The Issue Reform of the governance of the euro area is being held back by disagreement on what is at the root of the euro areaâ??s woes. Pre-crisis, the euro area suffered from the built-up of financial imbalances, price and wage divergence and an insufficient focus on debt sustainability....

In a way few predicted only weeks ago, reality is knocking at the G20â??s door: the European debt crisis has taken a turn that threatens the global economy. The plans for the next meeting of heads of state or government, convened for November 3 and 4 at Cannes, need rethinking. Still today, the...

Alan Ahearne and Jean Pisani-Ferry explore the implications of economic divergence in the euro area for policy makers, as well as the discipline required to be part of the single currency. From this analysis they derive policy recommendations, both for the policies and monitoring of existing...

Bruegelâ??s new policy brief Â?Is Structural Spending on Solid Foundations?â?? analyses the performance of EU structural funds, asking questions that need to be addressed in the ongoing budget review: Is each euro invested where it will yield the highest return? And how much real...

This policy brief deals with the link between corporate finance and growth. The discussions about structural reform in Europe, including the EUÂ?s Lisbon strategy, put a legitimate emphasis on labour and product market reforms, but often overlook the role of the financial system in fostering...

Bruegel Fellow Jakob von Weizsäcker argues that Europe needs more high-skilled migration and the debate on low-skilled migration should not be an excuse to slow this process down. Rather, the EU should use a couple of tools to encourage high-skilled migration: a skill-based points system with a...

Nicolas Véron presents and analyses new data about the internationalisation of Europe's largest companies and their US counterparts, and discusses some policy implications.

The Lisbon agenda was reborn in 2005 with its economic goals prioritised and a new system of governance. But "naming and shaming" of underperforming countries has been dropped and there will be no redrawing of the EU budget. The new emphasis is on national "ownership" of reforms. Jean...

In this policy brief, Jean Pisani-Ferry and Bruno van Pottelsberghe show that although the crisis originated in the US, Europeâ??s outlook has deteriorated faster and more sharply leading to the worst crisis observed during the post-war era. However, the length of the crisis matters at least as...

Standards reduce production costs and increase the value of products to consumers; ultimately they significantly contribute to economic development. Standards however entail risks of anti-competitive abuse. After the adoption of a standard, the elimination of competition between technologies can...