Economic analyses largely ignore Europe's fragmented public sphere, a feature that distinguishes the euro area from other major currency areas.This Policy Contribution identifies how narratives of the crisis developed since 2007, by identifying the key crisis-related topics in articles from four...

Franco-German relations as the "engine" of European integration are widely perceived to have stalled in recent years. German economic and political strength, coupled with relative French economic and political weakness, help to explain this situation. The re-election of Angela Merkel and the...

A sufficient supply of safe assets denominated in euros is critical if the European Union is to achieve full banking and capital markets union while fostering the euro's international role. The European debate on developing the supply of safe assets has so far focused on the possible creation of...

Central banks are not profit-maximising institutions; their objectives are rather of macroeconomic nature. The European Central Bank’s overriding objective is price stability. Nevertheless, there are three good reasons to conclude that it is preferable for central banks to achieve profits...

Two questions should be answered in relation to the international role of the euro: is a more important international role for the euro worth pursuing, and what measures would achieve this result, if it is worth pursuing? The most significant benefit for the euro area if the euro played an...

This Policy Contribution tests the hypothesis that an imbalance has grown in Europe over the last few decades because markets have integrated to a greater extent than Europeanlevel policymaking, potentially creating difficulties for the democratic process in managing the economy. This hypothesis...