The EU is going through a turbulent period, characterized at the same time by centripetal and centrifugal forces. On the institutional plane, the financial crisis has seen at the same time a confirmation of the European Council's leadership and the strengthening of supranational actors such as the European Central Bank or (more surprisingly) the European Commission.
At the political level, centrifugal forces have been growing and opposition to Europe is now more prominent than ever. Yet there are also clear signs of a growing porosity of political systems, as well as occasional interferences of 'European level parties' in domestic politics.
How can one account for these seemingly contradictory developments? Are they indeed to be seen as contradictory, or rather as attempts at inventing a new political balance between the EU and its member states.
