U.S. policy in the euro crisis and the institutional deepening of the monetary union

ABSTRACT Theoretical approaches to European integration often downplay and sometimes ignore the role of external actors. But the regime complex through which the euro crisis of 2010-2015 was prosecuted involved the United states directly and indirectly through the IMF. Tracing such external involvement shows that, although they preferred greater deepening of euro area institutions than was achieved, U.S. and IMF officials nonetheless contributed substantially to the creation of the EFSF/ESM, robust ECB action and launch of the banking union project. The conclusion formulates falsifiable expectations on which a theory of external influence in regional integration can be developed and tested.