Institution-Building in Action

Following publication of the de Larosière report in February 2009, the EU machinery has finally swung into action and is now delivering concrete proposals for the much-needed new European architecture for financial supervision. In his assessment of the initial steps proposed by the Commission in May and endorsed by the European Council in June, CEPS Director Daniel Gros finds that while they are not revolutionary in the sense of creating new powers for supervision at the EU level, they are potentially of immense importance as it is the EU that will create a number of new institutions. In his view, one should not underestimate the importance of this development, given that the history of the EU has shown repeatedly how the existence of strong institutions can fundamentally alter the distribution of power and thus affect policy.