Pringle: A Paradigm Shift in the European Union's Monetary Constitution

German Law Journal

Volumn 14, Issue 1, 2013, Pages 141-168

  Van Malleghem, Pieter Augustijn ^a  

^a HARVARD LAW SCHOOL   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 84893375459     PISSN: None     EISSN: 20718322     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S2071832200001747     Document Type: Article

References (82)

1. See Reference for a Preliminary Ruling from Supreme Court (Ireland) Made on 3 August 2012-Thomas Pringle v. Government of Ireland, Ireland and the Attorney General, 2012 O.J. (C 303) 18.
2. European Council Decision 2011/199/EU, 2011 (L 91) 1 ("amending Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union with regard to a stability mechanism for Member States whose currency is the euro").
3. Consolidated Version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, art. 136, Dec. 13, 2007, 2012 O.J. (C 326) 47 [hereinafter TFEU].
4. See Peter Laca, Czech President Klaus Refuses to Sign EU Rescue Fund, CTK Says, Bloomberg (Dec. 7, 2012), http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-07/czech-president-klaus-refuses-to-sign-eu-rescue-fund-ctk-says.html (noting Czech President Vaclav Klaus has refused to sign the amendment to the Lisbon Treaty).
5. See Treaty Establishing the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), Feb. 2, 2012, 2011 O.J. (L 91) 1 [hereinafter ESM Treaty]
6. see also Ratification Details, Treaty Establishing the European Stability Mechanism, Council of the European Union, available at http://www.consilium.europa.eu/policies/agreements/search-the-agreements-database?command=details&lang=en&aid=2012002&doclang=EN (last visited 1/8/2013).
7. See ESM Issues Bonds for the Recap of the Spanish Banking Sector, EUROPEAN STABILITY MECHANISM, http://www.esm.europa.eu/press/releases/ESM%20issues%20bonds%20for%20recap%20of%20Spanish%20banking%20sector.htm.
8. See Case C-370/12, Pringle v. Ir., 2012 E.C.R. I-, available at http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=130381&pageIndex=0&doclang=EN&mode=lst&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=274536 [hereinafter Pringle] (challenging the legality of the ESM).
9. See Timeline: The Unfolding Eurozone Crisis, BBC News (June 13, 2012), http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13856580.
10. See EUROPEAN COMMISSION, EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN EUROPE 2012, available at http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=9604&langId=en.
11. See IMF Approves €30 Bln Loan for Greece on Fast Track, International Monetary Fund (May 9, 2010), http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2010/new050910a.htm (reporting an approval of a three year loan to Greece as part of a joint effort with the European Union to assist Greece).
12. See Letter of Intent, Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies, Technical Memorandum of Understanding, and Memorandum of Understanding on Specific Economic Policy Conditionality from Greece to the Int'l Monetary Fund, European Comm'n, and European Central Bank (Aug. 6, 2010), available at http://www.imf.org/external/np/loi/2010/grc/080610.pdf (detailing the financial policies Greece plans to implement with the borrowed funds).
13. See Jean-Victor Louis, The No-Bailout Clause and Rescue Packages, 47 Common Mkt. L. Rev. 971, 973 (2010) (discussing the impact of Greece's debt crisis on the Eurozone).
14. See Press Release, Council of the European Union, Decision of the Representatives of the Governments of the Euro Area Member States Meeting Within the Council of the European Union (May 10, 2010), available at http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/10/st09/st09614.en10.pdf.
15. See Council Regulation 407/2010, (2010) O.J. (L 118) 1 (establishing a European financial stabilisation mechanism).
16. See European Financial Stability Facility, EFSF Framework Agreement, available at http://www.efsf.europa.eu/about/legal-documents/index.htm
17. Approved by All Members, European Financial Stability Facility (Oct. 13, 2011), http://www.efsf.europa.eu/mediacentre/news/2011/2011-011-efsf-amendments-approved-by-all-member-states.htm (noting that the lending capacity had been increased to €440 billion).
18. See Lothar Knopp, Griechenland-Nothilfe auf dem verfassungsrechtlichen Prüfstand, 63 NEUE JURISTISCHE WOCHENSCHRIFT 1778, 1779-80 (2010).
19. See EU Economic Governance, EUROPEAN COMMISSION http://ec.europa.eu/economy-finance/economic-governance/index-en.htm (explaining the EU's recent economic decisions and the impact of those new policies).
20. See Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union, Mar. 2, 2012, http://european-council.europa.eu/media/639235/st00tscg26-en12.pdf [hereinafter Fiscal Compact].
21. See Press Release, European Central Bank, Technical Feature of Outright Monetary Transactions (Sept. 6, 2012), http://www.ecb.int/press/pr/date/2012/html/pr120906-1.en.html (detailing the bank's program).
22. See Press Release, European Council, Conclusions of the European Council Meeting Dec. 16-17, 2010, 1 (Jan. 25, 2011), http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms-data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/118578.pdf#page=6.
23. See Consolidated Version of the Treaty on European Union, arts. 48(6), Feb. 7, 1992, 2012 O.J. (C 326) 13, 42 [hereinafter TEU].
24. The Simplified Revision Procedures allows Member States to amend the Treaty without having to comply with all the requirements of the Ordinary Revision Procedure, such as convening an intergovernmental conference.
25. See Agreement and Ratification Details, Treaty Establishing the European Stability Mechanism, Council of the European Union, http://www.consilium.europa.eu/policies/agreements/search-the-agreements-database?command=details&lang=en&aid=2011030&doclang=EN (last visited 8 Jan. 2013) (detailing the ratification of the original treaty).
26. See Riigikohus [Supreme Court Republic of Estonia], Case No. 3-4-1-6-12, July 12, 2012, available at http://www.nc.ee/?id=1347.
27. See Bundesverfassungsgericht [BverfG - Federal Constitutional Court], Case No. 2 BvR 1390/12, Sept. 12, 2012, 2012 Neue Juristische Wochenschrift (NJW) 3145 (Ger.).
28. See Constitutional Court: ESM Examination Takes up to 6 Months, Friedl News (July 25, 2012), http://www.friedlnews.com/article/constitutional-court-esm-examination-takes-up-to-6-months;
29. See Pringle v. Ir., [2012] IEHC 296, paras. 208-09 (H. Ct.) (Ir.), available at http://www.courts.ie/80256F2B00356A6B.nsf/0/0CA92DB7C606F3C680257A4B003AA6370pen&Highlight=0,pringle-language-en.
30. See Pringle v. Ir., [2012] IESC 47, para. 5 (S.C.) (Ir.), available at, http://www.courts.ie/-80256F2B00356A6B.nsf/0/E7504392B159245080257A4C00517D6A?open&Highlight=0,pringle,~language-en~ (noting the appeal has been sent to the ECJ on July 31, 2012).
31. See Case C-370/12, Order of the President of the Court in Pringle v. Ir., para. 8 (Oct. 4, 2012), available at http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document-print.jsf;jsessionid=9ea7d2dc30db57774ff134e343399983e127354ae11d.e34KaxiLc3qMb40Rch0SaxuKbxb0?doclang=EN&text=&pageIndex=0&part=1&mode=D0C&docid=128422&occ=first&dir=&cid=581740 [hereinafter Order of the President of the Court].
32. See Protocol (No. 3) on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union, art. 23(a), 2012 O.J. (C 326) 210, 217 [hereinafter Protocol No. 3] (noting that accelerated procedures may be used for a preliminary ruling).
33. See Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, art. 104(a), 2010 O.J. (C 177) 1, 28 (noting the President has the power to decide to apply accelerated procedures).
34. Interestingly, the ECJ made reference to Art 105(1) of its new Rules of Procedure, which had entered into force during the interval.
35. See Opinion of Advocate Gen. Kokott, Case C-370/12, Pringle v. Ir., 2012 E.C.R. I-.
36. See Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, art 60(2), 2012 O.J. (L 265) 20 (detailing when the Court may sit in full court).
37. Case C-188/92 TWD Textilwerke Deggendorf, 1994 E.C.R. 833, paras. 18 and 23, Case C-550/09 E and F, 2010 E.C.R. 6213, paras. 46 and 48, Case C-494/09 Bolton Alimentari, 2011 E.C.R. 647, paras. 22 and 23.
38. The CoJ did not rule on the doctrinal debate whether economic policy is a shared competence or not. Advocate General Kokott took the view that was not necessary in order to reply to the first question (View, para. 93).
39. Parliament v. Council & Comm'n, 1993 E.C.R. 3685
40. Case C-316/91, Parliament v. Council, 1994 E.C.R. 0625
41. Opinion 1/92, 1992 E.C.R. 2821; Opinion 1/00, 2002 E.C.R. 3493
42. Opinion 1/09, 2011 E.C.R.
43. See Case C-253/94, Roujansky v. Council, 1995 E.C.R. 0007, para. 11
44. see also Bruno de Witte, International Law as a Tool, 5 Eur. Const. L. rev. 265, 270 (2009).
45. See Case 43/75, Defrenne v. Société anonyme bege de vaigation aérienne Sabena, 1976 E.C.R. 455, para. 58, Opinion 2/94, Accession by the Community to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, 1996 E.C.R. 1759, para. 35.
46. Alan Dashwood, The Limits of European Community Powers, 21 Eur. L. Rev. 113, 114 (1996).
47. see also Koen Lenaerts & Piet Van Nuffel, European Union Law 929 (Robert Bray & Nathen Cambien eds., 3rd ed. 2011)
48. See Case C-513/04, Kerckhaert v. Belg., 2006 E.C.R. 967, para. 15.
49. See Case C-148/02, Avello v. Belg., 2003 E.C.R. 11613, para. 25.
50. See Case C-55/00, Gottardo v. INPS, 2002 E.C.R. 413, para. 32
51. Case C-307/97, Compagnie de Saint Gobain v. Finanzamt Aachen-Innenstadt, 1999 E.C.R. 6161, para. 57-58.
52. See Bruno de Witte, The European Treaty Amendment for the Creation of a Financial Stability Mechanism, SIEPS-SWEDISH INSTITUTE FOR EUROPEAN POLICY STUDIES 6 (2011), available at http://www.sieps.se/sites/default/files/2011-6epa.pdf.
53. See Case C-264/12, Sindicato Nacional dos Profissionais de Seguros e Afins v. Fidelidade Mundial, 2012 E.C.R. I, available at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=0J:C:2012:209:0005:03:EN:HTML.
54. See Case 294/83, Les Verts v. Eur. Parliament, 1986 E.C.R. 1339, para. 23
55. Case C-402/05 P & C-415/05 P, Kadi & Al Barakaat Int'l Found. v. Council & Comm'n, 2008 E.C.R. 6351, para. 281.
56. See Matthias J. Herdegen, Price Stability and Budgetary Restraints in the Economic and Monetary Union: The Law as Guardian of Economic Wisdom, 35 COMMON MKT. L. REV. 9, 15 (1998).
57. See Press Release, Bundesverfassungsgerichtj German Federal Constitutional Court), Date for Sentencing in Terms of "ESM/ Fiscal Pact" 12 September 2012 Remains (Sept. 11, 2012), available at http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/pressemitteilungen/bvg12-065a.html.
58. In its Opinion on Decision 2011/199, the ECB indicated it did not believe such a bank license to be compatible with Art 123 TFEU or Art 18 of the ECB Statute. See Opinion of the European Central Bank on a Draft European Council Decision Amending Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union with Regard to a Stability Mechanism for Member States Whose Currency is the Euro, 2011 O.J. (C 140) 8, recital 9.
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60. Kenneth Dyson, Maastricht Plus: Managing the Logic of Inherent Imperfections, 34 J. EUR. INTEGRATION 791, 803 (2012).
61. The Stability and Growth Pact consists of Resolution of the European Council on the Stability and Growth Pact, 1997 O.J. (C 236) 1 and Council Regulation No. 1466/97, 1997 O.J. (L 209) 1 (as amended by Council Regulation No. 1055/2005, 2005 O.J. (L 174) 1) and Council Regulation (EC) No. 1467/97, 1997 O.J. (L 209) 6 (as amended by Council Regulation No. 1056/2005, 2005 O.J. (L 174) 5).
62. See Council Decision 2003/89/EC, 2003 O.J. (L 34) 16
63. Council Decision 2003/487/EC, 2003 O.J. (L 165) 29.
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68. see Jospeh Stiglitz, Globalization and Its Discontents (2002).
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70. See European Parliament Resolution (2012/C 247 E/08), 2012 O.J. (C 247) E/22, para. 8.
71. See Bundesverfassungsgericht [BverfG - Federal Constitutional Court], Case No. 2 BvR 1390/12, Sept. 12, 2012, 2012 Neue Juristische Wochenschrift (NJW) 3145 (Ger.).
72. See Kaarlo Tuori, The European Financial Crisis: Constitutional Aspects and Implications 39, 45 (European Univ. Inst., Working Paper Law 2012/28), available at http://www.eui.eu/Events/download.jsp?FILE-ID=3544.
73. See Case T-590/10, Thesing v. ECB, 2012 E.C.R.
74. Press Release, General Court of the European Union, Judgment in Case T-590/10 (Nov. 29, 2012), available at http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2012-11/cp120156en.pdf.
75. See Fritz W. Scharpf, Monetary Union, Fiscal Crisis and the Preemption of Democracy 36-37 (MPIfG Discussion Paper 11/11), available at http://www.mpifg.de/pu/mpifg-dp/dp11-11.pdf.
76. See Joseph Stiglitz, After Austerity, Project Syndicate (May 7, 2012), http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/after-austerity (discussing the impact of the recent European economic policy decisions).
77. see European Commission, Implementation of the Compact for Growth and Jobs 1 (2012), Available at http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/growth-report-en.pdf.
78. See Fritz W. Scharpf, The European Social Model: Coping with the Challenges of Diversity, 40 J. COMMON MKT. STUDS. 645 (2002)
79. see also Floris de Witte & Mark Dawson, Constitutional Balance in the European Union After the Euro-Crisis, MOD. L. REV. (forthcoming).
80. see Mattias Kumm, European Parliament, Democratic Challenges Arising from the Eurocrisis: What Kind of a Constitutional Crisis Is Europe in and What Should Be Done About It 6-8 (2010), Available at http://www.eui.eu/Events/download.jsp?FILE-ID=3543.
81. see Jürgen Habermas, Zur Verfassung Europas-Ein Essay 42 (2011).
82. See Jürgen Habermas, Heraus aus dem Teufelskreis, SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG, Sept. 22, 2012.