EconPol Opinions

Does the coronavirus crisis call for solidarity within the EU, or within the euro area? Daniel Gros (EconPol Europe, CEPS) argues that being hit by an unforeseen epidemic has nothing to do with euro area membership and the present situation is a case which requires solidarity at EU level. And, he says, there's a plausible and simple way to organise a real expression of EU solidarity without engaging in any large-scale financial transactions.

This article first appeared on VoxEU.org: https://voxeu.org/article/corona-transfers-instead-coronabonds

In the current context of difficult times across Europe and in the World, there are relevant issues on which many people might agree, regardless of their political, ideological or theoretical views. António Afonso examines the options available and asks for compromise.

EconPol Europe's Ulrich Hege (Toulouse School of Economics, ECGI) and co-authors Bo Becker (Stockholm School of Economics, CEPR & ECGI) and Pierre Mella-Barral (Toulouse Business School) discuss the economic risks of COVID-19 and the increasingly plausible steep protraction, examine the mitigating support programs governments are putting into place for households and firms, and explain why planning for debt structuring should start now.

This article first appeared on VoxEU.org https://voxeu.org/article/corporate-debt-burdens-threaten-economic-recovery-after-covid-19

A recession is now inevitable, says Daniel Gros (CEPS, EconPol Europe), but it can be followed by a vigorous recovery. The memory of the financial crisis of 2008/9 is fresh enough to ensure the combined efforts of central bankers and governments can keep financial markets working and prevent mass bankruptcies. Policymakers at every level are using every lever at their disposal to avoid a repeat of the freezing of financial markets, which was so damaging ten years ago. The lesson was learned and is now being applied at a vast scale throughout Europe and the US. Containing the virus and protecting public health is where Western societies have to learn and adapt quickly.

EconPol Speaker Clemens Fuest has called for the UK Government to abandon its plan to complete the Brexit transition by the end of 2020. Prof Fuest describes the UK’s decision to rule out a customs union and pursue its own trade policy as ‘regrettable’, highlights fears from both the UK and EU over the potential lack of a “level playing field”, calls tax policy “a minefield of disagreement” and says climate policy “poses a further challenge to the free trade agreement.”