A contribution to legal theories of accountability, this book offers pioneering research on the position of the individual in the EU's Economic and Monetary Union. Its premise is that the EU's response to the financial crisis placed undue emphasis on equality of Member States, to the detriment of political equality of citizens. As a remedy, this book reimagines legal accountability as the vehicle for achieving the common interest, by presenting a novel understanding of the relationship between solidarity and equality. Institutionally, the author argues that, by carrying out intensive review of the duty to state reasons, courts can ensure that decision-makers act in the common interest. The book explores judicial review in financial assistance, the monetary policy mechanisms of the European Central Bank, and the Single Supervisory Mechanism. Looking into the future, it tests its theoretical and normative propositions on the newly established Next Generation EU. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

‘Ana Bobic has combined two rarely reached topics in her book by focusing on individuals in relation to the EMU and through the lenses of legal accountability. Interestingly, she replaces the perspective of equality of EU states with a more substantive reading of equality that allows both the individual and solidarity to the picture. Decision-makers are made legally accountable for acting in the common interest of all citizens. Finally, she uses this transnational constitutionalism by the CJEU to assess the NGEU. A very important and pleasant read indeed!’

Klaus Tuori - Research Fellow, University of Luxembourg

‘This book argues for a novel and necessary reimagining of legal accountability within Economic and Monetary Union, one that places the individual at its heart. Bobić casts a new light on the original arrangements underlying the EMU and on the developments following the euro area crisis and beyond, and argues that we need to abandon the traditional focus on the formal equality of Member States, to focus instead on political equality of citizens and solidarity as a way to conceptualise legal accountability in this transnational context. This is a rich, forward-looking and important contribution; an essential read for those interested in the debate on the future of EMU and of the EU, in general.’

Alicia Hinarejos - Full Professor of Law, McGill University