ABSTRACT
Abstract Without the prospect of new treaty revisions, integration in the European Union is often believed to have come to a standstill. However, recent research suggests that deepening integration still continues, albeit in more covert ways. The risk associated with such covert integration is that it is not mandated by the member states and may thus have a major backlash on the legitimacy of the European project. This chapter argues that such fears may be unfounded. Building on prior insights of the principal-agent model in the context of European integration, we argue that any shift in the nexus of decision-making towards the supranational level is accompanied by the installation of control mechanisms, generally taking the form of informal governance and increased oversight. The plausibility of this argument is probed by looking at the EU’s propensity to negotiate deep and comprehensive trade agreements. Insights are complemented by a look at the Open Skies Agreement and the role of the European Central Bank during the Eurozone crisis.
