ORCID
- Holden, Patrick: 0000-0002-7742-8107
Abstract
The intensification of the financial and economic crisis in Europe has added a new impetus to the debate over the possibilities for securing supranational fiscal integration within the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Since the literature on the European Union’s response to the crisis is dominated by the study of intergovernmental politics, this article considers the previously neglected role of the Commission. A framing analysis of the Commission’s crisis discourse is operationalised here, which is supplemented by interviews with senior officials located in the Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN) during key phases of the crisis. It is found that a supranational reform agenda was never internalised by the Commission. Instead, the Commission acted strategically by framing the crisis around intergovernmental fiscal discipline. These findings suggest that, in line with the ‘new intergovernmentalist’ thesis, supranational institutions themselves may not be as ‘hard-wired’ towards supranationalism as is often assumed.
DOI
10.1080/01402382.2017.1297638
Publication Date
2017-02-12
Publication Title
West European Politics
First Page
1310
Last Page
1330
ISSN
0140-2382
Embargo Period
2018-09-13
Organisational Unit
School of Society and Culture
Recommended Citation
Warren, T., Holden, P., & Howell, K. (2017) 'The European Commission and fiscal governance reform: a strategic actor?', West European Politics, , pp. 1310-1330. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2017.1297638
