EU Independent Fiscal Institutions : An Assessment of Potential Effectiveness

The paper explores if EU independent fiscal institutions (IFIs) are in a position to exercise effective scrutiny of national fiscal policies. It identifies substantial heterogeneity across IFIs in resources which is not matched by a similar diversity in mandates. In addition to financial and human resources, better access to information, effective comply-or-explain mechanisms and closer links with legislatures could enhance fiscal surveillance and accountability in the EU. The paper provides rankings of individual IFIs constructed based on measures that aggregate these pre-conditions for effective fiscal scrutiny.