Joseph E. Stiglitz, (2017), “The Globalization of Our Discontent”, Project Syndicate, 5 December Globalization, which was supposed to benefit developed and developing countries alike, is now reviled almost everywhere, as the political backlash in Europe and the US in recent years has shown. The challenge is to minimize the risk that the backlash will intensify, and that starts by understanding – and avoiding – past mistakes. Relevant Posts Skidelsky, Robert, …Read More

European Commission, (2017), “Commission sets out roadmap for deepening Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union”, 6 December Building on the vision set out in the Five Presidents’ Report of June 2015 and the Reflection Papers on the Deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union and the Future of EU Finances of spring 2017, the European Commission is setting out a roadmap for deepening the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), including concrete …Read More

Guntram B. Wolff, 2017), “The European Commission should drop its ill-designed idea of a finance minister”, Bruegel, 4 December European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker has announced the creation of a European finance minister position. In his vision, outlined by his “state of the union” address in September, the role would unite the position of Commission vice president, chair of the Eurogroup and head of the euro-area portion of the …Read More

Ferdinando Giugliano, (2017), “Europe’s Central Bank Is Right to Get Tough on Bad Loans”, BloombergView, 6 December A power struggle has set three of Europe’s most important institutions against each other. The European Central Bank, the European Parliament and the European Council are fighting over how banks should treat bad loans. The ECB has taken the toughest stance, but also the most appropriate one to the problem. If politicians want to …Read More

Mark Leonard, (2017), “Europe’s Crisis Starts at Home”, Project Syndicate, 4 December According to conventional wisdom, the biggest threat to the European project is “illiberal” saboteurs on the periphery of the European Union who have decided not to play by the rules. But what this narrative misses is the even deeper divide within EU member states, including bastions of liberalism such as France and Germany. Relevant Posts Ferdinando Giugliano,(2017), «Europe …Read More

Juan Luis Diaz del Hoyo, Ettore Dorrucci, Frigyes Ferdinand Heinz, Sona Muzikarova, (2017), “Real convergence in the euro area:a long-term perspective”, European Central Bank Occasional Paper Series No 203, December In the euro area, there is mixed evidence that the GDP per capita of lower-income economies has been catching up with that of higher-income economies since the start of monetary union. The significant real convergence performance of some of the …Read More

Slawomir Sierakowksi, (2017), “The Populist Tail Wagging the German Dog”, Project Syndicate, 30 November Despite a growing chorus calling for reform of the eurozone and the European Union, the chances for meaningful change are diminishing. The main obstacle is Germany, whose economic interests lie not just with the status quo, but also with some of the populist governments that EU reformers must rebuff if they are to succeed. Relevant Posts …Read More

Guntram B. Wolff, (2017), “Beyond the Juncker and Schäuble visions of euro-area governance”, Bruegel, 1 December Two diametrically opposed visions of the euro-area architecture have been put forward. Departing from both Juncker’s and Schäuble’s proposals, the author identifies new ideas to develop the euro-area governance Relevant Posts Jean Tirole, (2017), «The European Project Needs a New Long-Term Vision», Bloomberg View, 30 October Bloomberg View, (2017), «Getting Serious About Europe’s Fiscal …Read More