The Troika Is Dead, Long Live the Domestic Troikas??: Varieties of Technocracy and the Diffusion of National Fiscal Councils in the European Union: Agents, Trustees or Orchestrators of Fiscal Discipline?

Abstract

This article shows that the troika institutions-the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-formed a technocratic consensus about the desirability of establishing national fiscal councils in the European Union (EU). Considerable disagreement existed, however, with regards to their design features. Each institution promoted a distinct mode of indirect governance by ranking national fiscal councils depending on their adopted governance model (agent, trustee or orchestrator). This persuasion through entrepreneurial benchmarking constitutes an important mechanism by which member states were nudged to adopt a distinct fiscal council model. Preference heterogeneity among the troika members ultimately prevented the spread of a one-size-fits-all fiscal council in the EU.

EU Agencies in Banking and Energy between Institutional and Policy Centralisation

“…Finally, there is the most supranational option where strong levels of centralisation on both dimensions combine. It seems appropriate to think of this type of body as a trustee or fiduciary (Tesche, 2018;Majone, 2001;De Visscher et al, 2008). Fiduciaries dispose of a significant degree of authority and independence, as the major rationale for delegation is credible commitment.…”