Commentary on the European Monetary Union

A comprehensive commentary on all 50 articles of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the European Central Bank (ECB) edited by Professor Helmut Siekmann is now available. The book, titled „The European Monetary Union - A Commentary on the Legal Foundations“ contains over 800 pages explaining the complete legal basis of the European Monetary Union.

In addition to all provisions of the Treaties themselves which regulate the ESCB and the ECB, the analysis is supplemented by commentaries on other Protocols which contain relevant rules for the Monetary Union. In essence, all relevant statutory rules governing the euro and its key monetary authority, the European Central Bank, are explained in one volume. This gives the book a unique position in the legal literature on the law of the EU.

With contributions by renowned academics and practitioners, this book is an expanded and updated translation of the 2013 German commentary, „EWU Kommentar zu Europäischen Währungsunion“ published by Mohr Siebeck and is an invaluable resource for those who are looking for a provision-by-provision commentary on the laws governing the European Monetary Union. Among the more than 20 experts who contributed to this commentary is also IMFS Professor Roland Broemel. The project was supported by the Foundation of Monetary and Financial Stability (Stiftung Geld und Währung).

The Commentary was published by Bloomsbury in December 2021. Description and Table of Contents are available here.

The Commentary on the European Monetary Union in German, edited by Helmut Siekmann in 2013, fills a gap between the existing works covering the Treaty on the European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union in general and the detailed monographs on specific aspects of the Monetary Union. The 1500-page Commentary ranks among the major IMFS projects, carrying on over several years until its publication in April 2013. The project was supported by the Foundation of Monetary and Financial Stability (Stiftung Geld und Währung).

Leading experts from academia and central banking have joined to expound all relevant provisions of primary law, including protocols, and of secondary law. In particular, all rules of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the European Central Bank are comprehensively treated. The commentaries take into consideration all amendments and supplements by the Lisbon Treaty.

A particular emphasis has been laid on court rulings concerning the European Monetary Union as well as the problems that resulted from the financial crisis and the budgetary problems of single member states of the European Union.

It includes contributions by Florian Becker, Christof Freimuth, Charlotte Gaitanides, Christoph Herrmann, Heinz Herrmann, Stefan Kadelbach, Jörn Axel Keller, Julian Langner, Katharina Muscheler-Lorange, Christoph Ohler, Marion Schmidt-Wenzel, Helmut Siekmann, Jochen Sprung, Christine Steven and Christian Waldhoff.

Editorial flyer (PDF)
Review of the Commentary