Countering the Debt Crisis: National Parliaments and EU Economic Governance

Abstract:     

While the sovereign debt crisis was ravaging the Eurozone and while the European Council was dominating the decision-making scene, even the most informed onlookers harboured little expectation that this would have a positive impact on the democratisation of the European Union. Although frequently viewed as losers of European integration, national parliaments have reacted promptly and gained as much from the crisis as they have lost. Not only have they compensated for the constraints suffered due to greater fiscal integration, they have acquired new prerogatives in EU affairs, created new avenues for the political contestation of EU policies, and brought the EU closer to the European citizens. National parliaments are effectively the beneficiaries of the euro crisis and there very good reasons for this.

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