The Internal and External Economic, Monetary and Financial Dimensions of the EU

The international financial crisis that reached its peak in late 2008 resulted in a full-fledged economic crisis across much of the European Union (EU) and a sovereign debt crisis in the euro area’s periphery, threatening the very existence of the euro and menacing the global economy. These developments have prompted an unprecedented degree of policy intervention at the national, EU and international levels. They have triggered significant reforms concerning the ‘completion’ of Economic and Monetary Union, notably through a Banking Union; increased budgetary surveillance (e.g. Fiscal Compact); a new role for the ECB during the crisis and following the establishment of Banking Union; new mechanisms for financial support of ailing countries (e.g. the establishment of the European Stability Mechanism, the involvement of the International Monetary Fund and the Troika, the failed proposal for euro bonds, possible sovereign debt restructuring mechanisms); the proposal for the establishment of a Capital Market Union; the controversial Financial Transaction Tax; the attempt to include financial regulation in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement; the discussion concerning the reform of the external representation of the European Union and the euro area in international financial fora, etc. The crisis and the response to it also had significant implications for the member states, as epitomized by the case of Greece and the ongoing debate on the British referendum and the prospects of Grexit and Brexit. Panels and papers in this section are encouraged to examine these themes, or to propose additional themes that relate to the internal and external economic, financial and monetary dimensions of the EU.