Abstract Gergelová

Finality of the European Integration Process: Current Debate in the Czech Republic

Angelika Gergelová

Abstract: The paper focuses on the current Czech political debate on the finality of the European integration process, the so-called fi nalité politique of the EU. The aim of the paper is to identify the main actors of the debate and to look at their arguments from the perspective of liberal intergovernmentalism represented by Andrew Moravcsik. The analysis deals with the two main issues: the future of the European integration/the constitutional settlement of the EU and the democratic legitimacy of the Union/the question of democratic deficit. The author presents the arguments of both Europhiles and Eurosceptics and proposes a liberal-intergovernmentalist alternative. An emerging group of pragmatists/realists, as distinct from the above-mentioned prevailing approaches, deserves more attention in the future. The paper is a basis for further research, which should bring more concrete results concerning the nature of the discourse, key actors, their arguments and opinion-formation in the Czech Republic.

Keywords: Finalité politique, liberal intergovernmentalism, Europhiles, Eurosceptics, constitutional settlement, democratic legitimacy