EUR-Charts

The 2nd box, entitled “Background”, must read:

Background

Art. 3(4) TEU

“The Union shall establish an economic and monetary union whose currency is the euro.”

The box entitled entitled “Some important aspects” (last row, to the right-hand side) should read:

Some important aspects:
• A single monetary policy;
• The European System of Central Banks (see Chart 3/12) defines and implements the monetary policy;
• Monopoly of the European Central Bank to issue euro banknotes;
• Conditions for the adoption of the euro, as stated in Art. 140(1) TFEU.
Note:
Not all Member States have adopted the euro; see Chart 1/7.

On 24/25 March 2011, the European Council (see Chart 3/4) agreed on the first Treaty revision effected through a simplified revision procedure (European Council Decision 2011/199/EU). It decided to add to Art. 136 TFEU the following new paragraph:

“3. The Member States whose currency is the euro may establish a stability mechanism to be activated if indispensable to safeguard the stability of the euro area as a whole. The granting of any required financial assistance under the mechanism will be made subject to strict conditionality.”

Further to this decision to change the Treaty, the European Council has agreed on the need for euro-area Member States to establish a permanent stability mechanism, namely the so-called European Stability Mechanism (ESM) which will be activated by mutual agreements, if indispensable to safeguarding the financial stability of the euro area as a whole (see http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/120296.pdf#page=22).

Both the Treaty revision and the establishment of the ESM were unsuccessfully challenged in the case of Pringle (2012).

In December 2011, the so-called “Six-Pack” entered into force. Subsequently, at the end of May 2013, the so-called “Two-Pack” entered into force.

As an additional development, in March 2012, 25 Member States (with the exclusion of UK and CZ) signed a so-called “Fiscal Compact” (“Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance”), aimed at strengthening fiscal discipline and introducing stricter surveillance within the euro area, in particular by establishing a balanced rule.

Therefore, the last box on the left hand side underneath the box “Economic policy, Arts. 120 TFEU et seq.” must read:

Some important aspects:

• Coordination of their economic policies by the Member States;
• Recommendation by the European Council on broad guidelines and early warning mechanism in relation to defaulting Member States;
• Obligation of the Member States to avoid excessive government deficits; excessive deficit procedure under Art. 126 TFEU, firmed up by the Stability and Growth Pact: Protocol No 12, Regulations 1466/97/EC, 1467/97/EC and 479/2009/EC, as revised by four acts of the so-called “Six-Pack” (six interlinked legislative acts, entered into force on 13 December 2011): Regulations 1173/2011/EU, 1175/2011/EU, 1177/2011/EU Directive 2011/85/EU (the other two measures of the Six-Pack being Regulations 1174/2011/EU and 1176/2011/EU) and the so-called “Two-Pack”; Excessive deficit procedure (2004);
• A permanent European Stability Mechanism (ESM), Art. 136(3) TFEU (decided on in March 2011; see Chart 2/27); Pringle (2012);
• Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance, so-called “Fiscal Compact” (signed in March 2012 by 25 Member States; entered into force on 1 January 2013).

Note:
Elements of the so-called “Six-Pack”:

• Directive 2011/85/EU on requirements for budgetary frameworks of the Member States, OJ 2011 L 306/41
• Regulation 1173/2011/EU on the effective enforcement of budgetary surveillance in the euro area, OJ 2011 L 306/1
• Regulation 1174/2011/EU on enforcement measures to correct excessive macroeconomic imbalances in the euro area, OJ 2011 L 306/8
• Regulation 1175/2011/EU amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1466/97 on the strengthening of the surveillance of budgetary positions and the surveillance and coordination of economic policies, OJ 2011 L 306/12
• Regulation 1176/2011/EU on the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances, OJ 2011 L 306/25
• Regulation 1177/2011/EU amending Regulation (EC) No 1467/97 on speeding up and clarifying the implementation of the excessive deficit procedure, OJ 2011 L 306/33

Elements of the so-called “Two-Pack”:

• Regulation 472/2013/EU on the strengthening of economic and budgetary surveillance of Member States in the euro area experiencing or threatened with serious difficulties with respect to their financial stability, OJ 2013 L 140/1
• Regulation 473/2013/EU on common provisions for monitoring and assessing draft budgetary plans and ensuring the correction of excessive deficit of the Member States in the euro area, OJ 2013 L 140/11

Furthermore, the last box on the right hand side underneath the box “Monetary policy, Arts. 127 TFEU et seq.” must read:

Some important aspects:
• A single monetary policy;
• The European System of Central Banks (see Chart 3/12) defines and implements the monetary policy;
• Monopoly of the European Central Bank to issue euro banknotes;
• Conditions for the adoption of the euro, as stated in Art. 140(1) TFEU.
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Note:
Not all Member States have adopted the euro; see Chart 1/7.

[Please note that in the 3rd Reprint 2013 of the book the ESM and the Pringle (2012) case are wrongly mentioned in the context of monetary policy.]