Sovereign debt: Do we need an EU solution? Bertelsmann Stiftung EUROPA Briefing 2017

High levels of sovereign debt have become a serious issue in the Eurozone. This does not just affect the individual member states: The European debt crisis has shown that difficulties in one euro-area country can spread to the entire currency union. What strategies are being discussed for reducing sovereign debt? Would a stronger role for the EU help to reduce debt over the long term or should this be left solely to the member states

Leaving the euro: An emergency exit for the currency union? Bertelsmann Stiftung EUROPA Briefing 2017

The euro does not provide its members with any option to leave. This protects the common currency against speculative attacks on the one hand. The euro crisis demonstrated on the other hand how difficult it is for Eurozone countries to constructively solve economic and fiscal policy conflicts among themselves. Why was the euro designed as a oneway street? What would be the consequences of an exit option? And what alternatives are there to an exit

EU budget: What’s the cost of Europe? Bertelsmann Stiftung EUROPA Briefing 2017

The European Union’s budget is relatively small but how it is financed and for what purpose it is used is controversial. The debate around this issue is coming to a head with the pending departure of the United Kingdom. Where does the EU get its money from? Who benefits from the spending? And what ideas are there for a more transparent and effective budget

Rules enforcement in the EU: “Conditionality” to the rescue? Bertelsmann Stiftung Policy Paper 28.05.2019

• Since the 1990s, the EU has used its budget not just to implement policies, but also to influence member state behaviour. Payments to governments and regions can be increased as an incentive or suspended as a punishment. In EU circles, this is called “budget conditionality”. It is a little known but common instrument. Today, budget conditionality covers such diverse areas as fiscal policy rules, economic reforms, human rights standards and environmental protection. • Recent years have highlighted the EU's weak position vis-à-vis member states that refuse to implement EU rules and decisions, for example on fiscal policy, refugees and democratic standards. Budget conditionality is now being discussed as one way to remedy this problem. • In preparation of the next long-term budget (MFF) starting in 2021, the European Commission has published proposals to strengthen existing conditionality mechanisms and to introduce a new procedure aimed at suspending EU payments to those countries that do not respect the rule of law. • We review the proposed instruments and evaluate whether they are likely to help the EU achieve its goals. We argue that, in principle, the EU budget can be useful as a carrot or stick to influence member state behaviour but it cannot fully make up for a lack of political will

THE MFF PROPOSAL: WHAT’S NEW, WHAT’S OLD, WHAT’S NEXT? Bertelsmann Stiftung Policy Brief 21 May 2018

On 2 May 2018, the European Commission released its proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), covering the years 2021-27. In its own words, the Commission tabled ‘a new, modern long-term budget, tightly geared to the political priorities of the Union at 27’. This article analyses how much change and how much continuity the current proposal truly contains and discusses the next steps and possible negotiation dynamics

Flashlight Europe N°6–June 2015. Waiting for the Five Presidents’ Report on the Future of the Monetary Union: What do we need to know?

At the European Summit on 25-26 June Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, will be presenting a report on the future of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). It has been drawn up by the presidents of the EU Commission, the European Council, the European Central Bank, the European Parliament, and the Eurogroup, and is a sequel to the “Four Presidents’ Report” on the same topic that was compiled without the participation of the President of the European Parliament and presented in 2012. In this Flashlight we provide answers to key questions about the forthcoming report

spotlight europe #2015/04—October 2015: A Fiscal Union for Europe – Building Block and Not a Magic Bullet

The dramatic negotiations with Greece in the past few months have been a telling reminder of the weaknesses of the euro area. Most of the commentators are of the opinion that if the monetary union is going to be crisis-resistant and stable in the long term, certain very important elements will have to be changed. However, there is little or no agreement when it comes to specifying the "what" and the "how". In particular there are heated debates about the right steps to further integration in the area of fiscal policy. "Fiscal union can create stability only if it includes both credible budgetary rules and some kind of risk sharing", argue Katharina Gnath and Jörg Haas in the latest spotlight europe. However, "whilst it is an important and effective way of stabilizing the euro area, it should not exclude the use of other instruments.

Repair and Prepare: Strengthening Europe's Economies after the Crisis. Bertelsmann Studies

Europe is often portrayed as a ship with sails of different colours from different countries pushing the common boat in the right direction. From 2010 to 2012, that ship faced the perfect storm: The euro area almost caused the ship to sink, there was massive disagreement on how to get out of the storm, and it was unclear who was steering the ship. However, Euro-Europe eventually managed to buoy the ship while in the eye of the storm, and the decisive action by ECB President Mario Draghi, arguably not the captain of the ship, managed to steer the common project away from imminent danger

Growth and Euro Area Stability: The Double Dividend of a Deepened European Single Market for Services. Bertelsmann Stiftung Background Note 26 June 2015

The European Commission’s recent single market initiatives have a second important benefit beyond growth that is often overlooked: Deepening the Single Market for goods and services can also reduce imbalances in the euro area and limit its vulnerability to crises. A further integration of the Single Market thus provides a double dividend of growth and stability. This is the main issue addressed in this background note