Title: The European Economic and Monetary Union – between vulnerability and reform

Authors: Hermann-Josef Blanke

Addresses: University of Erfurt, Nordhäuser Str. 63, D-99089 Erfurt, Germany

Abstract: For more than two years, the global financial and economic crisis has put the European Union to one of its hardest tests. Until now, no end is foreseeable. Following the need to rescue banks and industrial companies, the rescue of indebted EU Member States is on the Union's agenda. However, the European Treaties neither provide a constitutional framework nor suitable instruments to counteract sovereign default of Member States. In 2011 the Union has to decide on a fundamental reform of its economic constitution. At its core, this is about answering the question of how the European budgetary stability mechanisms and instruments need to be set up in order to ensure a rational design of the Economic and Monetary Union and enable effective budgetary coordination. This contribution will deal with the scope of the budgetary regulatory capacity of the 'new' instruments and will analyse their interaction.

Keywords: Economic and Monetary Union; EMU; European Union; EU; debt crisis; sovereign default; economic reforms; financial crises; economic crises; banks; banking; industrial companies; indebted states; member states; European treaties; constitutional frameworks; economic constitutions; budgetary stability; stability mechanisms; stability instruments; budgets; budgetary coordination; regulatory capacity; budgetary regulation; public law; public policy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPLAP.2011.044994

International Journal of Public Law and Policy, 2011 Vol.1 No.4, pp.402 - 433

Published online: 31 Mar 2015 *

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