In June 1997, on the eve of the European Council in Amsterdam, le Groupement d’Etudes et de Recherches “Notre Europe”, published a study by two eminent specialists, Françoise de la Serre, Director of Research at the National Foundation of Political Science (CERI) and Helen Wallace, Director of Sussex European Institute, on the theme of reinforced cooperation. The aim of this study was to provide a historical, conceptual and practical analysis of the numerous concepts which have been put forward in the attempt to characterise the different possible models for the future construction of the European Union.

At Amsterdam, various provisions were adopted with regard to this subject. In our opinion it was useful to ask the authors to update the study to take account of the new situation. The following document is therefore an enhanced and updated version which, notably, includes in the conclusion a critical analysis of the provisions of the new Treaty. The debate in this area is far from over …