Institutional reform and changes in the economic governance of the European Union after the economic crisis

The international economic crisis since 2008 has had a deep impact on the economic governance model of the European Union. The doubts that have been generated about the viability of the European project have prompted the implementation of a set of reform measures of the institutional framework of the European Union. These measures have been aimed at strengthening the economic, financial and political management of the integration project. Thus, in an environment of social unrest, Member States and European institutions have been forced to negotiate and reach agreements on the scope of the reforms and their implementation. Since 2012, we have assisted in the configuration of a new economic management context of the European Union and especially of the Monetary Union. These changes, although manifestly insufficient, have reinforced the economic governance model that is still unfinished after seven years. An example is the lack of a common fiscal policy in the Euro zone or the achievement of a complete European Banking Union. This chapter addresses the institutional changes that have happened in the context of the Economic Union and specially in the context of the Monetary Union to strengthen the economic governance model. In this sense, the reform of the management of the fiscal policy and the Stability and Growth Pact will be analyzed, as well as the changes in the monetary policy and supervision of the financial system where, the European Central Bank will acquire a decisive role.