ENHANCED COOPERATION WITHIN THE EUROPEAN UNION: EXPERIENCE AND EXPECTATIONS.

Enhanced cooperation as a tool designed to foster the European integration has been introduced before almost 17 years. However, it came into use only in the last five years. The aim of this paper is to answer the question of what lessons can be drawn from this short experience and what are the expectations in using this tool at the time of overlapping international crises. Methodologically, the paper combines approaches from political and law sciences and it draws on qualitative research methods. Specifically, a comparative analysis is employed to assess the experience made in particular areas of enhanced cooperation. So far, enhanced cooperation has been authorised in three cases, including the law applicable to divorce and legal separation, European patent with unitary effect and financial transaction tax. Except for the first instance, the application of the enhanced cooperation faced several difficulties. Even though the involved member states declared willingness to apply the enhanced cooperation in specific areas, finding the final agreement may be an uneasy task, as it is truth for the negotiations on the financial transaction tax. Moreover, the enhanced cooperation in the unitary patent as well as in the financial transaction tax was legally challenged by non-participating member states that brought actions opposing the enhanced cooperation to the Court of Justice of the European Union. International crises such as financial and economic crises or the refugee crises can serve as an impetus to more integration in the future. There has been a consideration of using the enhanced cooperation to adopt quota for refugee relocation. Another possibility of using enhanced cooperation is a greater level of tax harmonisation that would lead to deeper economic integration within the Economic and Monetary Union, in particular by establishing a fiscal stabilisation tool. In total, based on our analysis of the above-mentioned cumbersome implementation of the enhanced cooperation, we do not expect frequent and smooth utilisation of this tool. Our research thus does not fully support the original expectation of enhanced cooperation becoming a powerful tool promoting integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]