Panicos Demetriades, (2018), “Failing banks, bail-ins, and central bank independence: Lessons from Cyprus”, VOX, 21 February Europe’s new framework for resolving banks includes a ‘bail-in’ mechanism which aims to ensure that banks’ shareholders and creditors pay their share of costs, and which was first used to resolve the 2013 banking crisis in Cyprus. This column, written by the economist who was the country’s central bank governor at the time, examines …Read More

Luuk Molthof, (2018), “What the 2015 Greek debt negotiations tell us about Germany’s negotiating stance on Brexit”, LSE EUROPP, 8 February If the UK wants to secure favourable terms during the Brexit negotiations, it will be crucial to win the support of Germany. But what are the key German priorities as the talks move on to the second phase? Luuk Molthof writes that the 2015 Greek debt negotiations offer some …Read More

Maria Demertzis, (2018), “Trust in the EU? The key obstacle to reform”, Bruegel, 9 February The challenges that Europe faces both from within and from outside require immediate, concerted counter-efforts. While efforts to advance the European economic architecture are desirable and useful, can Europe realistically attempt to integrate further on the basis of such little trust? Relevant Posts Leonid Bershidsky, (2017), «The Window for EU Reform Has Closed for Now», …Read More

Ferdinando Giugliano, (2018), “Germany’s Wage Deal Is Good for Europe Too”, 8 February Rarely has a round of wage negotiations been watched so closely as the recent dispute involving Germany’s IG Metall labor union. The agreement reached in Baden-Wuerttemberg with the Suedwestmetall employer’s federation, including a 4.3 percent raise from April and the right to a 28-hour working week, is a further sign that wage pressures are finally returning to …Read More

Marco Buti, Björn Döhring and José Leandro, (2018), “Increasingly fit again: The euro area economy is shedding the crisis legacies”, VoxEU, 8 February The outlook for the euro area economy depends to a large extent on whether the impact of the crisis will turn out to be permanent or transitory. This column attempts to chart out the path ahead, starting from what different narratives of the ‘atypical recovery’ imply about …Read More

Cristina Fernández, David Martínez Turégano, (2018), “Labour force participation growth in Europe will rely more on targeted policies than a socio-educational push”, Vox, 7  February European labour force participation has increased over recent decades, fuelled in large part by increased female labour participation, improvements in education levels, and socioeconomic factors. This column explores whether this trend will continue, or whether we will see a decline similar to that in the …Read More

Michele Lanotte and Pietro Tommasino, (2018), “Recent developments in the regulatory treatment of sovereign exposures”, VoxEU, 5 February Late last year, the Basel Committee decided to maintain the status quo regarding regulation of banks’ sovereign debt holdings. This column summarises the reasons to be cautious of stricter regulation of banks’ sovereign exposures. Theory and experience suggest small net benefits from such a reform, with possible increases in tail risks. The …Read More

Nate Breznau, (2018), “Europe’s Ageing Societies Need Immigration – And That Means Anti-Immigration Politics Is Here To Stay”, Social Europe, 2 February The era after WWII was mostly devoid of populist party influence. Instead, Europe was on the mend, and integration at the forefront of European if not global policy agendas. Integration ensured peace. The postwar-prosperity was phenomenal, productivity and social welfare programmes expanded rapidly. Given the changes in the …Read More