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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Conclusion and Discussion

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It would seem that European Politics are currently enrolled in a constant flux of uncertainty and anxiousness. The Institutional Matrix and Community of states that make up the Union seemingly cannot catch a break as they meander through a succession of crises and challenges. These are taking their toll on the EU, its unity in decision making, and countries’ commitment to ever closer Union. The sovereign debt crisis and so-called Greek Euro Crisis shook the tacit belief in the current economic architecture of the bloc and questioned the belief in intra-European solidarity. Shortly thereafter, the refugee crisis saw European States adopt ad hoc and sometimes contradictory measures for border control which peaked with the bringing into question of the current Schengen architecture and the long-held commitment to open borders on the continent. Then came the long and convoluted saga of Brexit. With its continuous series of negotiations, exit treaties, and successions of Governments, it reached its conclusion with the exit of UK from the bloc—the first secession in the history of the EU. With the decade coming to a close, European society assumed and hoped that that would constitute the final stress test of 2010s, only for the global pandemic to wreak havoc to the economy that was recovering from the financial crisis’ fallout. The EU’s Covid rescue package negotiations led to renewed souring of relations among the member states as the prospect of wealth transfers and Eurobonds irked nationalist politicians in many member states. Against the background of increasing politicization of Europeanization and polarization of European society (Goldberg, van Elsas, & de Vreese, 2020), Europe’s political systems brace themselves for further success by Eurosceptic parties.