Further development of the EMU – should legitimacy come first or last?

The June 2012 European Council adopted a report setting out ‘four essential building blocks’ for the future Economic and Monetary Union (EMU): an integrated financial framework, an integrated budgetary framework, an integrated economic policy framework and, finally, strengthened democratic legitimacy and accountability.

In its discussions, the European Council stressed that:
'Throughout the process, the general objective remains to ensure democratic legitimacy and accountability at the level at which decisions are taken and implemented. Any new steps towards strengthening economic governance will need to be accompanied by further steps towards stronger legitimacy and accountability'.

But while the European Council has repeatedly expressed its concern about the legitimacy problems of the EMU, the tools proposed for tackling these problems have remained extremely modest. This trend continued in the Five Presidents’ Report adopted in June 2015.

ESO: Background information: Completing Europe's Economic and Monetary Union: Commission takes concrete steps to strengthen EMU http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-completing-europes-economic-and-monetary-union-commission-takes-concrete-steps-to-strengthen-emu/

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