Democratising the Euro Area Without the European Parliament and Outside of the EU System. A Legal Analysis of the Draft Treaty on the Democratisation of the Governance of the Euro Area (“T-Dem”)

Table of Contents: I. Introduction. – II. The T-Dem’s Parliamentary Assembly of the Euro Area. – III. The choice for an external institutionalization. – IV. Conclusion.

Abstract: The Draft Treaty on the Democratization of the Governance of the Euro Area (dubbed “T-Dem”) is an academic project aimed at reducing the democratic deficit in the euro area by creating a Parliamentary Assembly of the Euro Area, outside of the EU institutional framework, which would exercise political control, exercise a legislative function and adopt a budget for the Member States of the Euro Area. Democratizing the governance of the Euro Area is certainly a priority; however, like any serious institutional endeavour, it is not without risks and challenges. The present Overview aims at providing a summary legal analysis of the project, focusing on its two main features. First, I will comment the project of the Assembly itself, analysing its powers and composition. Then, I will analyse the choice the authors of the draft made for an external institutionalisation, i.e. the creation of institutions outside of the European Union to deal with EU-related issues. I will contend that this choice raises questions of legality and constitutionality and generates legal complexities I call “legal costs”.

Keywords: Eurozone – democratization – governance – T-Dem – European Parliament – democratic deficit.

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European Papers, Vol. 3, 2018, No 1, pp. 103-119
ISSN 2499-8249 - doi: 10.15166/2499-8249/209

* Public Law Professor, University of Bordeaux, sebastien.platon@u-bordeaux.fr.