The SDN elaborates the case for, and the design of, a banking union for the euro area. It discusses the benefits and costs of a banking union, presents a steady state view of the banking union, elaborates difficult transition issues, and briefly discusses broader EU issues. As such, it assesses current plans and provides advice. It is accompanied by three background technical notes that analyze in depth the various elements of the banking union: a single supervisory framework; a single resolution and common safety net; and urgent issues related to repair of weak banks in Europe.
Europe’s financial crisis cannot be blamed on the Euro, Harold James contends in this probing exploration of the whys, whens, whos, and what-ifs of European monetary union. The current crisis goes deeper, to a series of problems that were debated but not resolved at the time of the Euro’s invention. Since the 1960s, Europeans had been looking for a way to address two conundrums simultaneously: the dollar’s privileged position in the international monetary system, and Germany’s persistent current account surpluses in Europe. The Euro was created under a politically independent central bank to meet the primary goal of price stability. But while the monetary side of union was clearly conceived, other prerequisites of stability were beyond the reach of technocratic central bankers. Issues such as fiscal rules and Europe-wide banking supervision and regulation were thoroughly discussed during planning in the late 1980s and 1990s, but remained in the hands of member states. That omission proved to be a cause of crisis decades later. Here is an account that helps readers understand the European monetary crisis in depth, by tracing behind-the-scenes negotiations using an array of sources unavailable until now, notably from the European Community’s Committee of Central Bank Governors and the Delors Committee of 1988–89, which set out the plan for how Europe could reach its goal of monetary union. As this foundational study makes clear, it was the constant friction between politicians and technocrats that shaped the Euro. And, Euro or no Euro, this clash will continue into the future.
National development banks (NDBs) have transformed from outdated relics of national industrial policy to central pillars of the European Union's economic project. This book explores why the EU has supported an increased role for NDBs, and how we might understand the dynamics between NDBs and European incentives and constraints.
The book explains functions, powers and composition of the EU's institutions, including the Council of Europe, the Council of Ministers, the College of Commissioners, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank, the Court of Auditors and OLAF, and the Committee of Regions. After a historical overview of the attempts at EU institutional reform, three chapters examine how different institutions provide political direction, manage the Union and integrate interests.
An examination of the debates on European Central Bank monetary policy, focusing on issues of transparency, credibility, and accountability and the effect of the ECB's decentralized structure. The adoption of the euro in 1999 by 11 member states of the European Union created a single currency area second in economic size only to the United States. The euro zone's monetary policy is now set by the European Central Bank (ECB) and its Governing Council rather than by individual national central banks. This CESifo volume examines issues that have arisen in the first years of ECB monetary policy and analyzes the effect that current ECB policy strategy and structures may have in the future. After a detailed description and assessment of ECB monetary policy making that focuses on such issues as price stability and the predictability of policy decisions, the book turns to two important issues faced by European central bankers: the transparency and credibility of decision making and the ECB's decentralized structure. After showing that transparency in decision making enhances credibility, the book discusses the ECB's efforts at openness, its political independence as guaranteed by law, and its ultimate accountability. The book then considers the effects of the decentralized ECB structure, focusing on business cycle synchronization, inflation differentials, and differences in monetary policy transmission in light of the enlargement of the monetary union. The book also discusses options for ECB institutional reforms, including centralization, vote weighting, and cross-border regional banks.
Based on the experience of the author, an IPE scholar and former trade policy consultant at the World Bank (WB), the book offers an in-depth exploration of the EU–WB relations, conceptualized as hybrid delegation. Coupling cross-time analyses of their interaction in the regions of the Middle East and North Africa, Europe and Central Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa with an original investigation on the coordination among the EU member states at the Executive Board of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development over the ‘voice and participation reform’ of 2008–2010, the book advances an innovative theoretical framework to assess the EU–WB joint institutional and field policy performances. Augmented PA models of delegation, role theory and performance analyses are engaged, and selectively recombined, to investigate the nature, evolution and impact of the interactions of the two organizations, both in their everyday and constituent politics. Hybrid delegation-in-motion is reconstructed, against the background of post-Washington Consensus and post-Lisbon EU, to unveil the changing division of labour between the two largest development multilaterals of the new global context. The book will be of interest to scholars, students and practitioners in European Politics, Development, International Relations, International Political Economy and Global Economic Governance.
The Difficult Construction of European Banking Union examines the political, legal and economic issues surrounding the lacunae and design faults of European Banking Union and its problematic operation. The volume brings together the work of sixteen scholars focused on the diverse debates surrounding the construction and operation of Banking Union (BU), and its necessary reform. BU represents one of the most important developments in European integration since the launch of Monetary Union. Furthermore, the design of the BU agreed between 2012 and 2014 was a messy compromise among EU member states. It is not surprising then that BU has sparked a lively academic debate and triggered an ever-growing number of publications from different disciplinary backgrounds. The first wave of academic work on BU focuses upon the economic rationale underpinning the supranationalisation of control over banking -- regulation, supervision, support and resolution -- and the political dynamics and legal issues that shaped the design of the Union agreed. This volume is located at the intersection of this first phase of academic research and a second stage which analyses the functioning of the different elements of BU. New research questions are triggered by the albeit limited empirical evidence on BU's implementation and operation. Contributions to this second wave of research attempt to identify potentially dangerous lacunae and contribute to on-going reform debates. The Difficult Construction of European Banking Union will be of great interest to scholars of the European Union, Banking, Economic Governance, and Political Economy. Most of the chapters were originally published as three special issues in the Journal of Economic Policy Reform.
Part of the Oxford EU Financial Regulation Series, this work analyses the implications of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) for banks in Europe, and the second edition reflects the experience in practice of this regime both economically and legally. The new edition provides reflection on the efficacy and problems with the central banking regulatory regime. There are new chapters on capital adequacy, fit and proper testing under the SSM, and deposit guarantee schemes. A further additional chapter considers the impact of the Bank Resolution and Recovery Directive (BRRD) and its interaction with the SRM by detailed analysis of relevant case law. Whist offering insightful updates to existing chapters on the Single Rulebook, CRD IV, the SSM and the SRM, the second edition also includes brand new chapters covering a range of subjects. Unique to the second edition, experienced scholars and practitioners explore The Deposit Guarantee Scheme, fit and proper testing within the SMM, BRRD and SRB in practice. This book benefits from the contributions of a team of leading scholars and practitioners who present a range of perspectives and methodologies. Case studies and in depth-analysis is presented to highlight topics such as supervised credit institutions, implications for financial market governance, and risk management and compliance. European Banking Union (second edition) is the ultimate companion for academics, legal practitioners, financial supervisors, and policy makers.
