Gopinath, G. (2014) “The Draghi Put on Trial“, Project Syndicate, 03 November. In the summer of 2012, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro, including purchasing “unlimited” amounts of struggling governments’ bonds. The move, which has come to be known as the “Draghi put,” almost immediately reduced borrowing costs for Spain and Italy, and is widely touted as having pulled …Read More
Pisani-Ferry, J. (2014) “Getting Investment in Europe Right“, Project Syndicate, 31 October. 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
European Commission (2014) “Tax reforms in EU Member States 2014 – Tax policy challenges for economic growth and fiscal sustainability – 2014 Report“, Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs (ECFIN) and Directorate General for Taxation and Customs Union (TAXUD), European Economy 6/2014, November. Tax reforms in EU Member States to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of tax systems can contribute to the stability of public finances; boost economic …Read More
Renda, A. (2014) “The Review of the Europe 2020 Strategy: From austerity to prosperity?“, Regulatory Policy, CEPS Policy Briefs, 27 October. The future of Europe 2020 lies in its ability to become the protagonist of a new season in EU policy, in which countries can apply for more flexibility only if they can prove both structural reform and good governance, argues the author. By establishing a ‘new deal’ among …Read More
Mody, Α. (2014) “Pulling the eurozone back from the brink- whatever its flaws, OMT is the closest thing to a safety net the eurozone has“, Bruegel Institute, 02 November. On October 14, as yet another financial storm gathered over Europe, the European Court of Justice convened in Luxembourg. In the coming months, the ECJ will assess the German Constitutional Court’s ruling that the European Central Bank’s “outright monetary transactions” (OMT) scheme …Read More
The Editors: “Europe’s Crazy Finance Tax“, Bloomberg View, 02 November 2014. Wrangling among the 11 euro-region nations planning to tax financial transactions is further evidence, if any were needed, that the levy is a bad idea that should be abandoned. The European Commission acknowledges that the latest version of its planned financial transactions tax (or Tobin tax, or Robin Hood tax, if you prefer) isn’t the best option. That, …Read More
Guiso, L. & Morelli, M. (2014) “Fixing Europe in the short and long run: The European Federal Institute“, VoxEU Organisation, 03 November. 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
Hancké, Β. (2014) “German austerity is not only damaging the Eurozone, but is also starving the country of its own much needed investment“, LSE EUROPP, 03 November. A common argument in the context of the Eurozone’s economic problems is that Germany should pursue a more expansive fiscal policy to help generate growth in the rest of the single currency area. Bob Hancké writes, however, that while such a strategy …Read More
Bloomberg Editors (2014) “Europe’s Deadly Fiscal Paralysis“, Bloomberg View, 31 October. Quarrels over European Union budget policy don’t amount to much in themselves. Yet they demonstrate a pathology whose importance is hard to exaggerate. If growth in the euro area is not restored, the future of the union itself will be in jeopardy. Instead of grappling with this, however, Europe’s leaders are endlessly engaged with trivialities. Anti-EU sentiment has …Read More
Van den Abeele, E. (2014) “The EU’s REFIT strategy: a new bureaucracy in the service of competitiveness?“, European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), Working Paper 2014.05, October. This Working Paper provides a clear but critical assessment of the EU’s process of simplification and qualitative improvement of the ‘acquis’, a process originally known as ‘Better Law-making’, subsequently as ‘Smart regulation’ and, in its latest incarnation, as ‘Regulatory Fitness and Performance (REFIT)’. …Read More
