This book examines the structural tensions at the heart of European economic governance and their impact on European democracy. It argues that lasting legitimacy and stability require a fundamental rethinking of how collective resources are raised and managed at supranational level and how Member States are accounted for fiscal discipline.

The separation of monetary authority and economic decision-making, entrenched since the Maastricht Treaty, has generated a system marked by competence asymmetry, mutual economic and financial dependence of both the EU and Member States, constrained national policy space, and indirect democratic control.

Drawing on law, economics, and political science, the book develops a comparative institutional analysis of how political, market, and judicial processes have shaped responses to financial crises, sovereign distress, pandemic and geopolitical-era interventions. It shows how the growing reliance on top-down rules, provision of financial assistance, and judicial restraint has altered relationships between institutions, governments, and individuals, with significant consequences for legitimacy and accountability.

Rather than defending incremental adjustment, the book advances a normative and institutional alternative. It proposes a framework in which collective decision-making is supported by transparent financial contribution by individuals, and where responsibility for economic choices is matched by meaningful consequences at different levels of governance. Central to this vision is a rebalancing between shared fiscal capacity and decentralised responsibility, primarily by market-based mechanisms to address sovereign distress.

By linking goal selection to institutional choice, the book offers a coherent roadmap for reform that prioritises ongoing involvement of EU citizens, more effective Member State fiscal accountability, and mutual independence. It will be of particular interest to scholars of public law, economic governance, and constitutional change, as well as policymakers seeking sustainable models for managing complex, multi-level political systems.