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After a decade of reforming and stabilising the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), it has been put to a triple test: the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the return of inflation have posed serious challenges to the eurozone that call for policy responses. Against the background of recent advances in European integration theory, we assess whether and how these challenges have led to a change in the EMU policy of the eurozone’s most powerful member, Germany. We conceptualise three ideal-typical policy options for Germany to deal with EMU’s challenges and we search for traces of policy learning from past eurozone crisis management. On the basis of semi-structured interviews with German political elites, we cannot identify any significant change in Germany’s EMU policy. We conclude that the unwavering continuity of Germany’s euro policy makes further substantial integration in EMU unlikely.

Der Euro ist Symbol und Instrument des europaischen Integrationsprozesses. An der Ausgestaltung der Eurozone wird sich der Erfolg der Europaischen Union mitentscheiden. Dieser Beitrag diskutiert sowohl Herausforderungen der Eurozone als auch Losungsvorschlage, formuliert von zentralen Fraktionen im Europaischen Parlament. Deutlich wird, dass sich die Mitte des politischen Spektrums uneinig uber die Balance zwischen europaischer Risikoteilung und nationaler Verantwortlichkeit ist. Zukunftig wird entscheidend sein, in wirtschaftspolitischen Reformen europaische Solidaritat mit dem Prinzip der Subsidiaritat zu vereinbaren.

This article argues that the European Central Bank’s (ECB) accountability framework with the European Parliament (EP) contributes to its legitimacy, but that this arrangement could nevertheless benefit from improvements through a balanced revision. As contemporary political dynamics challenge central bank independence, questions around the ECB’s accountability are pressing. This article investigates all accountability channels in place between the ECB and the EP in its role as key institution holding the central bank democratically to account. The analysis reveals that although no substantial legal changes have been made to the accountability framework, the frequency and scope of its use increased, especially during the crisis. Accountability patterns can be mapped to political factors: partisanship, nationality and issue salience. The article concludes that a revision of the ECB’s accountability framework seems appropriate against the backdrop of its expanded powers and should reflect potential for debate and contestation not only of central bank independence, but about central banking in the European Union.

The abstract is available here: https://uscholar.univie.ac.at/o:1589219

Economic experts are increasingly involved in European macroeconomic policymaking and their expertise in turn matters for economic outcomes. This fact is of particular significance with regard to the case of independent European central bankers, for monetary policy and beyond. This article presents new empirical data on who European central bankers are, and what kind of expertise they hold. It identifies patterns of expertise composition in the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in longitudinal and cross-country comparison, thereby reflecting the ideational macroeconomic policy consensus of the EMU and its on first sight paradoxical – because of contradictory directions of fiscal and monetary policy – macroeconomic policy mix. The article infers two complementary logics – one of intergovernmental negotiations and another of imposed consolidation demands – by using a mixed-methods approach. It proposes these logics to leverage explanations for the resilience of EMU’s paradoxical macroecono...

The euro is symbolic for the European integration process. The last decade, in particular, has seen some existential challenges for the single currency. European policy solutions have been foremost associated with one European institution: the European Central Bank (ECB). This special issue focuses on the ECB’s new political role in an ever-changing EMU governance structure, a position between European politics and national constraints. Against this backdrop, this contribution discusses the asymmetric institutional design of the EMU and sets the scene for scholarly debate around the changing political role of the ECB. Die Politische Rolle der Europaischen Zentralbank zwischen Europaischer Politik und nationalen Beschrankungen Zusammenfassung Der Euro ist ein Symbol des Europaischen Integrationsprozesses und stand, insbesondere im Zeitraum der vergangenen zehn Jahre, vor existenziellen Herausforderungen. Demgegenuber war die europaische Krisenpolitik insbesondere assoziiert mit einer herausragende...