The loan of organs between international organizations as a "normative bridge": insights from recent EU practice

The present article addresses the issue of the loan of organs between international organizations, focusing on the most recent practice of the European Union (EU) and, in particular, on the loan of the Commission and the European Central Bank to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). The hypothesis is that the loan of the two EU institutions to the ESM bridges two autonomous international organizations and that, for this reason, the EU can indirectly influence the activities of the ESM. The bridge is built on normative grounds, as EU institutions are bound to respect EU law even when they are borrowed by other international organizations, as the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) held in the Pringle case. In a more recent case, the Ledra Advertising, the same Court specified that the duty to respect EU law extends also to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. This last consideration might have a positive impact on the protection of human rights in the context of austerity measures adopted by the ESM. Moreover, it might give to the EU an important tool for the enhancement of human rights protection in the relations with other international organizations. In this regard, the most recent practice of the EU reveals at the same time promises and perils.