近來歐洲聯盟(European Union,以下簡稱「歐盟」)部分財政結構欠佳的成員國(葡萄牙、愛爾蘭、義大利、希臘和西班牙)爆發了主權債信危機,不僅歐盟各國實體經濟受到歐元重挫貶值牽累而陷入困境,隨之引發的政治經濟困境,除了直接衝擊歐盟作為區域整合典範的信譽與希望,也為歐洲整合的未來蒙上一層陰影。本文試圖探討歐債問題下的歐洲整合前景,首先從新自由制度主義的「合作」與「制度」觀點,說明「機制」在歐洲區域整合過程中所扮演的角色和發揮的功能,其次探討歐債問題的成因以及歐盟的因應作為,最後則分析歐盟為解決歐債問題而在財務金融領域提出的相關制度設計對於未來歐洲整合進程之影響。
In the last few years, some of the euro zone countries with structural weaknesses in economy gradually found it difficult or unable to repay their government debt which then resulted in a series of financial crisis in countries like Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain. This ongoing European sovereign debt crisis not only has suppressed growth in many EU member states but triggered a growing scepticism about the future of the European Union.This article tends to examine the future prospects of the European integration in times of the sovereign debt crisis through the Neoliberal Institutionalist perspective. First, it provides a general discussion of the core ideas of Neoliberal Institutionalism, such as ”cooperation”, ”institutions”, and tries to explain the way how the European integration happened and the part/role played by the established institutions in fostering integration process. Second, it addresses the causes behind the debt crisis and measures taken by the European Union to tackle the debt crisis. Finally, this paper argues that three important issues concerning the future of European integration have been raised by the various policy measures taken by EU.