Spending conditionality in the EU and in the US. Prospects on the EU fiscal integration

Since the adoption of NextGenerationEU (NGEU), the use of conditional spending as an internal EU governance device has spread significantly. Still, little attention has been paid to the potential legal risks stemming from the extensive use of conditionality regimes cutting across different policy areas. The ongoing uncertainty regarding the prospect of a broader EU fiscal integration makes reflection on conditionality governance even more urgent. What are the functions and risks of conditional spending, and what is the role of conditionality vis-à-vis fiscal integration? This article aims to answer these questions by comparing the EU fiscal federalism in the making with the U.S.’s consolidated fiscal federal system. More specifically, it discusses the flexible design of EU conditionality governance and the prospects of EU fiscal integration in light of the federal experience in the U.S.