Greater differentiation should be the EU’s new normal

The ongoing crisis in the eurozone has spurred reforms in the European Union towards greater power sharing and more fiscal federalism, while at the same time, the UK is seeking to repatriate some of the powers which have been transferred to the European level. Frank Vibert argues that greater differentiation in the EU may be the only way for these opposing trends to be resolved. Currently an exception in the EU’s structure, normalising differentiation may give more weight to global forums, and address some of the democratic tensions now present in the EU.