Acknowledgments
The first time I learned of “enhanced cooperation” was during my time as an undergraduate student, when the Treaty of Lisbon had just entered into force and when this instrument was used in practice for the first time. Over the years, looking into the practical cases and the rules laid down in European primary law sparked my academic interest in this subject. It was thus a natural consequence to make it the topic of a comprehensive study. The present book is an adapted version of my PhD thesis, which was presented to the German University of Administrative Sciences in Speyer in the summer of 2020. I am grateful to Professor Dr. Fabian Amtenbrink at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and to Professor Dr. Ramses A. Wessel at the University of Groningen for including this book in the Nijhoff Studies in European Union Law series. Thanks also to Ingeborg van der Laan for her cooperation and support at Brill.
There is a whole range of people who have contributed to the academic success of this project and whose names deserve to appear on these pages. First and foremost, I am indebted to Professor Dr. Wolfgang Weiß at the University of Speyer (Chair of Public Law, European Law and Public International Law) who accepted me as a PhD candidate and assistant and who was more than swift and thorough in his grading of the thesis. During my time at the University of Speyer, Professor Weiß strengthened my insights into European law and international economic law as well as into national constitutional law with its connections to European integration. At the same time, he created a working environment that was characterised by academic and personal freedom and that allowed me to both focus on my thesis and to pursue other academic and teaching interests.
I would also like to thank Professor Dr. Hermann-Josef Blanke at the University of Erfurt (Chair of Public Law, Public International Law and European Integration) who acted not only as the second reviewer for the thesis, but also as spiritus rector for choosing this topic altogether. It was during my time as a student assistant to him that I was introduced to the subject of enhanced cooperation and, moreover, that I realised that knowledge of foreign languages is vital for studies in European law. Thanks to this, I had access to a plethora of academic literature, not only on enhanced cooperation and flexible integration in general, but also on other subjects of European law.
I am indebted also to Dr. Jonathan Bauerschmidt at the Council Legal Service in Brussels who helped me with many questions on Member State practice in Brussels and provided important comments on the first draft of the thesis. He was immensely helpful in connecting the dots between the theory and practice of European law. My thanks extends also to Professor Dr. Cornelia Manger-Nestler at the Leipzig University of Applied Sciences, with whom I collaborated on different issues of European economic law, and who is always a valuable partner for discussion. Furthermore, Sebastian Zeitzmann has a share in helping me on my way into academia. Without his support and his research, I might not have pursued the research on enhanced cooperation with the intensity that led to this book. Last, but not least, a big thank you goes to my former colleagues in Speyer, Dr. Eljalill Tauschinsky, Dr. Petra Láncos, and Elvira Bub-Eitelmann for all their time and support.
Producing a legal study is an academic journey that cannot be traversed in the absence of family and friends. For his endurance in putting up with my moods and for always lifting my spirits, I am grateful to my husband Eric. For providing the right amount of motivation and/or distraction (as needs be) just when I needed it, my thanks goes to Miri and Sandra, who either called me to order or called for a glass of wine. Finally, I want to express my gratitude to my parents on both sides of the Atlantic for their love and support. It may have been hard to understand what I’ve been doing all these years and what research in law actually is, but it was them who made me the person that was able to go out into the world and explore the joys and pitfalls of (European) law.
Leipzig, November 2020