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2021 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

18. The European Central Bank

Authors : Ingrid Hjertaker, Bent Sofus Tranøy

Published in: The Palgrave Handbook of EU Crises

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

This chapter suggests that the European Central Bank´s (ECB’s) changed role over the last 10 years can be conceptualized by three modes of crisis handling: Denial, Mission Creep, and Mission Leap. The ECB was never intended to be a lender of last resort, but with the financial crisis, this was precisely what eurozone financial institutions needed. As the crisis evolved, member states themselves needed a sovereign lender of last resort, something the ECB was explicitly designed not to be. TheECB has “muddled forward” to a position of considerable strength. In terms of outcomes, the monetary union is moving forward (Scenario 3thus, “muddling through” (Scenario 2) almost seems too weak a description of the constitutionally messy process that led the ECB through the crisis.

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Title: The European Central Bank
Authors: Ingrid Hjertaker
Bent Sofus Tranøy
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Book: The Palgrave Handbook of EU Crises
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-51790-8

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-51791-5

Copyright Year: 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51791-5_18