IL RUOLO DEL CONSIGLIO EUROPEO NELLA CRISI DELL'EURO

This article deals with the role of the European Council in managing the euro-zone’s crisis as the key institution in the European Union architecture. The analysis concerning the mechanisms and instruments adopted within and outside the European Union framework to react the crisis is revisited also in light of the creation of a stable European Council president, who has proved of exerting a direct influence on institution’s activities. After examining the most significant initiatives of the European Council in response to the crisis, the study focuses more closely on the impact of institution’s activities on the ongoing integration process in the field of economic coordination among Member States. In particular, the article is aimed to point out how the new intergovernmentalism, based on the research of consensus within the European Council, has evolved into a method of integration. In sum, without a formal transfer of competences to the EU supranational institutions, it has been possible to increase integration process in the field of economic governance.