European Economic Governance Project ( European Economic Governance)

Abstract:

European Union (EU) economic governance has since the beginning of the euro crisis in 2010 been characterized by swift decision making along with extensive institutional reform. EU institutions for economic governance have been under extraordinary pressure to adapt and adjust to crisis constraints, which places direct pressure on their institutional capacities, the flexibility of their decision-making procedures, and what skills and knowledge resources are available to deal with a rapidly changing context. The European Central Bank (ECB), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) are all noteworthy in this regard. For the ECB, EIB, and ESM there is a strong need to demonstrate how their decision-making procedures are transparent, in order to retain and build their legitimacy among member states and civil society. The proposed team will combine Transparency International methods with a methodological approach developed through previous research from the Principal Investigator and Research Team into professional networks and careers. The combination will provide evidence-based insights to how the ECB, EIB, and ESM perform on institutional and network parameters to assess how they contribute to the continued development of an effective, transparent and accountable European economic governance structure.