Economic Governance and the Euro Crisis: Constitutional Architecture and Constitutional Implications

The financial crisis, and resulting crisis with the Euro, has had profound effects on the EU, and its Member States, even those that do not form part of the Euro zone. It has generated a welter of measures to combat the ‘problem’ and this flurry of initiatives has not yet come to an end, nor is it likely to do so in the short term. This chapter considers the emerging constitutional architecture resulting from these measures, from both a substantive and a formal dimension. This is followed by examination of the constitutional implications of the measures adopted thus far. The discussion considers these implications from a legal, economic and political perspective, and it will be seen that there are significant constitutional challenges in all three areas.