Balancing between integration and autonomy. Understanding the drivers and mechanisms of EUs foreign, security and defense policy.

EUFLEX studies both how the EU, the member states and associated states, such as Norway, balance between the consideration of safeguarding national self-determination (autonomy) on the one hand, and loyalty to the EU project itself in the form of integration and closer cooperation on the other in foreign and security policy. So far, we see a development that indicates more flexible (or differentiated) integration rather than less in this area. But such a development does not necessarily have to imply a weakening of either the EU's global role. The project group has discussed this in four internal workshops, at international conferences and in connection with our seminar series. All physical meetings that was planned in 2020 and the first half of 2021 were cancelled due to the pandemic, but these have been substituted by digital meetings. So far, our research shows, among other things, how some member states, such as France, view flexible integration as a strategic instrument. For associated countries, such as Norway and the United Kingdom, our research indicates that such a flexible integration will create some new challenges but also some new opportunities. We have also looked at how defense policy in the EU is increasingly characterized by several layers of differentiated integration that make cooperation complex, but perhaps also more flexible. So far, the pandemic seems to have reinforced the tendency towards more differentiated integration. Still, this does not necessarily mean a weakening of the EU's or Europe's global role. Our main findings have been published in a recent special issue of European Affairs Review and a number of articles and book chapters. The findings were also presented and discussed at a NUPI seminar on November 30. We aim at build further on the research done in this project in other projects in 2022 and beyond.

EUFLEX has contributed empirically and theoretically to the literature on differentiated integration (DI). Our perception is that the decision makers also have found the project output innovative and relevant. A key contribution presenting is a special issue in EFAR,2021, edited by the project leader. These findings have also been dissemination at different events in NUPIs seminar series, "Norway meets Europe", and through op eds and policy briefs. At our final seminar on November 30, where we discussed the results of the project, we had 200 online participants, in addition to those who came to NUPI. We expect that the EUFLEX findings will have an academic impact. Beyond this expected scientific impact, we also believe that we have contributed to a deeper understanding of the drivers and mechanisms in European foreign, security and defence integration among both stakeholders and the general public.

In an international context that is constantly shifting, we need a better understanding of how various global and regional challenges affect Europe. Our starting point is an assumption that global shifts and regional challenges add a completely new dimension to the European decision trap: States, or decision-makers, no longer face only a choice pf how to express their "voice" within Europe and the EU system, but are also increasingly faced with the "exit" option. The aim of EUFLEX is therefore to study the ongoing process towards differentiated integration in the area of European foreign, security and defense policy. More precisely, it aims at studying how the EU, its member states as well as closely associated states, balance between the concerns for preserving national autonomy on the one hand and loyalty to the European integration project on the other in this specific policy field. Balancing between autonomy and integration has been a key question throughout the history of European integration, but it has become more urgent following the British government decision to withdraw from the EU. While the existing literature has focused primarily on why integration takes place in spite of this dilemma, EUFLEX will be more interested in investigating what kind of integration it produces. In the current situation, it is likely that we will see a process of more flexible integration. However, we know little about what it means in practice, and how will it be addressed by different actors and levels of government (the EU, the member states and associated member states). With this EUFLEX aims at contributing both empirically and theoretically to the literature on autonomy and integration. EUFLEX is organized into three overarching thematic areas focusing on how different levels relate to the dilemma of integration and autonomy in the area of foreign policy and diplomatic integration, regional integration and security community building and defence integration.