These Memos, addressed to the next Commission President and to the new European commissioners, are written by Bruegel Scholars and edited by Senior Research Fellow André Sapir and focus on key economic aspects of EU policy-making. The new Commission will enter office at a challenging time for...

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, Juan Delgado and Indhira Santos look at how EU policies should be adjusted to the higher food prices. The brief makes three policy recommendations: innovation in biofuels should be encouraged but biofuels targets should be abandoned as they are expensive and distort...

This policy brief provides a practical solution to facilitate reform of the EU budget decision-making process, overcome the detachment of EU spending from political priorities and increase focus on EU public goods. As the negotiations for the next financial framework are expected to start in...

This paper traces the history of the EU budget and draws lessons for the review to come. Whatever reforms are proposed, the authors believe that they must serve to shift spending to policy areas and instruments where the EU can best add value while at the same time recognising the political need...

Indhira Santos analyses the impact of the European Unionâ??s cohesion policy both in terms of economic efficiency and redistribution to needy areas of the EU. She illustrates with data the confusion created by the multiple objectives of current EU cohesion policy and by the political...

Jean Pisani-Ferry and Indhira Santos observe that the crisis and the national responses to it have started to reshape the global economy. But beyond the specifics of shock transmission, the crisis has also exposed that, in spite of regional integration and the emergence of new economic powers,...

Jean Pisani-Ferry discusses the development of globalisation during the last decade and the challenges ahead. The speed and magnitude of the transformation affecting the world economy are larger than initially envisaged, while domestic policy reforms and redistribution have often been...