Ruling Europe The Politics of the Stability and Growth Pact [Paperback]

This book analyses the fraught history and politics of the Stability and Growth Pact from its origins to the present economic crisis.One cannot understand the euro without understanding the Stability and Growth Pact. The SGP is central to Economic and Monetary Union in Europe since it regulates the fiscal policies of EU Member States. This book analyses the fraught history and politics of the SGP from its origins to the present.One cannot understand the euro without understanding the Stability and Growth Pact. The SGP is central to Economic and Monetary Union in Europe since it regulates the fiscal policies of EU Member States. This book analyses the fraught history and politics of the SGP from its origins to the present.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 Pacts 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 is putting the system under renewed stress. 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.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 balã(