Changing Sovereignty in Europe
6 Pages Posted: 5 Jun 2014 Last revised: 10 Jun 2014
Date Written: December 6th, 2013
Abstract
2013 marked the fortieth anniversary of Ireland’s membership of the EU and is also the year Ireland exited the Troika (European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank) bail-out programme. The presence of the Troika generated considerable debate around the nature of Irish sovereignty drawing attention to the extent of economic interdependence. These debates prompted a conference where speakers could reflect on the nature of sovereignty. The five papers below were some of those presented that day.
There are four interrelated themes that emerge from these five papers. First, sovereignty is changing and will continue to change because sovereignty is inherently dynamic in nature. Second, membership of the EU shores up national sovereignty by acting as a mirror for it and by its dependence in particular on the democratic imperative of the state as a constraint on and legitimating mechanism for EU action. Third, national constitutions remain important in defining, sharing and limiting the sharing of national sovereignty with the EU and, finally, related to this, the nature of sovereignty differs between member states and as between national and international law. The changing and dynamic nature of sovereignty creates a conceptual space within which to consider the relationship between the EU and its Member States. It also points to a future where sovereignty will continue to change allowing for creative responses to the tensions between sovereign interdependence and sovereignty as a constraint on the EU in the context of changing sovereignty also in the international legal order.
Keywords: Sovereignty, EU, Constitution, Member States
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