The European Council as a Crisis Manager

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wessels; Lucas Schramm; Dr. Tobias Kunstein

doi:10.5771/9783748928126

Summary

Faced with the deepest economic crisis in its history, the European Union established a seminal COVID-19 recovery package relying on common debt. This book analyses the European Council’s key role as a crisis manager and transformative force of the EU system. Combining thick descriptions of the history-making events of 2020-21 with EU theorising, we explain and critically assess the innovative set-up of the recovery package. Inside the European Council, we find a remarkable impetus for political consensus among national leaders. However, their detailed and ambiguous decisions at times came at the cost of political delay, legal uncertainty, and thin public scrutiny.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2022
ISBN-Print: 978-3-8487-8437-0
ISBN-Online: 978-3-7489-2812-6
Publisher: Nomos, Baden-Baden
Series: Studies on the European Union
Volume: 19
Language: English
Pages: 160
Product type: Book Titles

Titelei/Inhaltsverzeichnis No access Pages 1 - 18
1. 1.1 The European Council Conclusions of July 2020 and their legal follow-up No access
2. 1.2 A lively and controversial debate: the European Council’s role in framing a master narrative No access
3. 1. 1.3.1 Short-term analyses of objectives and results: a study of the legal documents and their impact No access
  2. 1.3.2 Assessing the interinstitutional impact: the European Council’s role and beyond No access
  3. 1.3.3 Longer-term perspectives: the rescue of the nation states by a Hamiltonian moment? No access
4. 1.4 Conclusion: a moving target to remain on the agenda for research and teaching No access
1. 2.1 The long road and the historical record: the European Council exercising the power of the purse No access
2. 2.2 The long and slow road towards the 2021–2027 MFF: the usual business of postponing divisive issues No access
3. 2.3 The fast track: the European Council in crisis mode No access
4. 2.4 The July marathon meeting: tracing the drama No access
5. 2.5 The bumpy road from the July to the December meeting and the February Regulation No access
6. 2.6 The road map post-agreement No access
7. 2.7 Conclusion: widening and deepening a multi-level analysis No access
1. 1. 3.1.1 Preparation phase: a mixture of bottom-up and top-down No access
  2. 3.1.2 Decision-making phase: Commission and Council in a traditional pattern under time pressure No access
  3. 3.1.3 Implementation phase: complex and complicated rules No access
  4. 3.1.4 Control phase: a set of detailed rules including the rule of law No access
  5. 3.1.5 A missing actor? A weak role for the EP No access
2. 3.2 Conclusion: governance mechanisms on the research agenda No access
1. 4.1 Explaining the key role of the European Council as a crisis manager No access
2. 1. 4.2.1 The importance of a ‘comprehensive package’ with concrete agreements No access
  2. 4.2.2 The role of the Presidency: facilitating consensus as the honest broker No access
  3. 4.2.3 The political culture of the leaders’ club: an esprit de corps, or the limits of collegiality? No access
  4. 4.2.4 Power relations: French-German leadership—a benevolent hegemony? No access
3. 1. 4.3.1 The European Council and the EP: follower, rival or partner? No access
  2. 4.3.2 The European Council and the Commission: a principal–agent relationship or a special partnership? No access
4. 4.4 On the legitimacy debate: democratic shortcomings or consensus democracy? No access
5. 4.5 Conclusion: the European Council as a transformative force—long-term perspectives on a constitutional architect No access
1. 5.1 Variants of federalism: Spinelli, Monnet and Hallstein revisited No access
2. 5.2 Variants of functionalism: the comeback of spill-over and supranational institutions No access
3. 5.3 Variants of intergovernmentalism: member states as pivotal players in the EU No access
4. 5.4 Variants of institutionalism: path dependence, self-interest, and political culture No access
5. 5.5 Conclusion: towards further offers No access
1. 1. 6.1.1 A scenario of success No access
  2. 6.1.2 A scenario of failure No access
2. 1. 6.2.1 Towards a new normality: more or less international cooperation No access
  2. 6.2.2 A new road map for the future of the Union’s architecture No access
1. 6.3 Lessons learned: recommendations for the teaching agenda No access
2. 6.4 A ‘menu’ of tasks for further research No access
References No access Pages 147 - 160