Conclusion: procedural and substantive accountability in European financial regulation

This chapter offers a reflection on the insights from the findings in this volume with regard to procedural and substantive accountability in European financial regulation. It argues that there is procedural accountability throughout, but there is considerable variation in substantive accountability at the different levels of European legislation. At the level of directives and regulation, high-level politicians are intensively involved and may make substantive use of accountability channels in order to ensure the preservation of the public interest. At the level of the specification of technical standards, there are widespread hybrid accountability channels in which substantial accountability becomes very much dependent on technical expertise. The chapter offers a brief reflection on the effects and implications of this variation in substantive accountability.