The European Banking Union and Constitution: Beacon for Advanced Integration or Death-Knell for Democracy?

Description

In 2012, at the height of the sovereign debt crisis, European decision makers pushed for developing an 'ever closer union' with the formation of a European Banking Union (BU). Although it provoked widespread debate, to date there has been no coherent discussion of the political and constitutional dimensions of the European Banking Union. This important new publication fills this gap. Drawing on the expertise of recognised experts in the field, it explores banking union from legal, economic and political perspectives. It takes a four-part approach. Firstly, it sets the scene by examining the constitutional foundations of banking union. Then in parts 2 and 3, it looks at the implications of banking union for European integration and for democracy. Finally it asks whether banking union might be more usefully regarded as a trade-off between integration and democracy. This is an important, timely and authoritative collection.

Stefan Grundmann is Professor of Transnational Private Law and Theory at the European University Institute, Florence. Hans-W Micklitz is Professor of Economic Law at the European University Institute, Florence.

Both academic scholars and practitioners dealing with legal questions in the area of European integration and financial regulation can learn much from the informed contributions on this work. Furthermore, anyone interested in the state of democracy in Europe will find new information and inspiration in this volume. -- Sebastian Heidebrecht, University of Duisburg-Essen * Journal of Common Market Studies * The issues examined in the book ... are addressed in an interesting way. Readers can find a lot of information and multiple analyses, legal and economic, political and technical ... Clearly, the authors give us food for thought. It is the reason why the book must be read. -- Thierry Bonneau, Professor of Law, Pantheon-Assas University * Journal of International Banking Law and Regulation * This book will undoubtedly be of interest to any scholar interested in understanding how the EBU functions, and most importantly how it is embedded within the EU's constitutional framework. -- Diane Fromage, University of Maastricht * European Law Review *