The state crisis in the European Union : a redefinition as a way out ?

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Since the beginning of the process of European integration, the idea that this construction can only be realized through the impulse and workings of the member States has never been fundamentally challenged. The State is perceived as an intangible and stable reality, on which the entire European construction rests. However, since the end of the Cold War, this image of an unchanging reality has been tarnished. The remarks increase, creating an image of the State as a colossus whose feet are made of clay, further weakened by globalization and increasing transnational relations that lay out of his control. Henceforth, the relationship between the State and Europe, which used to look like an equation with one unknown outcome- the future, better resembles an equation with two unknowns- the State and Europe. If we accept the idea that the State will remain the principal vector in the near future of the European process, how shall we find and give a sense to this construction if the states that are its foundation cannot manage to define it themselves? This contribution aims to clarify the aspects of the crisis that States are experiencing as members of the European integration process, and from there, to understand in what way such a crisis can be resolved by giving a new definition and a rethinking of the role of the State. – Summary AFRI-2001