Differentiated Integration in a Nordic Perspective

Anne Pintsch is Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science and Management at the University of Agder, Norway.Tor-Inge Harbo is Professor of Law at the University of Agder, Norway.Lars Oxelheim is Professor of International Business and Finance at University of Agder, Norway, affiliated researcher at the Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN), Stockholm, and Professor Emeritus at Lund University, Sweden.

“Understanding differentiation in the European Union requires an in-depth look at the Nordic region, which has been experimenting with new modes of cooperation over the past decades. This timely volume offers fresh insights into the matter, by examining diverse policy areas - from economic and social issues to politics, administration, and law. This makes it essential reading for scholars and practitioners interested in the future of European integration, especially in light of the ongoing challenges that may require more flexible forms of cooperation.”Benjamin Leruth, The University of Melbourne, Australia“500 years after the dissolution of the Kalmar Union, the five Nordic countries are yet again united in one and the same defence union, due to Finland’s and Sweden’s accession to NATO. This is promoting further and future Nordic integration in other areas. It is also helpful to the fulfilment of the vision of the Nordic heads of government that the Nordic region should be the world’s best integrated region by 2030. However, my work as Sweden’s representative in the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Freedom of Movement Council shows that much remains to be done to fulfil the vision, not least to fully integrate the Nordic labour markets. The evolution of Nordic differentiation after World War II contains several significant lessons that are of importance to further Nordic integration, as shown in this valuable volume. Thus, it is also highly relevant for the next steps towards a better, or even fully, integrated Nordic region, as well as to integration processes elsewhere.”Anders Ahnlid, Director-General of National Board of Trade, Sweden

• Foreword: The case for a confederal Europe 1. Laboratories of differentiation and the Nordic region Part 1: Economic and social issues 2. The economics behind the Directive on adequate minimum wages in the EU: Why differentiated integration is a better option 3. Nordic pension systems in a European differentiated integration perspective 4. The euro area’s favourite outsiders: Denmark and Sweden as laboratories for cooperative euro outsiderness in the EU PART 2: Politics and administration 5. Differentiated representation of Nordic staff in the EU institutions 6. Differentiated alignment and Nordic cooperation in security and defence: The case of Swedish and Norwegian air forces 7. The issue of migration in the Danish referendum on the Justice and Home Affairs opt-out: Opting out from what? 8. Differentiated (dis)integration of preferences: Norm selectivity of stakeholders with respect to the EU’s Arctic Strategy PART 3: International conventions and law 9. Alternative integration as a stumbling block for the governance of patents in the EU 10. The European Court of Human Rights: How Nordic legal pragmatism can promote European integration by allowing for more differentiation 11. The EEA-agreement: A vehicle for differentiated integration 12. Conclusions: Experimentation and differentiation in the Nordic region