Crises do not show respect for anniversaries. In 2013, the Europa-Kolleg
Hamburg celebrated its 60th anniversary. In 2013, the EU had to cope
with one of its worst crises. The European integration has been
confronted with difficulties many times before. Progressive steps
towards integration have always been followed by setbacks. However,
every crisis also offered new chances and provoked new efforts for
further progress of European integration. Current concerns regarding the
future of the EU make it worth looking back in order to appreciate how
crises have always provoked a new dynamic leading to pragmatic solutions
and further steps towards integration. It is this perspective which the
contributions to this volume adopt. Focusing on the core areas of
economic and political integration, the contributions analyze how the EU
developed over time, how its present state was achieved and how
recurrent crises have contributed to the overall successful process of
integration.