What Form of Government for the European Union and the Eurozone?

Federico Fabbrini is Associate Professor of European and International Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen.Ernst Hirsch Ballin is Professor of Dutch and European Constitutional Law at Tilburg University.Han Somsen is Professor of European Law at Tilburg University.

What is the form of government of the European Union (EU)? And how is the institutional governance of the Eurozone evolving? These questions have become pressing during the last few years. On the one hand, the Euro-crisis and the legal and institutional responses to it have had major implications on the constitutional architecture of the EU and the Eurozone. On the other hand, the May 2014 elections for the European Parliament and the ensuing struggle to form the European Commission have brought to the fore new tensions in the EU political system. The purpose of this book, which brings together the contributions of EU lawyers, comparative constitutional lawyers and political scientists, from all over Europe and the United States, is to offer a new look at the form of government of the EU and the Eurozone and consider its potential for future development. While offering a plurality of perspectives on the form of government of the EU and the Eurozone, this book emphasises how the Euro-crisis represents a watershed in the process of European integration, makes the case for a more legitimate and effective form of government for the EU and the Eurozone, and identifies possible windows of opportunity for future treaty reforms. The volume will provide food for thought for scholars, policy-makers and the public at large as they continue debating the most apt form of government for the EU and the Eurozone.

An interesting read for scholars of European law and constitutional law, policy-makers and those more generally interested in the most apt form of government for the EU and the Eurozone.

1. Introduction: A New Look at the Form of Government of the European Union and the EurozoneFederico Fabbrini, Ernst Hirsch Ballin and Han SomsenPart I: The Euro-crisis and Institutional Change2. The Financial Crisis, the EU Institutional Order and Constitutional Responsibility 17Paul Craig3. The Governance Framework of the Eurozone and the Need for a Treaty ReformChristian Calliess4. Intergovernmentalism and the New Framework of EMU GovernanceGeorgios Maris and Pantelis SkliasPart II: The Governance of Economic, Monetary and Financial Affairs5. The Confusion of Tasks in the Decision-Making Processof the European Economic GovernanceAlexandre de Streel6. Constitutional Changes in Euro Government and the Relationship Between the ECB and the Executive Power in the UnionThomas Beukers7. The Single Supervisory Mechanism: Building the New Top-Down Cooperative Supervisory Governance in EuropeGianni LO SchiavoPart III: Democracy: Representation, Participation and Accountability8. Is the EU a Representative Democracy ? The Normative Debate and the Impact of the Euro-crisisSimona Piattoni9. Participatory Democracy in Europe: Article 11 TEU and the Legitimacy of the European UnionChristian Marxsen10. Democratic Accountability of EU Executive Power: A Reform Agenda for ParliamentsDeirdre CurtinPart IV: The Parliamentarisation of the EU and its Critics11. Towards a New Constitutional Architecture in the EU?R Daniel Kelemen12. Enhancing European Democracy in Times of Crisis? - The Proposal to Politicise the Election of the European Commission's PresidentCarlino Antpöhler13. In the Image of State: Constitutional Complexities of Engineering a European DemocracyAnna KocharovPart V: New Institutional Developments14. New Intergovernmentalism: The European Council and its PresidentUwe Puetter15. Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation and its Challenges:The Case of Economic and Financial GovernanceValentin Kreilinger16. From Executive Federalism to Executive Government: Current Problems and Future Prospects in the Governance of EMUFederico Fabbrini