EU Forum

EU Integration

The parliamentarisation of the EU’s economic policy

29 Apr 2016 - 12:30
Source: John Kroll / Flickr

The euro crisis has seen a deepening of integration in the EU with a new framework for economic and budgetary coordination. This comprehensive set of rules and monitoring mechanisms has revived the debate on Europe’s democratic deficit. However, in the scholarly debate, little attention has so far been paid to the actual steps that parliaments undertake to fill this void.

Within this policy brief the authors describe the increasing role of the European Parliament (EP) in economic governance. Using mostly informal mechanisms, the EP is setting in motion an incremental process towards further control. Even though the formal role of the EP in economic governance is still limited, Europe’s political union seems to draw ever closer.