In the pre-crisis period, substantial current account imbalances built up in the euro area. Despite recent progress in economic rebalancing, especially in the countries mostly affected by the euro debt crisis, a controversial debate is still raging about past causes, current interpretations and...

In the political declaration of the Withdrawal Agreement the EU should leave the door open for a free trade area for goods that has been suggested by the UK's Chequers proposals. The EU would profit from such an arrangement due to its comparative advantage in goods. However, in order to achieve...

Despite the broad upswing in the euro area, it cannot be precluded that high public debts in some countries could spiral out of control if interest rates increase again. To analyse the relevance of this danger, a debt sustainability analysis is carried out using a narrow range of relatively...