Zróżnicowanie społeczno-gospodarcze jako czynnik dezintegracji Unii Europejskiej
Socio-economic differentiation as a factor of disintegration of the European Union

Summary/Abstract: RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is to present the differences in socio‑economic development of the European Union countries in the context of disintegration process. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The basic problem of the paper is to define the scale of socio‑economic differences in the European Union, recognizing that they are indirect determinants of disintegration. The article uses quantitative methods, which are selected techniques of multidimensional comparative analysis as well as analysis and synthesis of the available literature on the subject. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The argumentation process consists of three essential elements: methodology of research on the socio‑economic development in the European Union, concept of socio‑economic cohesion as a natural effect of integration process, and results of research on the scale of socio‑economic development in the European Union in years 2000‑2014. RESEARCH RESULTS: The literature emphasizes that social and economic cohesion is natural process of economic integration. Empirical studies, however, do not provide a clear answer on this problem. The available papers are inconsistent, some studies indicate the convergence process, while others confirm the existence of divergent trends. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The article has confirmed a very large disparities between the European Union countries, which has increased in recent years. There are groups of countries similar to each other in terms of socio‑economic development, but the differences between the groups are significant. According to neo‑functionalism theory the lack of convergence can undoubtedly cause the disintegration. Moreover, the analysis of the differentiation confirms that functioning of the European Union is in accordance with model of varied integration. It is recognized that the added value of the paper is multidimensional approach to socio‑economic development. The vast majority of work is based only on analysis of GDP per capita, which is not the correct approach. It is recommended to carry out further, in‑depth research in this area because their results can be applicable.

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