Symbolpolitik in Zeiten der Eurokrise

The recently elected French President Emmanuel Macron as well as the European Commission propose to create a common budget for the Eurozone both as a financing device for infrastructure investment and as a macroeconomic stabilization instrument. Such a reform could, in principle, be rationalized if stabilization were achieved via an automatic stabilizer mechanism (such as a common unemployment insurance). This, however, would require far reaching harmonization of labor market institutions which, for now, cannot be quickly attained. Moreover, there are more pressing problems that are currently left alone. The common budget proposal thus may be interpreted as the attempt to achieve a symbolic reform success for the Eurozone intended to prove that its Member States still are able to act unanimously.