Droit et Économie - L'avenir de l'Union économique et monétaire : une perspective franco-allemande - 131

A LEGAL AND POLITICAL ECONOMY MAPPING 131

questionable to what extent the establishment of the function of a European Minister of Economy and Finance will substantially contribute to the
democratic legitimacy and namely accountability of European economic
policy-making beyond the existing arrangements. Firstly, this depends
considerably on the concrete decision-making powers that such a "Minister"
would have in the first place compared to the other major European actors
in economic policy coordination. Moreover, while the Commission emphasizes in its communication that this "Minister" 'would be accountable
towards the European Parliament', given the envisaged positioning of this
function within the European Commission, the accountability instruments
at the disposal of the European Parliament are limited to the currently existing notion of censure. What is more, no role seems to be foreseen for
national parliaments beyond some form of exchange of views.
Concerning the decoupling of law and politics from economics referred to
in § 4, the European Commission Roadmap does include some concrete
proposals on how to close the large gap between economic and monetary
union resulting from the asymmetric integration of these two policy fields.
The European Commission acknowledges in general terms that 'the experience of the crisis years has also shown that the architecture and scope of
EU public finances do not yet fully match the specific needs of the Economic and Monetary Union'.79 Measures are proposed inter alia to better support Member States in their structural reform efforts (introduction of a
so-called reform delivery tool and technical support), to address the vicious
link between sovereign debt and the financial position of credit institutions
(introducing a common backstop through the proposed EMF), and to deal
with asymmetric shocks (European stabilization function). While clearly falling short of the introduction of a European economic policy competence
that could match that in the area of monetary policy, considered in their
totally and if actually implemented these proposals potentially signify a
strengthening of the supranational capacity to contribute to the aim of economic convergence and to fulfill a macroeconomic stabilization function in
the case of severe asymmetric shocks.

experiencing or threatened with serious difficulties with respect to their financial stability, OJ
2013, L 140/1.
79. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council,
the Council and the European Central Bank, "New Budgetary Instruments for a Stable Euro
Area Within the Union Framework" (COM (2017) 822 final).

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