The ESM Reform and Its Missing Legitimacy in Non-Euro Area Member States

The goal of this article is to analyse whether the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and its current reform have been subjected to sufficient legal and democratic approval in non-euro area Member States. It is argued that the establishment of the ESM and the consequential obligation to accede to it after entering the euro area is at least to a certain extent legally and democratically underpinned by Article 136(3) Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The establishment of the prospective euro area entrants’ obligation to join the ESM after adopting the euro is a manifestation of the normative value of Article 136(3) TFEU. However, the 2021 ESM reform has not been accompanied by a similar Treaty amendment and thus lacks legal and democratic legitimacy in non-euro area countries. This may have legal and political consequences for the obligation to adopt the euro in the affected countries. ESM, European Stability Mechanism Reform, ESM Treaty, Economic and Monetary Union, euro adoption, euro area entry criteria, Article 136 TFEU, democratic legitimacy