European Economic Governance Structures Post Crisis Brigid Laffan Director Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
Crises are “open moments”-system changing and system creating CRISIS
Legitimacy Input Social Output Formal WEAK EU Legitimacy
Accountability Political Legal Audit
Europe’s Compound Polity Pooled Sovereignty-Divided Accountability Horizontal and Vertical Accountability EU- A Marbled Cake Polity
One of the guiding principles is that democratic control Creating a Genuine EMU One of the guiding principles is that democratic control and accountability should occur at the level at which the decisions are taken. The implementation of this guiding principle is key to ensuring the effectiveness of the integrated financial, budgetary and economic policy frameworks.
‘’We need more binding and more ambitious rules and commitments for the Euro area Member States. They should reflect that sharing a single currency means sharing responsibility for the Euro area as a hole. They should pave the way for a new quality of cooperation and integration within the Euro area (Letter from Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy to Herman Van Rompuy, 7th December 2011 http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/President-Sarkozy-s-press,20171).
Crisis Responses Crisis Management Bailouts (4 member states + Spanish banks)/Troika Politics of austerity and retrenchment ECB non-standard measures Crisis Prevention Task Force reported in Autumn 2010 Euro+ Pact Six Pack Legislation Two Pack Fiscal Compact European Semester Banking Union
National Finance Ministries Ex ante guidance European Semester Vertical National Finance Ministries + Governments Calendar Approach Horizontal Commission (home work re. aggregate, individual member states, surveillance) Council-CSR
Parliaments EP Six Pack and Semester Introduction of the "economic dialogue". It established the right of EP committees to invite the President of the Council, of the Commission and of the European Council to appear before the committee and discuss coordination and surveillance measures. Article 13 TSCG provides for the EP and of national parliaments to "discuss" policies and other issues covered by the TSCG. National Parliaments When and how to engage?
Political Accountability Democratic politics-incumbents and traditional parties under pressure Challenger parties +Electoral Volatility Eurozone- a low trust regime The Politics of Constrained Choice
Need for Balance Fiscal Consolidation Structural Reform Growth and Employment Flexibility Politicisation