Francuska wizja zróżnicowanej integracji europejskiej w kontekście debaty na temat przyszłości UE i strefy euro
The French vision of differentiated European integration in the context of the debate on the future of the European Union and the Eurozone

Summary/Abstract: Being one of the founders of the European Union (EU), France has always wanted to take the lead in shaping the European integration process. In this article, I argue that there are two major reasons why the variable geometry model is so much promoted by France. First of all, it is because of the effects of accession of Central and Eastern European countries. The second reason is that France misses the bygone small Europe where the French voice was more decisive than it is now. The idea of differentiated integration has been revived in France due to the outbreak of the Eurozone crisis that has provoked many tensions within the EU and shown even more clearly that the French economy lacks competitiveness. Therefore, French proposals how to reform the Eurozone are very often linked with the attempts to build a small core of Europe within the large EU. The aim of these proposals is to help France to compete within the Common Market and globally. Moreover, many French people believe that this kind of EU would help fulfil the idea of Europe-puissance with the leading role of France.

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