The Fiscal Compact Treaty disempowers national parliaments and undermines trust between the peoples of Europe

The introduction of a common currency, the Euro, created severe economic interdependencies between its founding members: If budgetary deficits in one country explode, the remaining countries in the Euro zone ought to bail it out. The new Fiscal Compact Treaty imposes German budgetary discipline on the Euro countries. While these policies might be recommendable from an economic point of view, their imposition outside the national democratic process undermines European integration, argues Anna Kocharov.