10 The Euro Crisis and the Democratic Principle

Abstract

This chapter addresses the operation of the democratic principle in the Euro crisis and assesses the concerns expressed as to the legitimacy of the intervention of the European Union for the coordination of national fiscal, budgetary and economic policies. Unlike other contributions about the legal dimension of the Euro crisis, the chapter engages in an in-depth examination of all the measures adopted in order to deal with the financial and economic difficulties faced by Member States. After a general overview of the challenges to the democratic principle arising from the Euro crisis it has been deemed preferable to pick out three crucial subject-matters relating to the implementation of the democratic principle, the actors in the Euro crisis, the acts of the European Union and/or its Member States in those matters and the existence of a power of judicial review, that are analysed in turn. Keywords: budgetary policy; democratic principle; economic policy; Euro crisis; European Union; judicial review; legitimacy; national fiscal policy