EU firms in China face low profits, rising pressure and reduced expansion, prompting strategy shifts and calls for stronger EU support. We use nearly a decade’s worth of panel data from European Union Chamber of Commerce in China business confidence surveys to analyse the deteriorating outlooks of EU firms in China from 2017 to 2025. […]
The EU should tweak its recent fiscal rule reform, capitalising on new realities to make improvements. The European Union’s fiscal framework – a set of rules intended to ensure countries keep their debts manageable – was most recently reformed in April 20241. The reform followed an unprecedented spell of de-facto suspension of the fiscal rules starting in […]
Chinese EV investment aids EU decarbonisation but brings risks, needing a united EU strategy to align it with climate, industrial and security aims. The European Union’s push to decarbonise road transport relies critically on a rapid shift to electric vehicles (EVs). However, European carmakers face high production costs and limited battery capacity, leaving them unable […]
How should the European Union budget be revamped to meet the pressing collective challenges of climate change, competitiveness, defence, enlargement and response to unforeseen shocks? This Blueprint evaluates the extent to which current spending goes to European public goods and identifies significant misalignments between budget allocations and areas in which EU-level provision offers the greatest […]
Strengthening existing safe assets should be a strategic priority for any new joint borrowing. Europe’s looming defence spending needs will put new demands on public policy and the public purse. To meet these demands, European Union member states and regional allies will need to work together for collective security. As new ways of building and […]
Faced with the prospect of the US government imposing higher trade tariffs, European consumers are rethinking what they buy. This column explores how European consumers are reacting to the 2025 US tariff hikes and the reasons behind their responses. European consumers are very willing to switch away from US products, and the more they earn, […]
Europe has recently pivoted to regulatory simplification with the aim to boost competitiveness. This column argues that in banking the debate needs to go beyond competitiveness and be embedded within a broader strategic vision fit for the new geopolitical context. The broader vision should consider the dependence on the US dollar-centric financial system, the increasing […]
Adult skills play a crucial role in shaping productivity. This column uses data from the 2023 OECD Survey of Adult Skills to analyse the relationship between productivity and the level and allocation of skills across industries. Differences in skill levels account for one-quarter of productivity gaps between the OECD average and the top three performers. […]
Although the source and duration of the destruction differ, wars and natural disasters disrupt economies in similar ways. This column examines the effects of natural disasters and the impact of government rebuilding policies by focusing on the impacts of Hurricane Maria, which struck Puerto Rico in 2017. The findings underscore how the scale and design […]
In Paris, authorities closed more than 1,000 schools — and the summit of the Eiffel Tower — during last month’s heatwave. In Eastern China, the power grid experienced strain as 40.5°C temperatures brought a spike in electricity demand. In the United Kingdom, public health researchers estimated that 500 people died in just five days due to heat […]
