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EU Reforms for Tomorrow's Europe

Author

Listed:
  • Baldwin, Richard
  • Berglöf, Erik
  • Giavazzi, Francesco
  • Widgren, Mika
Abstract
This Paper contributes ideas and analysis to the ongoing EU reform debate. It consists of three distinct parts: voting in the Council of Ministers, restructuring the ECB's Governing Council, and the setting of enlargement 'examination' dates. The IGC currently focuses on Council voting, Commission composition, closer co-operation and the range of issues to be covered by qualified majority voting. Part 1 of our paper evaluates Council voting reform proposals with quantitative tools from voting game theory. We find that only the 'dual simple majority' plan maintains decision-making efficiency and democratic legitimacy in an EU 27. We believe, however, that the impact of enlargement on the ECB's Governing Council merits also discussion in Nice. We demonstrate that an expanded Governing Council with its current structure would be unwieldy and plagued by decision-making difficulties that would prevent it from making hard choices at the right time. Financial markets could react negatively to the possibility of a dysfunctional ECB; the Nice summit should request the ECB to propose some solutions. Finally, we argue that undertaking these reforms before enlargement should be a priority, not a precondition. Specifically, the EU should now commit to firm accession 'exam' dates and signing dates (for those who pass); this should be done both for the earliest enlargement and for subsequent waves since this would stimulate incumbents and candidates to undertake the necessary reforms while ensuring that the first enlargement does not delay the second.

Suggested Citation

  • Baldwin, Richard & Berglöf, Erik & Giavazzi, Francesco & Widgren, Mika, 2000. "EU Reforms for Tomorrow's Europe," CEPR Discussion Papers 2623, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:2623
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Geoffrey M. B. Tootell, 1991. "Regional economic conditions and the FOMC votes of district presidents," New England Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, issue Mar, pages 3-16.
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    4. Laruelle, Annick & Widgren, Mika, 1998. "Is the Allocation of Voting Power among EU States Fair?," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 94(3-4), pages 317-339, March.
    5. Rudi Dornbusch & Carlo Favero & Francesco Giavazzi, 1998. "Immediate challenges for the European Central Bank," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 13(26), pages 16-64.
    6. Alho, Kari & Erkkilä, Mika & Kotilainen, Markku, . "The Economics and Policies of Integration - a Finnish Perspective," ETLA A, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy, number 22, June.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Political economy; Ecb; European union; Emu; Institutional reform; Accession; Enlargement; IGC; qualified majority voting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D7 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making
    • D71 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Social Choice; Clubs; Committees; Associations
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
    • E61 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Policy Objectives; Policy Designs and Consistency; Policy Coordination
    • F15 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Economic Integration
    • F36 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Financial Aspects of Economic Integration

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