A European Constitution. "Does the European Union have a Constitution? Does it need one?" by Jean-Claude Piris discusses the present day constitutional arrangements for the European Central Bank, Parliament,Council, Commission and Court of Justice. He discusses how the EU's constitutional charter could be transformed into a constitution like that of a state, and whether this would be feasible. Other measures for tackling the democratic deficit are also analysed inn this paper from the Jean Monnet Programme. For more materials on the possibility of a European Constitution see the European Constitution Watch pages of L'Institut Français des Relations Internationales and the Campaign for a European Federal Constitution.

By Jean Monnet Program, France, US.

Governance Policy Resource.

Is the ECB Accountable? Many financial analysts and academics believe that the European Central Bank lacks transparency and accountability. Lorenzo Bini-Smaghi & Daniel Gros argue that actually their analysis suggests instead that the ECB is, at least on paper, one of the most transparent and accountable central banks. The discrepancy between theory and public perception suggests that much remains to be done within the given institutional framework to improve the transparency of the ECB. The authors suggest that the best way to make the ECB more accountable is to engage it in substantive discussions about its policy. The ECB should provide more information about the background analysis that leads to policy decisions. For example, the ECB should transform its ?staff projections? into true inflation forecasts and it should be more open about the arguments that shape the internal debates, which precedes decisions. "Is the ECB sufficiently accountable and transparent?" is published by ENEPRI.

By ENEPRI, Europe.

Governance Policy Resource.