Making Next Generation EU a permanent tool

Report (2023)

The policy study assesses the possible scope and the technical and legal difficulties in implementing a "permanent Next-Generation EU (NGEU)", a central fiscal capacity for the EU, without ever losing ... [more ▼]

The policy study assesses the possible scope and the technical and legal difficulties in implementing a "permanent Next-Generation EU (NGEU)", a central fiscal capacity for the EU, without ever losing sight of the democratic requirement. The implementation of NGEU has raised coordination issues between the member states as to the allocation of funds across structural priorities (e.g. ecological transition vs digitalisation) and across countries. To these coordination difficulties, Section 2 adds the issue of the democratic legitimacy of EU policies when supranational priorities constrain the autonomy of national parliaments. The problem of accountability is not new when one thinks that supranational rules, such as the Stability and Growth Pact, impose limits on the power of parliaments to "tax and spend"; in fact, the intrinsic logic of coordination is to force (political) discretionary power to comply with (macroeconomic) functional imperatives; this inevitably produces a form of depoliticisation of fiscal policy. Throughout this policy study, we constantly keep in mind that transforming NGEU into a permanent programme offers an opportunity to fix this depoliticisation of EU policies and open a window for a breakthrough to a "political Europe". [less ▲]

L’intégration monétaire européenne ou la paix des monnaies

in Potvin-Solis, Laurence (Ed.) L'Union européenne et la paix (2023)

La monnaie est le reflet du système des relations sociales des sociétés transactionnelles. Elle en porte les valeurs, en promeut les objectifs. Les traités européens fondent un processus d’union sans ... [more ▼]

La monnaie est le reflet du système des relations sociales des sociétés transactionnelles. Elle en porte les valeurs, en promeut les objectifs. Les traités européens fondent un processus d’union sans cesse plus étroite entre les peuples européens. L’Union a pour but de promouvoir la paix. Créée en 1999, la monnaie unique européenne, l’euro, contribue à ce rapprochement entre les peuples en composant une communauté monétaire. Elle met fin à l’état d’anarchie entre monnaies européennes, elle garantit la justice entre les utilisateurs de l’euro, par sa nature dénationalisée et sa stabilité. Cependant, la malingrerie des arrangements institutionnels gouvernant la projection externe du pouvoir monétaire européen confère à celui-ci un rôle modeste dans la préservation de la paix dans l’ordre monétaire international bouleversé par l’émergence des « monnaies » virtuelles. [less ▲]

Contrôler la dette publique pour garantir la paix. Quelques réflexions juridiques sur la modernité du 4e article préliminaire du projet de paix perpétuelle de Kant

in Estudos Kantianos (2022)

In the 'century of debt' that was the Enlightenment, Immanuel Kant was well aware of the pecuniary power that borrowing represents for any state and the realisation of its civil and/or military ambitions ... [more ▼]

In the 'century of debt' that was the Enlightenment, Immanuel Kant was well aware of the pecuniary power that borrowing represents for any state and the realisation of its civil and/or military ambitions. The 4th preliminary article of the Perpetual Peace Project forbids the use of debt for military purposes: "National debts must not be contracted in order to support the interests of the state outside". While he does not subscribe in every respect to Hume's pessimism about the very principle of public debt, Kant shares some of his criticisms. The hierarchy of types of debts established according to their modalities of constitution (internal/external financing, limited/unlimited) and their uses (civil/military) testifies to a series of axiological judgments on debt that suggest the basic elements of a legal regime of public debt. The present contribution aims at analysing the 4th preliminary article in the light of the economic, financial and political context of Prussia and other European states at the end of the 18th century. It compares Kant's position on public debt with those of his contemporaries (Hume, Diderot) and of the classical economists (Melon, Smith...). It also identifies the legal characteristics of Kant's framework of public debt and underlines its scope and limits. [less ▲]

The ECB: a prudential supervisor without sufficient powers?

Presentation (2022, May 12)

Council Regulation No 1024/2013 (‘SSM Regulation’ or ‘SSMR’) confers exclusive competence on the ECB to carry out specific supervisory tasks with regard to credit institutions established in the Euro Area ... [more ▼]

Council Regulation No 1024/2013 (‘SSM Regulation’ or ‘SSMR’) confers exclusive competence on the ECB to carry out specific supervisory tasks with regard to credit institutions established in the Euro Area Member States. When the ECB carries out its supervisory tasks, it is “considered, as appropriate, the competent authority or the designated authority in the participating Member States as established by the relevant Union law”. Any reference made in the CRD IV to a National competent authority (NCA) shall thus be read as a reference to the ECB whenever the ECB is competent. However, this does not turn the ECB into a super NCA. Although the SSMR has granted the ECB most of the powers necessary to carry out its new tasks, the ECB lacks certain specific powers that national laws have given to national supervisors. Filling this gap and ensuring a high level of consistency in the exercise of prudential supervision require the definition of complex administrative composite procedures where the identification of responsibility and accountability of the ECB and the NCAs is particularly blurred. Ten years after the creation of the SSM, it will be time to consider a number of developments in the legal framework, as this contribution will discuss in conclusion. [less ▲]

La voie des réformes de l'UEM: "le futur ancien n'est pas notre avenir"

in Revue des Affaires Européennes (2022), 2021(3), 545-563

of a set of reforms in the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The economic union is particularly concerned. The reforms implemented so far have been carried out without any change to the substance of the ... [more ▼]

of a set of reforms in the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The economic union is particularly concerned. The reforms implemented so far have been carried out without any change to the substance of the EU constitutional framework, given that they made use of both the extensive substantive scope of EU legislative decision-making power in the field of economic union and the development of institutional practices to fill gaps or complement the EU legal framework. In so doing, EMU developments are condemned to take place within the limits of constitutional provisions that are outdated in many respects, increasingly complex, confusing and unreadable. Achieving a genuine EMU means breaking out of this status quo. Constitutional revision is no longer an option: it is a prerequisite for the well functioning of EMU. [less ▲]

Le financement du plan de relance européen : audaces fortuna juvat

in Revue des Affaires Européennes (2022), 2022(2), 797-806

La mutualisation des dettes européennes implique nécessairement un renforcement de la discipline budgétaire

in Gestion et Finances publiques (2020), (4), 37-42

Pooling of member-states debts is not authorized by European treaties and would imply a handing over of budgetary responsibilities from member States to the Union. Restructuring these debts is practicable ... [more ▼]

Pooling of member-states debts is not authorized by European treaties and would imply a handing over of budgetary responsibilities from member States to the Union. Restructuring these debts is practicable according to ordinary law (collective action clause) and backed by the European Stability Mechanism. There are also some alternative solutions which are more in keeping with the Union spirit: budgetary discipline, financial aid backed by the EIB, asset purchasing by the ECB which does not go without risks and has limits. [less ▲]

La numérisation de l'argent liquide: fin ou résistance du "cash"?

in Revue de l'euro (2019), (54),

Dans cette synthèse des communications au colloque, il est proposé une mise en perspective des tensions qui se nouent autour des formes de la monnaie et de son utilisation. Quoique les espèces conservent ... [more ▼]

Dans cette synthèse des communications au colloque, il est proposé une mise en perspective des tensions qui se nouent autour des formes de la monnaie et de son utilisation. Quoique les espèces conservent une charge symbolique et une certaine importance pour les paiements de faible valeur, des restrictions multiples se sont développées sur les dernières années au nom de la lutte contre la fraude fiscale, le crime organisé ou le terrorisme. A quoi s'ajoutent la suppression de certaines valeurs, les billets de 500 euros et, à l'opposé, les pièces de 1 ou 2 cents. Cependant, une remise en cause plus substantielle s'affirme sous l'effet du développement de l'introduction des nouvelles technologies dans le secteur des paiements: la réalisation des paiements scripturaux approchent dorénavant l'immédiateté; de nouvelles monnaies, locales, virtuelles trouvent de nouveaux publics, et entrent en concurrence avec la monnaie légale. [less ▲]

La proposition franco-allemande d'un instrument budgétaire pour la zone euro: le "millefeuille" continue

in Revue de l'euro (2019)

Le 22 février 2019, la France et l'Allemagne ont diffusé le texte arrêté en commun la veille sur les principales caractéristiques d'un instrument budgétaire de convergence et de compétitivité pour la zone ... [more ▼]

Le 22 février 2019, la France et l'Allemagne ont diffusé le texte arrêté en commun la veille sur les principales caractéristiques d'un instrument budgétaire de convergence et de compétitivité pour la zone euro. Ce document vise à nourrir les réflexions de l'Eurogroupe sur le sujet, ainsi que le Sommet de la zone euro de décembre 2018 en a chargé ce dernier. [less ▲]

Competitiveness and Solidarity in the European Union

Book published by Routledge - 1st (2019)

Starting in the 1980s, competitive pressures and the ideology of competitiveness have shaken and transformed traditional models of development, public policy, and governance in Europe. This edited book ... [more ▼]

Starting in the 1980s, competitive pressures and the ideology of competitiveness have shaken and transformed traditional models of development, public policy, and governance in Europe. This edited book carries out a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and innovative analysis of the relationship between competitiveness and solidarity in the contemporary European Union. It offers an original contribution to the scholarly debates on the current developments and challenges of welfare states, social and economic policies, and forms of governance in the European Union. Bringing together an international team of cutting-edge scholars in the social sciences and the humanities, Competitiveness and Solidarity in the European Union sheds light on the conceptual richness and policy relevance of these relationships, pointing to important avenues to make the European Union more economically successful and socially fairer. [less ▲]