An Informal Agenda-Setter? The Role of the European Council in Shaping the EU’s Response to the European Sovereign Debt Crisis

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how the European Council shaped the European Union’s response to the sovereign debt crisis through its informal agenda-setting powers. The paper uses process tracing to demonstrate the influence of the European Council in this regard. Theoretically, the paper is anchored by policy entrepreneurship through the Multiple Streams Framework. The findings point to the continued significance of intergovernmentalism with member states key leaders of the economic and fiscal negotiations, with the European Council emerging as the European Union’s de facto policy entrepreneur during the crisis, informally setting the agenda on the how to reform the Stability and Growth Pact. Furthermore, the recommendations of the Task Force on strengthening economic governance also led to the establishment of a permanent bailout mechanism, the European Stability Mechanism. Likewise, the European Council used its informal agenda-setting powers to push for the Euro Plus Pact and the Fiscal Treaty.