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SebastianPłóciennik
neededtoopposeadecisioneffectively.Furthermore,thegroupwascemented
bythepoliticalweightoftheUnitedKingdom,thesecondlargestEUeconomy,
whichhadgreatinfluenceinBrusselsandespousedascepticalviewofthe
trendtowardsdeepeningandpoliticisingEUintegration.Thiswasamongthe
reasonswhythenewPolishgovernment,demonstratingsimilarpreferences,6
sawinLondonamajorpartnerinmattersofEuropeanpolicy.
Third,inthemid-noughties,theriskofdifferentiatedintegrationthat
couldmarginalisecountriesoutsidetheeurozoneandforcethemtoaccelerate
adoptionofthesinglecurrencywasinsignificant.Therewasnopoliticalwill,
andanymajormovestodeepenintegrationwereblockedbytheexpansion
ofpopulismandEuro-scepticisminmanyMemberStates,withtheEuropean
Unionfocusingondefenceofthestatusquoandunityinthefaceofthecrisis.
Alongsidethiswereeurozonechangesorientedtowardsstreamliningfiscal
managementandlaunchingmechanismsthatwouldprotecttheareaagainst
furthercrises.Anotherbarriertodeeperintegrationwasinstitutionalinnature,
withexistingtreatiesfavouringthestatusquoinEuropeandseverelyrestricting
roomforthekindofpurelyinter-governmentaldecision-makingthatmight
provideachannelforthecreationofnewinstitutionsofintegration.
NewTrendsinEuropeanIntegration
WhilethesefactorshaveforyearsstabilisedthepatternofEuropean
integrationbycementingthedivisionintotwointegrationtiersconsistingof
thosewithintheeurozoneandthoseoutsideit,muchseemstoindicatethat
thissituationisshifting.
Theimprovedconditionoftheeurozone.Hardhitbytheeconomic
andfinancialcrisis,andeventhethreatofdisintegration,themonetaryunion
managedin2014toenterapathofeconomicrecovery,evenifgradualand
oflittleglamour.Withtime,itseconomicresultsbegantoexceedthoseof
themainglobalcompetitors.Forexample,theeurozone’seconomicgrowth
inthepasttwoandahalfyearsreached5.1%,morethanintheU.S.over
thesameperiod(4.6%).7Inearly2017,thedifferencewidenedfurther,with
Q1growthfortheeurozonetwiceashighasthatoftheU.S.(evendespite
thefiscalimpulseprovidedbytheDonaldTrumpAdministration).Thegap
6
W.Waszczykowski,InformacjaMinistraSprawZagranicznychozadaniachpolskiej
politykizagranicznejw2016roku,SejmRP,29January2016,www.mfa.gov.pl.
7
C.Giles,C.Jones,“Eurozonerecoverybecomessurpriseeconomicstoryof2017,”
FinancialTimes,6July2017,www.ft.com.
10
ThePolishQuarterlyofInternationalAffairs,2017,no.2
