The Constitutionalization of European Budgetary Constraints

The Constitutionalization of European Budgetary Constraints PDF

Author: Maurice Adams

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2014-12-01

Total Pages: 446

ISBN-13: 1782254188

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The recently enacted Treaty on the Stability, Coordination and Governance of the Economic and Monetary Union (generally referred to as the Fiscal Compact) has introduced a 'golden rule', which is a detailed obligation that government budgets be balanced. Moreover, it required the 25 members of the EU which signed the Treaty in March 2012, to incorporate this 'golden rule' within their national Constitutions. This requirement represents a major and unprecedented development, raising formidable challenges to the nature and legitimacy of national Constitutions as well as to the future of the European integration project. This book analyses the new constitutional architecture of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), examines in a comparative perspective the constitutionalization of budgetary rules in the legal systems of the Member States, and discusses the implications of these constitutional changes for the future of democracy and integration in the EU. By combining insights from law and economics, comparative institutional analysis and legal theory, the book offers a comprehensive survey of the constitutional incorporation of new fiscal and budgetary rules across Europe and a systematic normative discussion of the legitimacy issues at play. It thus contributes to a better understanding of the Euro-crisis, of the future of the EU, and the reforms needed towards a deeper and genuine EMU.

Economic Governance in Europe

Economic Governance in Europe PDF

Author: Federico Fabbrini

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016-01-28

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 0191065943

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The Euro-Crisis and the legal and institutional responses to it have had important constitutional implications on the architecture of the European Union (EU). Going beyond the existing literature, Federico Fabbrini's book takes a broad look and examines how the crisis and its aftermath have changed relations of power in the EU, disaggregating three different dimensions: (1) the vertical relations of power between the member states and the EU institutions, (2) the relations of power between the political branches and the courts, and (3) the horizontal relations of power between the EU member states themselves. The first part of the book argues that, in the aftermath of the Euro-crisis, power has been shifting along each of these axes in paradoxical ways. In particular, through a comparison of the United States, Fabbrini reveals that the EU is nowadays characterized by a high degree of centralization in budgetary affairs, an unprecedented level of judicialization of economic questions, and a growing imbalance between the member states in the governance of fiscal matters. As the book makes clear, however, each of these dynamics is a cause for concern - as it calls into question important constitutional values for the EU, such as the autonomy of the member states in taking decision about taxing and spending, the preeminence of the political process in settling economic matters, and the balance between state power and state equality. The second part of the book, therefore, devises possible options for future legal and institutional developments in the EU which may revert these paradoxical trends. In particular, Fabbrini considers the ideas of raising a fiscal capacitiy, restoring the centrality of the EU legislative process, and reforming the EU executive power, and discusses the challenges that accompany any further step towards a deeper Economic and Monetary Union.

Constitutional Law and the EU Balanced Budget Principle

Constitutional Law and the EU Balanced Budget Principle PDF

Author: Elena-Simina Tănăsescu

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-11-29

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 1351723510

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Exploring the balanced budget rule as an economic standard and as a legal principle, this book explains the context and content of the balanced budget rule and presents a critical appraisal of its impact on legal systems, political institutions and social values, and particularly an evaluation of its constitutionalization in the European and national legal systems. Examining a range of perspectives on the balanced budget rule as a legal principle, a series of chapters investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of the balanced budget rule. The book considers the impact this may have on the separation of powers within the state, on democratic decision-making, on the European social model and on the protection of fundamental social rights within the European Union. It suggests that this impact goes beyond the ethical issue of the public debt considered as a burden placed on future generations, and beyond injunctions imposed by international financial institutions on national public finances. The transfiguration of fiscal discipline from an economic requirement into a legal rule demanding a balanced budget embodies a challenge to the political nature of the budgetary process while creating the flexibility needed in order to further fiscal federalism within the European Union. This book argues that the balanced budget rule is nothing more than it has always been: an instrument for devising public policies in a rational manner, a tool for conceiving qualitative choices regarding the well-being of citizens.

The Constitutional Boundaries of European Fiscal Federalism

The Constitutional Boundaries of European Fiscal Federalism PDF

Author: Brady Gordon

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2022-04-14

Total Pages: 565

ISBN-13: 1108904904

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This book bridges the study of European constitutionalism with the study of 'fiscal federalism' – the subfield of public economics concerned with structuring public finances between different levels of government in federal states. On one axis, this book delves into European Union and Member State constitutional law from all EU Member States in order to investigate and identify the existence of permanent constitutional boundaries that will impinge upon the selection of proposed models for EU fiscal federalism. On the second axis, this book engages the study of fiscal federalism in order to determine which institutional configurations known to that field remain legally and economically implementable within those boundaries. It provides a far-reaching investigation of which models of fiscal federalism are compatible with the constitutional boundaries of the European legal order.

Constitutions in Times of Financial Crisis

Constitutions in Times of Financial Crisis PDF

Author: Tom Ginsburg

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2022-06-30

Total Pages: 342

ISBN-13: 9781108729208

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Many constitutions include provisions intended to limit the discretion of governments in economic policy. In times of financial crises, such provisions often come under pressure as a result of calls for exceptional responses to crisis situations. This volume assesses the ability of constitutional orders all over the world to cope with financial crises, and the demands for emergency powers that typically accompany them. Bringing together a variety of perspectives from legal scholars, economists, and political scientists, this volume traces the long-run implications of financial crises for constitutional order. In exploring the theoretical and practical problems raised by the constitutionalization of economic policy during times of severe crisis, this volume showcases an array of constitutional design options and the ways they channel governmental responses to emergency.

The Constitutional Theory of the Federation and the European Union

The Constitutional Theory of the Federation and the European Union PDF

Author: Signe Rehling Larsen

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2021-02-04

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 0198859260

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This book departs from the 'statist' imagination by suggesting the EU is a federal union of states, or a federation. Dedicated to the constitutional theory of federalism, this book gives the strengths and weaknesses of a federation as a political form, its histories, and current perils for the EU.

The Euro Area Crisis in Constitutional Perspective

The Euro Area Crisis in Constitutional Perspective PDF

Author: Alicia Hinarejos

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2015-05-14

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 0191024562

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The euro area sovereign debt crisis has been the greatest threat to the euro since its inception, but the consequences of the crisis go well beyond the realm of macroeconomics: the crisis has cast doubt on the viability of a mechanism of integration such as the one envisaged in Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), and on the future of the European Union as a political project in the face of citizens' growing disaffection. The various responses to the crisis have not only altered the principles underlying EMU; they have also had a profound impact on the constitutional orders of the EU and its Member States. This book focuses on the euro area crisis and its aftermath from a constitutional perspective. It provides a critical analysis of the workings and evolution of Economic and Monetary Union, the changes brought by the crisis and their broader effects, and the constitutional obstacles to integration in this area. Looking forward, it tackles the uncertain future of economic and fiscal integration and the challenges posed. This is a compelling and incisive account of some of the most significant developments and dilemmas facing the European Union since its creation.

Democracy and Financial Order: Legal Perspectives

Democracy and Financial Order: Legal Perspectives PDF

Author: Matthias Goldmann

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-05-17

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 3662555689

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This book discusses the relationship between democracy and the financial order from various legal perspectives. Each of the nine contributions adopts a unique perspective on the legal and political challenges brought to the fore by the Global Financial Crisis. This crisis and the ensuing sovereign debt crisis in Europe are only the latest in a long series of financial crises around the globe in recent decades. By their very existence, but also as a result of the political turmoil they have created, these financial crises testify to the well-known tensions between democracy and a market-based economic and financial order. However, what is missing in this debate is an analysis of the role of law for reconciling democracy with a market-based financial order. To fill this lacuna, the book focuses on the controversy surrounding the concept of law, thereby adding another variable to the debate on the relation between democracy and capitalism. Each chapter addresses the concept of law from a particular theoretical angle, be it a full-grown legal theory or an approach in political economy that has a particular view of the law.

The Metamorphosis of the European Economic Constitution

The Metamorphosis of the European Economic Constitution PDF

Author: Herwig C.H. Hofmann

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 1788978307

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Demonstrating the ways in which the micro and macro-economic constitutions of Europe have reacted to legal measures enacted to counter the economic crisis of the past decade, this innovative book takes an interdisciplinary approach in its attempt to understand and portray the metamorphosis of the European Economic Constitution. It contains contributions from leading scholars and experts in European economic law, discussing the challenges, solutions found, problems arising and possible approaches to embed the economic constitution in the broader constitutional framework of the EU. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial}

Democracy in the EMU in the Aftermath of the Crisis

Democracy in the EMU in the Aftermath of the Crisis PDF

Author: Luigi Daniele

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-04-21

Total Pages: 409

ISBN-13: 3319538950

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The book covers some of the major issues concerning the problematic relationship between respect for democratic principles and the new European Economic Governance. Innovative approaches are highlighted throughout the book: new frameworks and arrangements are proposed on the basis of efficiency analyses, as well as their institutional and legal suitability. Though the perspective adopted is essentially a legal one, the economic and policy background are also given due consideration.The papers presented here offer a balanced mix of empirical (including comparative) and theoretical analysis; several also combine the two approaches, carrying out empirical analyses, then setting the results against theoretical options. Given the relative dearth of literature on democratic principles and the EMU, let alone a comprehensive enquiry, the book marks a valuable new contribution.