European integration proposals in the 1990s envisioned concentric circles around a Franco-German core.

Evidence

The core states of the European Union, France and Germany, are circled first by an inner grouping of Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg, all of which have agreed to eliminate all barriers to the transit of goods and persons; then other member countries such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Britain, Ireland, and Greece; states which became members in 1995 (Austria, Finland, Sweden); and those countries which as of that date were associate members (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania). Reflecting this reality, in the fall of 1994 both the governing party in Germany and top French officials advanced proposals for a differentiated Union. The German plan proposed that the “hard core” consist of the original members minus Italy and that “Germany and France form the core of the hard core.” The hard core countries would rapidly attempt to establish a monetary union and to integrate their foreign and defense policies. Almost simultaneously French Prime Minister Edouard Balladur suggested a three-tier Union with the five pro-integrationist states forming the core, the other current member states forming a second circle, and the new states on the way to becoming members constituting an outer circle. Subsequently French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé elaborated this concept proposing “an outer circle of ‘partner’ states, including Eastern and Central Europe; a middle circle of member states that would be required to accept common disciplines in certain fields (single market, customs union, etc.); and several inner circles of ‘reinforced solidarities’ incorporating those willing and able to move faster than others in such areas as defense, monetary integration, foreign policy and so on.” Other political leaders proposed other types of arrangements, all of which, however, involved an inner grouping of more closely associated states and then outer groupings of states less fully integrated with the core state until the line is reached separating members from nonmembers. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 427

Categorization

• XREF: The concentric-circle model of integration resonates with the book’s core civilizational ‘core state / concentric circles’ framework, and with the later actual shape of EU opt-outs (Britain, Denmark).
• QUESTION: Worth checking how the actual EU developed vs. these 1994 proposals — Britain’s later exit, the eurozone core — whether Huntington anticipated the real trajectory.