Breaking Europes Double Deadlock

The authors contend that the EU is paralyzed by institutional inertia, the dominance of the Council, and the influence of vested interests. They critique Emmanuel Macron's reliance on a Franco-German bilateral engine, arguing that it ignores the reality of transnational politics and the effectiveness of coalitions like the Visegrád Group. The text suggests that breaking the deadlock requires leveraging the European Parliament, forming offensive and defensive coalitions, and using strategic unilateral action or the blocking of trade deals to force systemic change.

• The European Union is experiencing a deadlock characterized by three main factors: the disproportionate weight of the Council and large member states (specifically France and Germany), the persistence of unanimity rules in critical areas such as taxation and migration, and the influence of lobbies that block environmental and social reforms.
• The 'Franco-German engine' is failing due to a chronic imbalance between the two nations, which has led other member states to form opposition coalitions to protect their interests, such as the Visegrád Group regarding refugee quotas and the New Hanseatic League regarding Eurozone and taxation reforms.
• Emmanuel Macron's European strategy is criticized for being overly focused on a bilateral relationship with Germany and the Elysée Palace, which the authors argue is a 'sterile' approach that neglects the rest of the continent and ignores the decentralized nature of German political culture.
• The authors identify the emergence of transnational political forces, such as VOLT and DiEM25, as signals of a developing European political stage that moves beyond national structures, despite their initial electoral difficulties in 2019.
• To break the EU's paralysis, the authors suggest utilizing the European Parliament's power to oppose the executive and employing strategic 'empty chair' policies or unilateral actions in areas like taxation to protect European interests.
• Trade policy is highlighted as a specific lever for change, where member states can block the ratification of free-trade deals (such as CETA or deals with Mercosur, Japan, and others) to demand better environmental or social protections.

APA

Gaudot, E., & Valle, S. (2019). Breaking Europes Double Deadlock. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/breaking-europes-double-deadlock/

Chicago

Gaudot, Edouard, and Shahin Valle. Breaking Europes Double Deadlock. Green European Journal, 2019. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/breaking-europes-double-deadlock/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gaudot |first1=Edouard |last2=Valle |first2=Shahin |title=Breaking Europes Double Deadlock |publisher=Green European Journal |date=14 June 2019 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/breaking-europes-double-deadlock/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gaudot2019breaking, author = {Gaudot, Edouard and Valle, Shahin}, title = {{Breaking Europes Double Deadlock}}, institution = {Green European Journal}, year = {2019}, month = jun, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/breaking-europes-double-deadlock/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }