The shock waves from the U.S. subprime crisis have intensified throughout the last two years and have by now reached almost all economies. The Commission economic forecasts clearly indicated that in Europe the recession would be the deepest since the foundation of the EU. The 2009 Brussels...

The present global financial crisis is the deepest since the Great Depression of the 1930s. It has impacted severely on the European economy. It has forced policy-makers in the EU and elsewhere to respond with exceptional measures to counter the depressive effects of the crisis. The crisis has...

The 11th Brussels Economic Forum, held on 25-26 May 2010, took place against a background of the Greek debt crisis and keen debate on the future of Europe's economic governance. In that sense it took place at the ideal moment. Participants debated the causes and consequences of the crisis, and...

There is a widespread perception that imbalances within the euro area are not adjusting, the major difficulty being that the competitive disinflation processes required in deficit countries are painful, while no strong incentives are always available in surplus countries to reduce their excess...

Amidst current fears of recession and economic stagnation, this note presents an optimistic view of the euro area's prospects over the medium-term. We claim that the EA has a more than fair chance to leave the crisis behind in a much stronger overall position than before, not least vis-à-vis...

Several criticisms of the current fiscal strategy in the EU have recently been forcefully expressed. In this brief, we examine these criticisms, and provide some clarifications and responses. We recall that large adjustments are needed in most economies to restore sustaina-ble fiscal positions,...