Institutional competition versus centralization : Quo vadis Europe?

lots of steep and sometimes blind bends, with harsh speed limits, and frequent detours. But still it has been one that has attracted more and more traffic. After a successful period of shaping a customs union and a free trade area following the Treaty of Rome (1957), Europe became infected with Euro sclerosis in the seventies owing to an increased intensity of national regulation, especially in the labour market. The constructionist approach to harmonization from above slowed down the speed of integration almost to a halt. Only the change of two fundamental rules revitalized the European integration process, namely the introduction of majority voting in the EC Council and the mutual recognition of national regulations brought about by the 1979 ruling of the European Court. With the Single European Act and the launch of the Internal Market programme Europhoria blossomed, finally leading to the Maastricht Treaty, which aimed to be the masterpiece of European integration. Only very recently, the Danish 'No' and the unconvincing approval by the French voters cooled off hopes for a United States of Europe, signalling that European integration is at the crossroads once again.