6 - Solidarity and the Economic and Monetary Union in Times of Economic Crisis

Summary

In times of crisis, solidarity is increasingly challenged both nationally and internationally. Since the onset of the economic crisis, therefore, unsurprisingly clear signs of such challenge have been present in Europe. Against this background, the chapter analyses how solidarity in actual fact has been addressed in the context of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and especially as a response to the economic crisis. Therefore, an analysis of ten years of EU reactions is undertaken to obtain a deeper understanding of how solidarity may have materialised. As a basis for the analysis, the chapter first examines how solidarity has developed over time in the overarching primary EU law and then in the specific context of the EMU. It is, among other things, concluded, in general terms, that the architecture of the EMU was not truly founded on solidarity in the sense of explicit obligations of the stronger Member States to help those in need, but certain changes in support thereof may after all be considered to have materialised little by little over time.