Popis: |
This chapter analyzes the conditions for pluralist accountability in response to human rights violations that were attributed to the European Union (EU) Troika’s austerity policies that were implemented in Greece and Portugal between 2010 and 2015 in response to the global financial crisis. I demonstrate how competition between national and EU institutions, and between different EU institutions, led the Portuguese Constitutional Court and the European Parliament to develop distinguished profiles as accountability holders. Major differences existed as to the degree of vulnerability of the different Troika institutions to human rights demands: while the International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank rendered themselves immune against human rights demands, the European Commission was more vulnerable due to its broader mandate and the declining trust of the public in EU institutions’ capacity to address the crisis. This explains why a pluralist accountability framework was most active with regard to the European Commission. |