But we should be under no illusions. It is true that “Brussels” has been given greater powers to police member states’ debt policies – by way of the reinforced Stability and Growth Pact, Fiscal Compact, European Semester etc – but when push comes to shove, member states still insist that they, and they alone, have the final say.
Time will tell whether the new rules will have the desired binding effect. If anything, things have become more complex and less transparent, opening up scope for interpretation. The first cases in which the new rules have been applied suggest that this scope is being used rather generously.