majority rules were designed to avoid.