The European Union

Today, the EU is regularly the subject of political controversy. Brexit, the euro and migration crises, but also the gradual erosion of democracy in Poland and Hungary have become ciphers of a central dilemma of European politics in the 21st century: Can European cooperation be reconciled with the demands for democratic self-determination and national autonomy? Berthold Rittberger describes the functioning of the EU - and shows the developments of the European integration process paving the way for this dilemma.