CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2013
| Author | Antos, Marek |
|---|---|
| Title | Fiscal Stability Rules in European Constitutions |
| Summary | The so-called Fiscal Compact signed in March 2012 by 25 out of 27 EU member states requires the states to transpose the treaty’s rules that limit the annual structural deficit and the general government debt “through provisions of binding force and permanent character, preferably constitutional” (Art. 3, §2). While the goal is set, the means are up to respective states, and thus an extraordinary wave of constitutional engineering has been triggered. This thesis deals with four countries in Central Europe which have already adopted fiscal stability rules in their law (Germany, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia). It describes the rules adopted and demonstrates that despite some similarities, four wholly distinct models of regulation have been used in these countries. These models are further examined and compared, in particular with respect to their substance (numerical, or institutional fiscal rules), criteria used (state debt, state budget deficit, or structural deficit) and enforcement mechanisms created (automatic cut of expenses, vote of non-confidence in the government, veto power of an independent fiscal council, judicial review, etc.). The models are evaluated both from the perspective of their democratic legitimacy and from the perspective of their expected efficiency. The paper argues that the proper solution should support rather than replace the political process, and therefore it advocates a solution which combines a structural deficit based numerical fiscal rule with an independent fiscal council overseeing how the rule is fulfilled. Only the German rules fully complies with these criteria, whereas the constitutional provisions in other three countries are less appropriate in terms of effectiveness (Poland, Slovakia) or also of legitimacy (Hungary). |
| Supervisor | Uitz, Renáta |
| Department | Legal Studies LLM |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2013/antos_marek.pdf |
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