This paper analyzes Germany's fiscal policy position. Half of GDP passes through the hands of government, a high debt to GDP ratio limits the maneuvering, and the revenue sharing mechanism prevents a competitive federalism. Most importantly for the future, the federal finance minister has to...

The reform of euro area governance has been chosen by the heads of state and government in the EU as a topic for immediate discussion and swift decisions. The European Council in Spring 2010 asked president Van Rompuy to chair a task force on euro area governance. The task force is due to...

The euro area's sovereign debt crisis continues though significant steps have been taken to resolve it. This paper proposes a comprehensive solution to the crisis based on three pillars: a plan to restore banking sector soundness in the whole euro area, a resolution of sovereign debt crisis...

The response in 2008-09 to the global financial crisis was in many ways a high water mark for transatlantic policy coordination. The major economies of the EU and the US rapidly agreed on a series of measures to limit the crisis. However, the common approach has since unraveled. This paper...

This background paper describes in detail the assumptions and calculations behind the results presented in Zsolt Darvas, Jean Pisani-Ferry and André Sapir 'A comprehensive approach to the euro-area debt crisis', Bruegel Policy Brief No 2011/02, February 2011. An assessment of the results and...

We review the competing explanations of the 2007-2008 global crisis, recall how governments around the world had to depart from established policy stances, and reflect on the legacy of the crisis both in terms of future challenges and changes in policy doctrine. The G-20 has addressed important...

[Introduction ...] The goal of this contribution is to take stock of the academic and policy discussions on the fiscal institutions of EMU, to confront the framework in place with what is known of the desirable properties of fiscal policy in a monetary union, and to discuss possible...

[Introduction ...] The aim of this paper is to discuss this issue in the light of recent experience. It is divided into five sections. In section 2, we briefly discuss the economic benefits of macroeconomic stability and the rationale for government policies playing an active role in delivering...

For Europe, the war in Ukraine is a first-order economic shock. While the direct fiscal implications of taking care of refugees, increasing military spending and strengthening energy autonomy remain limited, the impact of elevated energy and food prices on national income and its distribution is...