The European Semester in Belgium: A state of play. European Policy Brief No. 32, October 2014

After four rounds of the European Semester process of EU economic coordination, Belgium has done relatively little to comply with EU recommendations. This brief substantiates and confirms this claim after clarifying the meaning of these recommendations. While the challenges underlined by the European Commission still lie ahead, Belgium’s ownership of the recommendations for reforms has been low. Not only do coordination processes remain bureaucratic and technocratic, but many of the recommendations’ concerns – external competitiveness, social security reforms, market reforms – are not traditionally defended by the political left in Belgium. The controversy surrounding the recommendations for national structural reforms owes much to their supply-side orientation, which contrasts with the inability of the EU to pursue demand-side policies. But despite this disequilibrium, the recommendations highlight relevant issues that ought to be addressed, and indicate where scope for national debate exists

A case for adjusting fiscal consolidation in the eurozone. European Policy Brief No. 14, January 2013

Fiscal consolidation is essential to ensure the sustainability of eurozone countries’ public debt. However, as a principle, consolidation should not be pursued at a pace unnecessarily undermining growth in the short term. Repeated downward revisions of growth call for the use of the flexibility foreseen in the EU fiscal framework. The Commission should adapt the deadlines for fiscal correction to prevent excessive, pro-cyclical adjustment in 2013. In turn, adequate surveillance and coordination must ensure structural adjustments constitute the core of fiscal consolidation plans

Industrial policy in the EU: A guide to an elusive concept. Egmont Paper No. 69, September 2014

Despite renewed interest in an EU industrial policy, the concept remains particularly elusive because it has no universal definition. This paper relies on a broad and inclusive definition of industrial policy proposed by Warwick (in an OECD working paper) to provide a clearer picture of what the concept encompasses when applied to the EU. It therefore includes an original visual taxonomy of the EU policies that constitute industrial policy. It can serve as a guiding framework for reflecting on industrial policy in the EU. The proposed framework holds a key lesson: coherence of action across different policy fields and across different levels of governance is essential at EU, national and regional levels. The framework provided in this paper constitutes a high-level reminder of the range of policies and associated instruments that should ideally be streamlined throughout the EU for maximum impact when any industrial sector, technology or task is promoted by the EU

The Belgian parliaments and EU affairs: the reasons behind their limited involvement. European Policy Brief No. 28, March 2014

Given their limited involvement in EU affairs, the Belgian parliaments at the different levels of the Belgian federation barely contribute to the legitimation process of the EU’s actions. In order to strengthen their role, not only should governmental communication towards parliaments be improved but parliamentary activities should also adapt to the confederal features of Belgium. The latter poses a unique challenge in Europe

Is the EMU ready for future shocks? An overview of available backstops. European Policy Brief No. 20, March 2014

In recent years much has been accomplished to make the EMU more resilient to banking crises, sovereign-debt crises or balance-of-payment crises. Several ‘backstops’ or financial safety nets were progressively put in place to absorb the shocks that could have otherwise broken the EMU as a system. These substantial advances reflected a gradual, trial-and-error approach rather than a grand design that would have completely overhauled the EMU architecture. While flexibility and realism have advantages, complacency is a clear risk. With no roadmap to follow, efforts to complete the architecture of the EMU may fade with time. Maintaining a sense of direction is crucial while potential vulnerabilities remain

La vente de BNPP Fortis : l’Europe ou le symbolisme les chiffres? = The sale of BNPP Fortis: Europe and the symbolism of figures? Egmont Commentary, 20 November 2013

Suite à la vente par l’Etat belge de sa participation dans BNP Paribas Fortis, des questions se sont posées sur les motivations de l’opération. Au-delà des considérations portant sur la vocation de l’Etat à être actionnaire d’une banque, l’objectif affiché était clairement d’ordre budgétaire. Il était question de dégager des surplus de trésorerie immédiats permettant de réduire le niveau d’endettement public. En particulier, la Belgique s’était fixé l’été dernier l’objectif de refaire passer la dette sous la barre des 100% du PIB cette année. Selon de nombreux commentaires, cette dernière motivation s’expliquerait par la pression exercée par l’Europe par l’entremise de la Commission européenne

Revoir la trajectoire budgétaire ne signifie pas relâcher l’effort = Revisiting the budget path does not mean relaxing the effort. Egmont Commentary, 21 February 2013

Pour mieux tenir compte des faibles perspectives de croissance et assurer la crédibilité de la trajectoire budgétaire, la Belgique devrait reformuler l’objectif d’équilibre en termes structurels et non plus nominaux

L’Italie est désormais seule face au marché = Italy is now alone in the market. Egmont Commentary, 1 March 2013

Les élections italiennes font resurgir les interrogations quant au soutien effectif de la Banque Centrale Européenne pour prévenir une augmentation des taux d’emprunts publics