Should the Economic and Monetary Union Be Democratic After All? Some Reflections on the Current Crisis

Abstract

During the past months the European Council agenda has been dominated by Europe's economic crisis, which combines elements of banking crisis in the euro area and individual Member States' debt crisis – and has turned into something of an existential crisis for the Union as a whole. Many questions concerning the Union's legitimacy have been raised in the context of the current debates pointing out how the role of democratic institutions has turned blurry while market pressure has been tackled in quickly developing institutional structures by taking fast decisions on major economic commitments involving a tightened belt both for those receiving the aid, and for those giving the necessary guarantees required by the creditors. As the crisis has evolved, these questions have become more or less fundamental in nature since they have increasingly encompassed the trust in the possibilities of the Union to manage the crisis through its own decision-making. But at the same time, crises also bring about potential for change.