Economic governance lies at the heart of Europe’s political economy. It is the process through which EU institutions support economic development in Europe and aim to address the root causes of economic shocks. The EPC closely follows developments in the EU’s economic governance and suggests measures that are needed to overcome the economic, financial and sovereign debt crises. This includes evaluating how to improve the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) while addressing the political realities. It also includes assessing the role that the EU budget can and should play in an effort to cope with the EU’s multiple crises.
The EPC’s work focuses, in particular, on the following issues:
EMU and the future of the Eurozone
Whilst the recent financial and sovereign debt crises have led to further integration in certain areas, they have also raised existential questions related to the future of the Eurozone. The EPC looks at the impact of the recent economic crisis on the EU and EMU institutional set-up and what responses should be adopted to build up a more resilient framework; EU efforts to foster convergence between European economies before and after Euro-adoption; and the relationship between Eurozone members and “Euro-outs”.
EU fiscal framework
The EPC looks at the effectiveness of the latest reforms of the fiscal framework, including the establishment of a permanent European Stability Mechanism, the ‘Euro Plus Pact’, the ‘six pack’ of legislative proposals and the European semester. In this framework, the EPC also looks at the partnerships between the public and the private sector that can help reduce Europe's current investment gap.
EU budget
The UK leaving the EU would significantly impact the EU budget. Together with other political and socio-economic developments, the perspective of Brexit is pushing institutions and stakeholders to engage in a discussion about a more comprehensive reform of the budget and the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). In these circumstances, the EPC looks at how the current and future MFF may be affected and makes recommendations for the way forward with the budget reform proposals.
As a stakeholder of the project commissioned by the Fondazione Cariplo, the EPC also looks at the EU funding strategy post-2020. At the same time, the EPC focuses on the relationship between EU spending and the principles of territorial cohesion and multilevel governance. You can find behind the link more about EPC’s work on the EU budget.