Changes in Eurozone Governance after the Crisis and the Issue of Growth

Abstract

The Eurozone countries are still seeking a way out of the crisis that has been affecting the European Monetary Union (EMU) since 2010. Sovereign debt crises, difficulties in the banking system and large current account imbalances have characterized the euro crisis, while several countries of the Eurozone have entered a phase of slow and even negative growth. All this has put at risk the sustainability of the EMU, leading to a climate of distrust surrounding the future of the single currency. The crisis of the Eurozone has shown that a sustainable currency union requires more governance because of the higher degree of economic, financial and fiscal spillovers between euro member countries. However, the crisis has led to significant changes in the institutional framework of the EMU and in the economic policies of the Eurozone, highlighting, above all, the role of the ECB. The present contribution analyses these changes in Eurozone governance and discusses whether they are the correct solutions to the crisis; in addition it focuses on the unresolved issue of growth in the peripheral Eurozone countries.