Differentiated Integration: The case of the European Banking Union

Abstract

The European Banking Union (EBU), a system of unified financial supervision, regulation and resolution, arguably represents the biggest transfer of national sovereignty in Europe since the launch of the euro. Participation in the EBU is mandatory for the Eurozone states and voluntary for the non-Eurozone states, which makes it an example of differentiated integration (DI). This article analyses the implications of DI in the context of the EBU. The central question is whether the current EBU arrangements are going to result in uniform integration or continued differentiation. After outlining the main pillars of EBU, the article discusses whether we can envision more non-Eurozone states following the examples of Bulgaria and Croatia by opting into EBU before adoption of the euro, or whether there is a risk of more division between the EBU members and non-members. The focus is on the main economic and political considerations that affect the EBU in the medium term. The article shows that only the non-Eurozone states willing to relinquish their national sovereignty in financial supervision seek to join the EBU and that in the post-Brexit EU the differentiated EBU can potentially move towards more integration.