The Stability and Growth Pact, which combines two secondary regulations and a resolution of the European Council to form a set of regulations characterized by coherent objectives, serves to legally safeguard the budgetary discipline of member states in order to maintain the monetary stability of the euro in the long term. This controversial and politically explosive set of rules, which is based on economic theory and the formulation of procedures that are already predetermined by the treaty, is an important pillar of the Economic and Monetary Union.
The study analyzes the provisions of the Pact and their interaction with the treaty-based procedural foundations that they formulate in greater detail, taking into account the economic references. The history of the Pact’s creation, the innovations introduced with the reform of the Pact against the background of the old law, and the many voices criticizing the Pact are discussed.
Furthermore, the thesis contributes to the methodology of Community law by applying the instrument of a conform interpretation of treaty law based on derived rules to the example of the Covenant provisions. Problems of application that have arisen in the course of the implementation of the provisions are presented and corresponding approaches to solutions are developed.
The publication was supported by the Stiftung Geld und Währung.
