European Integration in the Constitutional Borderlands

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>The European Union now finds itself in a liminal ‘constitutional borderlands’—between its traditional role as a prolific producer of regulatory norms and an emerging, yet incomplete, fiscal capacity aimed at achieving its goals. The NextGenerationEU (NGEU) programme adopted in the wake of Covid is at the heart of this shift, defining a non-transparent, executive-technocratic model later adapted to address the many challenges of the Russian war on Ukraine and other pressing needs. This book provides the first comprehensive analysis of the design, implementation, and evolution of the NGEU model from its inception to today. It critically examines the model’s hidden mechanics, revealing how EU institutional legal advisers, operating behind closed doors, enabled revolutionary reinterpretations of the Treaties that bypassed the democratic process and reshaped European governance. It shifted power towards executive and subordinate technocratic actors while sidelining parliamentary oversight and other stakeholders. It also created misaligned incentives, often prioritising national spending envelopes over the production of genuine European public goods. These ‘emergency’ measures are fast becoming the new normal. The NGEU model’s core innovations—national planning, performance-based financing, and enhanced Commission discretion—have had a significant impact on the Commission’s proposals for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028–2034). This book warns that without a return to open democratic politics and constitutional deliberation, the EU’s navigation of the borderlands in which it currently finds itself risks eroding legitimacy and creating a fragile system unable to meet future challenges.</jats:p>