The european union as a republic

Abstract

European integration has generated a large range of European public goods over the last half-century, but the administration of these public goods is dysfunctional. While traditional theories of republicanism postulate communitarian identities, our notion of Republic is derived from the concept of public goods (res publica) which belong to all citizens who are affected by their externalities. The early phase of European integration was characterized by club goods, the euro has generated a new group of common resource goods, which require a centralized government for their efficient provision.