The implementation of enhanced cooperation in the European Union

This study, commissioned by the European Parliament's Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, examines - against a historical backdrop - the legal provisions governing Enhanced Cooperation as well as the so far very limited number of implemented Enhanced Cooperation initiatives. Based on these insights, concrete ideas are formulated on how to optimise this 'standardised and generalised framework' of differentiated integration, touching upon questions of efficacy, efficiency and legitimacy.