On 16 february 2007, at the occasion of accepting the appointment as Professor of European Union law at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, Fabian Amtenbrink held his inaugural lecture with the provoking title ‘Continuation or Reorientation - What Future for European Integration?’ In this extended written version of his lecture Amtenbrink defends the hypothesis that European integration is currently characterised by a lack of ownership of citizens of European policy and decision-making, resulting from a method of integration that has primarily relied on the ‘permissive consensus of citizens’ and on the Member State as the source of democratic legitimacy and accountability. In the author’s view this lack of ownership increasingly bars the way for a further widening and deepening of European integration. Amtenbrink argues that, more than is presently the case, the institutional framework of the EU can make an important contribution in allowing and at the same time motivating citizens to claim ownership of European policies and decision-making processes. In his vision a readjustment of the vertical and horizontal channels of legitimacy and accountability in the European Union is called for, among others introducing a clearer institutional distinction between the representation of European citizens and the representation of Member States. These proposals reach beyond what either the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe or its replacement have to offer.

Target group

Academics

Author's information

Fabian Amtenbrink (1968) holds the chair of European Union law at the Erasmus School of Law and is head of the Department of European Law. Previously he worked as an associate and assistant professor at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. In 1998 he acquired his doctorate in law with distinction from the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. Moreover, he is a fully qualified lawyer in Germany (Ass. iur.). His areas of interest include – among others - institutional and constitutional aspects of the European Union law, as well as legal aspects of (European) economic and monetary integration.