Spain: The Impact of the EMU on the Spanish Constitution Following the Euro Crisis: A Stress Test for the Europeanisation of the Constitutional Order

The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), and particularly the euro crisis, have created a series of challenges for the Spanish constitutional system. The crisis had a profound impact on basic constitutional principles, such as the welfare state and the model of territorial political decentralisation. This chapter addresses the formal adaptation of the Spanish constitutional order to the EMU framework. We will analyse the impact on the basic principles of the Constitution, considering the Spanish Constitutional Court’s (SCC) case law regarding budgetary and financial stability. Also, we will explore the role of all national institutions, especially the parliament, regarding the adaptation of the EMU framework in response to the crisis and highlight the shortfalls of the Spanish parliamentary system characterised by a parliament barely involved in EU affairs. The EMU reforms that were agreed and implemented by the EU and national governments encountered little contestation from the Spanish courts and parliament. There is still a strong pro-European consensus in Spain, which has enabled the smooth integration of EMU reforms. Nonetheless, considering the strong impact of the crisis on Spain, a shift in this EU-friendly trend might be expected in the future.