This chapter analyses the role of fiscal policy as a tool of macroeconomic stabilisation and proposes changes in the EU fiscal rules with the aim of making them more flexible while at the same time maintaining fiscal discipline.

This chapter reconsiders and assesses subsidiarity as one of the general principles to guide the political and institutional development of the European Union, and proposes a framework to assess the consistency of alternative plans.

Educational systems are under pressure in many countries. On the one hand, the costs of education are soaring as both enrolment rates and the length of studies trend upward, while the cost per pupil grows as fast as GDP per capita. On the other hand, there is a perception that standards and...

Authors of the Report on the European Economy 2003

This chapter presents a “primer” on the ten new members of the EU starting in May 2004. It summarises the income and structural differences between them and the old members of the EU and analyses a number of economic policy issues regarding growth, migration, public finances, trade, foreign...

This chapter presents forecasts of growth and inflation in the European economy for the year 2003 and assesses the current macroeconomic conditions for the whole area and for some individual countries.

This chapter analyses the current financial architecture of the euro area, questioning whether the current institutional arrangements are adequate to reduce the risk of financial crises, and deal with them if they occur.