POLITICAL-ECONOMIC IDEOLOGY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL THERE BE A CHANGE?

Abstract

The goal of this master´s thesis is to analyse and define the political-economic ideology followed by the European Union as well as look at its potential transformation after the global financial crisis, especially with the introduction of the Juncker plan. In this regard, the research draws attention primarily to European Union´s investment strategy and youth unemployment as the two variables contributing to the delimitation of the theoretical paradigm from which the European Union emanates. The study first introduces two theoretical concepts that are most relevant for characterising European Union´s behaviour, which according to the existing literature are modern-Keynesianism and neoliberalism. These, after the analysis of the constellation of the European Social Fund and the European Investment Bank, answer the question which political-economic paradigm is more consistent with the present European Union´s set-up and thus help us to derive what the currently followed ideology is. Ultimately, attention is then drawn to the Juncker plan determining whether the new investment plan for Europe brings a change not only from the policy perspective but also from the ideological point of view.