The current US administration’s willingness to weaponise trade makes clear that transatlantic economic relations have become entirely transactional. This column, taken from a CEPR book on the economic consequences of the second Trump administration, argues that Europe must respond to US tariffs, which target weakness, with economic strength: faster productivity growth, cheaper energy, a genuine […]
Europe’s banks have long been slow to integrate across borders, but this is changing fast. ‘Pan-European banks’, with activities spanning several EU countries, are emerging rapidly and are likely to enhance the overall contribution of financial services to economic growth. However, financial stability arrangements, notably banking supervision, remain nationally anchored. This creates significant risks in […]
Effectively suspended since the onset of the Covid pandemic, the EU fiscal rules were set to make a comeback in 2024. At the same time, the EU was pushing for a major and swift overhaul of its fiscal framework. This column describes how, caught between freedom and responsibility of the transition phase, countries with a […]
There is a growing push from certain quarters for the European Commission to weaken merger control in order to spur greater investment and innovation, higher productivity and growth, or the creation of European champions. This column argues that there are empirical and theoretical grounds to strengthen, rather than weaken, merger control, and offers suggestions to […]
Over the past 30 years, laws in Italy have become longer, more convoluted, and frequently unintelligible even to seasoned legal professionals. This column exploits variation in the ability of lower courts to interpret poorly drafted laws in alignment with Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation to assess how legal uncertainty affects the local economy. The authors […]
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 […]
Nearly 20 years have passed since the EU and India started negotiations on a bilateral trade and investment agreement. After seven years of intense negotiations, the process stalled in 2014, primarily because of the failure of the respective political leaders to make difficult choices. Talks restarted in 2022 and now offer a reasonable chance of […]
Germany, the Czech Republic and 14 other countries have demanded the European Union introduce stricter price controls to the bloc’s new carbon market, over fears the policy will raise consumers’ bills, a document seen by Reuters showed. The paper, which has support from enough countries to form the “qualified majority” needed to pass EU laws, […]
The unprecedented wave of state aid to firms across the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic raised questions about who benefited and how effective these interventions were. This column uses firm-level data from Spain and Italy – two of the countries worst affected by the pandemic – to evaluate the economic impact of aid. Targeted support […]
Trade negotiations between the US and the EU are entering a crucial stage. This column argues that, faced with a highly uncertain geopolitical situation, the EU should adopt vis-à-vis the US a negotiating approach compatible with its ambition of enhancing its political autonomy and economic resilience on the one hand, and building international alliances able […]
