Towards a Democratic Foundation of Europe's New Economic and Financial Constitution

As Europe continues to experience a serious economic and social crisis, as Euro zone instability continues to increase there is an urgent need to discuss the options available to the EU to exit the crisis while also ensuring sufficient democratic accountability and scrutiny for Europe's citizens.

The seminar will begin with the presentation of the report undertaken by Professor Pernice and his team at the Humboldt University Berlin analysing these questions in depth. This will be followed by a discussion between MEPs and academic experts concerning how to ensure an exit from the crisis, with a focus on the problem of the current democratic deficit in Europe, unavoidable in light of closed-door back room discussions in the Council, and the preference for intergovernmental rather than Community solutions. This will be followed by a debate with participants and questions from the floor.