Description
The module highlights the main features of the legal and institutional framework for the European Union’s Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The EMU is designed to create the foundation for sustainable long-term economic growth by providing macroeconomic stability, while, at the same time, constituting a natural complement to EU’s Single Market. It involves close co-ordination of economic and fiscal policies and, for those countries fulfilling certain conditions, a single monetary policy and a single currency – the euro. Despite its initially accepted legal architecture, the recent economic crisis has revealed the EMU’s original legal flaws, such as the separation of the economic and the monetary policy, the peculiarities of the EU’s competence in each policy field, and the lack of mechanisms able to respond to such crises and provide assistance to member states. Against this background, the EMU has evolved through the adoption of urgent EU legislation and the conclusion of international treaties that need to be understood and scrutinized in order to draw a realistic and stable future of the EU’s economy.
Objectives
Upon completion of the course, the student will:
Contents
Topics discussed comprise the historical evolution, sources and fundamental principles of the EMU; an in-depth discussion of the Monetary Union issues: the Euro as the common currency, accession and withdrawal from the Eurozone, specific rules; the ESCB, ECB, bank supervision, as well as the Economic Union ones: Multilateral surveillance, budgetary and fiscal discipline; Stability and Growth Pact, Six-pack, recent rules. Particular emphasis is paid to the EMU and the financial crisis: bilateral agreements, EFSF, EFSM, ESM and the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) Pringle judgment; the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union; judicial protection in the EMU: the Gauweiler, Ledra, Florescu and Weiss judgments of the CJEU; as well as capital controls and the EMU tools for pursuing stability: QE and ELA.
Academic Requirements
Participants are required to have at least some basic previous knowledge of EU Law.
Teaching method
The course will run under seminar format, which requires a high degree of student participation. A power-point presentation will be used in the teaching of each lecture, and out of class the students will be required to read relative academic articles indicated by the lecturer, which will help them deepen their knowledge. Participants to the classes will also be supported through the discussion of important case-law, as well as by other related legal materials.
Lecturer
The course is taught by Assistant Professor Manolis Perakis.
Assessment and testing