Michael White, Larry Elliott & Charlotte Higgins: “What if Britain left the EU?“, The Guardian, 04 Νοεμβρίου 2014.   Budget rows, referendum pledges, Ukip on the rise … is Britain heading for an EU exit? It would certainly be a messy divorce after 44 years. But what would it mean for our politics, prosperity and cultural life? Politics: How would Europe regard Britain’s retreat? With disappointment and anger In a …Read More

“EU migration – a deliverable proposal for reform“, Open Europe Blog, 03 Νοεμβρίου 2014.   As we already noted here, today we published a new pamphlet by Professor Damian Chalmers of the LSE and our Research Director Stephen Booth. The basic question the authors ask is, in the current political climate, how in the world can we ‘save’ EU free movement? As we’ve stated repeatedly, Open Europe thinks that the …Read More

Pisani-Ferry, J. (2014) “Getting Investment in Europe Right“, Project Syndicate, 31 Οκτωβρίου.   The European Commission’s new president, Jean-Claude Juncker, has put public investment back on the agenda with his idea of a three-year €300 billion ($378 million) capital spending plan. The European Union’s leaders are expected to discuss his proposal in December. Everyone seems to agree that more investment would help to strengthen a worryingly feeble European economy. But, …Read More

Guiso, L. & Morelli, M. (2014) “Fixing Europe in the short and long run: The European Federal Institute“, VoxEU Organisation, 03 Νοεμβρίου.   Eurozone countries need to stop the stagnation and improve their management of future crises. In this column, the authors argue that both issues should be addressed simultaneously. To achieve this goal, they propose the creation of a European Federal Institute. This Institute would coordinate short-run, antirecession measures, …Read More

STRATFOR (2014) “Europe: Building a Banking Union“, Europe’s Economic Crisis Timeline, 30 Οκτωβρίου.   Summary The recent stress tests by the European Central Bank offered few surprises and did not cause any significant political or financial reactions in the Continent. However, these tests were only the beginning of a complex process to build a banking union in the European Union. Unlike the stress tests, the next steps in this project …Read More

Jassaud, Ν. (2014) “The role of corporate governance in strengthening banks“, VoxEU Organisation, 30 Οκτωβρίου.   Sound corporate governance is essential for a well-functioning banking system and the integrity of financial markets. This column discusses the corporate governance of Italian banks, its regulatory framework, and the specific challenges arising from the role played by foundations and large cooperatives. Although Italian banks have recently made progress in improving their corporate governance, …Read More

Miles, D. (2014) “‘Mensch tracht, und Gott lacht’ – what’s the best guidance on monetary policy?“, VoxEU Organisation, 22 Οκτωβρίου.   Many central banks embrace forward guidance by announcing expected interest rate paths. But how likely it is that actual rates will be close to expected ones? This column argues that quantifying such uncertainty poses great difficulties. Precise probability statements in a world of uncertainty (not just risk) can be …Read More