The economic and financial crisis that has hit the European countries since 2007 has many faces and many causes, which observers have been busy dissecting since. This panel is interested, instead, in the consequences of the crisis. In particular, will the ongoing economic and financial crisis ultimately lead to a strengthening or weakening of the European Union (EU)? With unprecedented social unrest across EU member states on one hand and threats to the survival of landmark EU initiatives such as the common currency on the other, the crisis has permeated all aspects of economic and political life in the EU. What does such an extraordinary event mean for European integration? This is the overarching research question that guides the contributions to this panel –most of which will be published in late 2014 as a special issue of the Journal of European Integration. The collection of papers all take the causes of the economic and financial crisis as given and concentrate on the consequences of the crisis for EU institutions, citizens, and policy-making.