European Economic Governance: Past Errors and Future Promises

The eurozone crisis marked a real failure of European Union policy, which led to mediocre economic performance and the erosion of its political legitimacy among the populations of member states. The crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, on the other hand, after some initial wavering, showed its capacity to respond, in particular by taking on common debt. This fresh start for the EU nonetheless needs to be confirmed both politically and institutionally. Vivien Schmidt is a Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration at Boston University. Article published in Politique étrangère, Vol. 86, No. 4, Winter 2021 .