Martin Heipertz and Amy Verdun   Ruling Europe The Politics of the Stability and Growth Pact     Cambridge University Press, 2010 334 pages | ISBN 9780521197502 | £ 55.00   Order book directly from Cambridge University Press.

 

 

Abstract | Contents | Authors

 

 

Abstract

 
The Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) is central to Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in Europe. Initiated by Germany in 1995 and adopted in 1997, it regulates the fiscal policies of European Union Member States. Following numerous violations of its deficit reference value, the Pact's Excessive Deficit Procedure was suspended in 2003. The decision to suspend was brought before the European Court of Justice in 2004 and the SGP then underwent painstaking reform in 2005. After a period of economic prosperity and falling budgetary deficits, the global economic crisis put the system under renewed stress. Originally published in 2010, Ruling Europe presents the first comprehensive analysis of the political history of the SGP as the cornerstone of EMU. It examines the SGP through different theoretical lenses, offering a fascinating study of European integration and institutional design. One cannot understand the Euro without first understanding the SGP.
 

 

Contents

 
Foreword Jean-Claude Juncke
 
1. The politics of the Stability and Growth Pact
 

 
Part I:
2.   States, intergovernmentalism and negotiating the SGP
3.   Opening the box: a domestic politics approach to the SGP
4.   The functional logic behind the SGP
5.   The role of experts and ideas

 

 
Part II:
6.   Implementation of the SGP in good and in bad times
7.   From bad times to crisis
8.   The SGP before the European Court of Justice
9.   The SGP in times of financial turbulence and economic crisis
10.  Conclusion: the past, present and future of the SGP and implications for European integration theory
 
Appendix
 

 

 

Authors

 
Martin Heipertz, European Investment Bank, Luxembourg
Amy Verdun, University of Victoria, British Columbia