Kryzys strefy euro i nowe wyzwania dla demokracji i praw podstawowych w Unii Europejskiej

Abstract

The outbreak of the global financial crisis in 2007 exposed numerous structural flaws in the architecture of the euro area. From today’s perspective, it is known that without quick action going beyond the legal framework of the treaties and the competences of EU bodies, the euro area would most likely collapse. These design flaws are slowly being removed through the implementation of “unconventional” monetary policies conducted by the European Central Bank, as well as by new institutional tools aimed at increasing the coordination of economic policies and supervision over the financial condition of individual euro area Member States. With these changes, fundamental questions have arisen about the legitimacy of emergency reforms. The state of emergency has been lifted, but questions about the legitimacy of the new competences and methods in overseeing the euro area leave doubts as to their compliance with the principles of democracy and respect for fundamental rights. The aim of the article is to present the challenges related to the current and postulated shape of the Eurozone reforms seen through the prism of European fundamental values, i.e. democracy and human rights.