This book presents theoretical and empirical findings on the politics of Eurozone reforms, based on the novel data collected by the EMU Choices project, and draws their implication for future reform attempts.

Recent Eurozone reforms mark the most profound deepening of European integration since Maastricht. The Politics of Eurozone Reforms analyses how member states formed preferences in the politics of these reforms, and how preferences translated into policy outcomes on the European level. The chapters summarize insights on the role of different actors and institutions from four datasets based on 200 expert interviews, the analysis of 5000 policy documents and constitutional court cases in all EU member states. The findings confirm some common wisdom, dispel some myths, and provide insight into mechanisms facilitating further reforms. While quantitative analyses show that ‘Northern' and ‘Southern' member states were deeply divided, case study chapters provide a more refined view. Empirical data also indicates that reform decisions were dominated by governments and EU institutions but dispel the notion that Germany alone imposed its preferred policy. This book goes further and unpacks the legacies of the EMU crisis that make future reforms dependent on the reduction of financial sector risks, which is a necessary condition for rebuilding trust and restarting the gradual convergence of Eurozone reform preferences.

Chapter 1. The Politics of the Eurozone: Analyses of New Data from Multiple Methodological and Theoretical Perspectives

Chapter 2. Preference Formation and Decision Making in the Reform of the Eurozone

Chapter 3. Preference Formation During the Eurozone Crisis: A Cross-National Comparison

Chapter 4. Southern Europe and the Eurozone Crisis Negotiations: Preference Formation and Contested Issues

Chapter 5. National Constitutional Law as Manifold Steeplechase for Fiscal Integration

Chapter 6. Studying Integration and EMU’s Choices

Chapter 7. Eurozone Politics and its Implications for Further Reforms

Appendix