Multi-speed Europe or two-speed Europe is the idea that different parts of the European Union should integrate at different levels and pace depending on the political situation in each individual country. Indeed, multi-speed Europe is currently a reality, with only a subset of EU countries being members of the Eurozone and of the Schengen Area. Differentiated integration has long constituted a structural feature of the European Union’s development. Historically, the EU has employed multiple modalities of flexible participation across diverse policy domains. Crucially, differentiated integration should not be understood solely as an internal organizational matter: the institutional configuration of the Union and the dynamics among its member states directly influence the EU’s capacity and behavior as an external actor. Consequently, various forms of differentiation manifest not only within the EU’s internal governance but also across its external policies and international engagements. Multi-speed Europe arguably aims to salvage the "widening and deepening of the European Union" in the face of political opposition.

Reasons and actuality of the concept The concept entered political discourse when, after the end of the Cold War, an eastward enlargement of the European Union began to materialise and the question arose how "widening" could be made compatible with "deepening",Marcin Zaborowski: Germany and EU Enlargement: From Rapprochement to "Reaproachment"? In: Helene Sjursen (Ed.), Enlargement in perspective, ARENA Report February 2005, p. 46. i.e., how the imminent enlargement process could be prevented from diluting the idea of an "ever closer union among the peoples of Europe", as the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community of 1957 had put it. In 1994 – still at a time of the EU12 – the German Christian Democrats Wolfgang Schäuble and Karl Lamers published a documentKarl Lamers / Wolfgang Schäuble: Überlegungen zur europäischen Politik (Reflections on European Policy). See also Gilles Andréani: What future for federalism?, Centre for European Reform Essays, September 2002, , p. 7-8. in which they called for a Kerneuropa (= core Europe). This idea envisaged that "core Europe" would have a "centripetal effect", a magnetic attraction for the rest of Europe. A precursor to that concept had been a proposal by two advisors to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Michael Mertes and Norbert J. Prill, published as early as July 1989. Mertes and Prill called for a "concentric circles Europe", built around a federal core consisting of the Inner Six (EU6) and like-minded EU member states.Michael Mertes / Norbert J. Prill: Der verhängnisvolle Irrtum eines Entweder-Oder. Eine Vision für Europa, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 19 July 1989. In 1994 they partly revoked their original idea, arguing that the post-Cold War EU would rather look like a "Europe of Olympic rings" than a "Europe of concentric circles".Michael Mertes / Norbert J. Prill: Es wächst zusammen, was zusammengehören will. "Maastricht Zwei" muss die Europäische Union flexibel machen, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 9 December 1994, p. 11.

The multi-speed Europe concept has been debated for years in European political circles, as a way to solve some institutional issues. The concept is that the more members there are in the Union, the more difficult it becomes to reach consensus on various topics, and the less likely it is that all would advance at the same pace in various fields.

The idea of a multi-speed Europe has been revived because of the following initiatives: the Eurozone, with 21 member states and one more in ERM II (Denmark). Every EU member except Denmark has agreed by treaty to join, but many currently have no plans to do so. the Schengen Area, with 29 member states, 25 EU members and the 4 European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland). It excludes two EU members: Cyprus, which is legally obligated to join in the future, and Ireland, which has an opt-out from participating. other initiatives limited to some states, such as the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) and the Prüm Convention.

Furthermore, important events were: the enlargement of the European Union to 28 member states and in the forthcoming years other candidates (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine) where new members initially don't join the Schengen Area and the Eurozone for some time. the European Convention that led to the European Constitution that was signed in 2004 by representatives of the EU25 and 3 candidate countries (Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey), but was not ratified by all national parliaments or assemblies and so failed. Later most of its provisions were adopted through the Treaty of Lisbon that included additional opt-outs for some states. Brexit - the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union after the 2016 referendum, ending its formal membership in 2020. differences in views between EU members on some foreign diplomatic and military issues, especially in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, such as Ukraine's accession to the EU, EU military aid to Ukraine, and EU sanctions against Russia. The Draghi report - a policy blueprint by Mario Draghi warning that Europe faces a competitiveness crisis and calling for massive investment and deep structural reforms to fix it.

Currently in the EU there are the following cases of non-uniform application of the European Union law:

Permanent deviations Request by states to cooperate more than general EU level Request by states to cooperate less than general EU level Enhanced cooperation Opt-outs in the European UnionMinor EU law derogations or exemptionsspecial territories status

Notes

Overview of non-uniformity inside the EU

It is possible for a minimum of nine EU member states to use enhanced cooperation. This framework has been used in the fields of divorce law, patents and to protect the financial interests of the EU by setting up the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO). In 2026, the European Commission decided that the EPPO would cease to be an act under enhanced cooperation and would become part of the EU acquis.

+ Cooperation agreements amongst EU member states Member State Enhanced cooperation Former enhanced cooperation Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) Open method of coordination Related intergovernmental treaties Symbols of the European Union Divorce Law Pact Unitary patent Property regimes of international couples Ukraine Support Loan European Public Prosecutor's Office Euro Plus Pact Prüm Convention European Stability Mechanism European Fiscal Compact Unified Patent Court Single Resolution Fund P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P D P P P P P P P S P P D P P P N/A D S D P P P P N/A P P S P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P D P P P P P I P P S P P P D P P P N/A D S D P D P I P P P P S P P P P P P P P I P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P I P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P D P P P P N/A D I S P P P P P P P I P P P P P P P P P P P P N/A P P D P D P P P P P P S P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P I N/A D P

Membership in European Union agreements

Most EU member states have joined all European treaties, instead of opting out on some. They drive the development of a federal model for the European integration. This is linked to the concept of multi-speed Europe where some countries would create a Federal Europe and goes back to the Inner Six references and the founding member states of the European Communities.

Among the 27 EU state members, 19 states have signed all integration agreements: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. The agreements considered include the third stage of economic integration or the Eurozone, the Schengen Area, the Area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ), the Customs Union, the European Economic Area (EEA), and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFR).

All 27 EU countries have joined EEA and the Customs Union, 21 have joined the Eurozone, 25 have joined Schengen, 25 have no opt-outs under AFSJ, and 26 have no opt-outs under CFR. Also countries which do not belong to the EU have joined several of these agreements, some have unilaterally adopted the euro, and some de facto participate in Schengen.

The following table shows the membership status of each country in the various agreements promoted by the EU. It lists 38 countries, including the 27 EU Member States, the 4 EFTA Member States, 4 microstates, Turkey, which is a member of the Customs Union, and Kosovo and Montenegro, which have unilaterally adopted the euro. Some territories of EU member states also have a special status in regard to EU laws applied. Some territories of EFTA member states also have a special status in regard to EU laws applied. For member states that do not have special status territories the EU law applies fully with the exception of 10 special cases and the opt-outs in the European Union.

European Union Agreements State EEA Customs Union Schengen Eurozone AFSJ CFR Austria Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Belgium Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Bulgaria Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Croatia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Estonia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Finland Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes France Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Germany Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Greece Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Italy Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Latvia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Lithuania Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Luxembourg Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Malta Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Netherlands Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Portugal Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Slovakia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Slovenia Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Spain Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Czech Republic Yes Yes Yes Obliged to join Yes Yes Hungary Yes Yes Yes Obliged to join Yes Yes Poland Yes Yes Yes Obliged to join Yes Opt-out Romania Yes Yes Yes Obliged to join Yes Yes Sweden Yes Yes Yes Obliged to join Yes Yes Cyprus Yes Yes Obliged to join Yes Yes Yes Denmark Yes Yes Yes Opt-out Opt-out Yes Ireland Yes Yes Opt-out Yes Opt-out Yes Liechtenstein Yes No Yes No No No Norway Yes No Yes No No No Iceland Yes No Yes No No No Switzerland No No Yes No No No Andorra No Yes Yes Yes No No Monaco No Yes Yes Yes No No San Marino No Yes Yes Yes No No Vatican City No No Yes Yes No No Turkey No Yes No No No No Kosovo No No No Yes No No Montenegro No No No Yes No No Notes

Participation of non-EU member states in EU-led integration initiatives