29-30 May 2018: Workshop on The European Central Bank's accountability in a multilevel European order

This workshop will offer renewed perspectives on the question of the ECB’s accountability, informed by the exceptional transformations that its mandate, functions and tasks have undergone over the last few years. In doing so, the speakers will  all seek to determine how these transformations impact on our traditional understanding of the ECB’s independence, the accountability arrangements it is subject to, and, more broadly, its position within the EU institutional system. Such endeavour seems particularly timely. Not only have the ECB’s actions on all fronts (monetary, economic and supervisory) been highly contested, both within and outside the EU system, but the existing institutional set-up, and related accountability mechanisms, remain highly adaptable, as the Banking Union is still under construction, and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) could soon be turned into a fully-fledged European Monetary Fund (EMF). Additionally, recent developments, such as the first activation ever of the SRM and the decision by the ECB to bring a case before the Court of justice against Latvia, illustrate again the importance of the question of the ECB’s accountability.

To register for the free event, please find it here: registration form.

PROGRAMME

TUESDAY

12:30–13:00: Registration & coffee

13:00–13:15: Opening remarks by Diane Fromage (Maastricht University) and Phedon Nicolaides (Maastricht University)

13:15–14:00: Opening Address by Johannes Lindner, European Central Bank

14:00–15:45: Session 1: The challenge of the ECB’s accountability

Chair: Paul Stephenson , Maastricht University

• Christy-Ann Petit, European University Institute: Reviewing the ECB’s independence and accountability principles (dis)equilibrium
• Fabian Amtenbrink, Rotterdam University: Re-evaluating the European Central Bank’s Independence versus Accountability Conundrum in the Post-Crisis Governance Framework
• Christel Koop, King’s College London: Independence, accountability, and European Central Bank legitimacy
• Discussant: Aneta Spendzharova, Maastricht University

15:45–16:15: Coffee break

16:15–18:00: Session 2: The ECB’s accountability in the Monetary policy

Chair: Diane Fromage, Maastricht University

• Paul Dermine, Maastricht University: Out of the Comfort Zone? The ECB, Conditionality Policy and the New Economic Governance of the Eurozone
• David Howarth, University of Luxembourg: Unconventional Monetary Policies and the European Central Bank’s problematic democratic legitimacy
• Klaus Tuori, University of Helsinki: The ECB's quantitative easing programme as a constitutional game changer
• Discussant: Clemens Kool, Maastricht University and Utrecht University

WEDNESDAY

9:00–10:45: Session 3: The ECB’s accountability in the Banking Union

Chair: Thomas Beukers, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs

• Marta Bozina Beros, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula (UNIPU), Croatia: The ECB’s accountability within the Banking Union – Mind the (transparency) gap
• Phedon Nicolaides, Maastricht University and College of Europe: Accountability within the Single Supervisory Mechanism
• Napoleon Xanthoulis, King’s College London: Judicial liability of the ECB in bank supervision: A case study in conceptualising legal effects of Union acts
• Discussant: Renato Ibrido, University LUISS Guido Carli, Rome

10:45–11:00 Coffee break

11:00–12:45: Session 4: Outlooks on the ECB’s accountability

Chair: Ellen Vos, Maastricht University

• Benjamin Braun, Max Plack Institute: Presentation of the report: “Two sides of the same coin? Independence and accountability at the ECB”
• Larisa Dragomir, European Commission: Balancing accountability and discretion: the role of rules
• Diane Fromage, Maastricht University: The ECB’s accountability in the post-Banking Union era
• Discussant: Menelaos Markakis, Erasmus University Rotterdam

12:45–12:55: Concluding remarks by Diane Fromage (Maastricht University) and Phedon Nicolaides (Maastricht University)

Organising committee: Diane Fromage, Paul Dermine, Phedon Nicolaides (Maastricht University)

CONFERENCE FEE

No registration fee will be requested

VENUE

Address: Avenue de Tervueren 153, 1150 Brussels
Metro: Montgomery

How to get to the UM Campus Brussels:

Metro: from the Central station take the purple metro line 1 leading to Stockel (not line 5 to Herrmann-Debroux) and get off at ‘Montgomery’. Take exit ‘Boulevard de Saint-Michel / Avenue de Tervueren 1-171 and then turn right. The UM Campus Brussels will be after 30 meters on your left hand.

Brussels Airport: take bus 12 or bus 21 that both cover the area between Brussels Airport and the city center. In both cases get off at ‘Diamant’ and take the tram line 23 or 24 both in the direction of ‘Vanderkindere’ or take line 25 in the direction of Boondaal Station. Get off at ‘Montgomery’. Take exit ‘Boulevard de Saint-Michel / Avenue de Tervueren 1-171 and then turn right. The UM Campus Brussels will be after 30 meters on your left hand.