Eurogroup is an informal component of the decision-making infrastructure of the Economic and Monetary Union. Its membership is limited to those EU Member States which also belong to the Eurozone. The establishment of Eurogroup was connected with the adoption of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) in 1997. In the context of the SGP, Eurogroup may be seen a part of the institutional network contributing (together with the European Council, ECOFIN Council, European Commission and the ECB) to the proper functioning of the "economic constitution" of the European Union. Informality of Eurogroup makes it an attractive forum for coordinating macroeconomic polices within the EU. At the same time, however, its very existence undermines consistency of the decision-making process within the ECOFIN Council: Eurogroup can even become competitive to this more legitimized institution. Additionally, Eurogroup makes the coordination of fiscal and monetary policies at the EU level unduly complicated. For this reason, all initiatives aimed at making Eurogroup more interconnected with the Commission and ECB should be assessed as badly needed and serving the EU's best interests.

Keywords: Eurogroup, European Union, fiscal policy.

  Artur Nowak-Far, Eurogroup as an Economic and Monetary Union's Decision-Making Forum - plik pdf; (256 KB)