Search

Begin New Search Topic Monetary Policy

201. Three Options for the EU: Assessing the EU's powers in a true economic and political union

Author:
Teija Tiilikainen
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
Abstract:
Safeguarding the EU's unity in the long-term development of the EMU is currently one of the major challenges for the Union. The de facto adjustments made to the EU's economic and fiscal powers due to the economic and financial crisis, including the completion of the Banking Union, create pressures to address the treaty-based division of powers and to strengthen the democratic control of the powers executed by the Union. The need to back the EU's macroeconomic goals with fiscal instruments has been made evident by the economic crisis; the position of these instruments outside the common budget might become increasingly controversial. A further increase in economic solidarity (jointly guaranteed debt, taxation power) might jeopardize the EU's stability and democratic legitimacy if carried out in the current political and institutional framework. A system of constitutional and fiscal federalism would produce a more stable outcome, but would require major changes in the EU's democratic system and system of policy implementation, in its external policies and the way its constitutional powers are arranged.
Topic:
Debt, Economics, Regional Cooperation, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe

202. How to Form a More Perfect European Banking Union

Author:
Ángel Ubide
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
Abstract:
The euro area has made significant strides in the last six months in designing a banking union. The goal has been to centralize supervisory decision making and improve the management of failing banks while protecting European taxpayers and imposing costs on creditors through so-called bail-ins to reduce moral hazard. Euro area leaders have reached some political agreements, and legislation is being prepared for eventual adoption by the European Parliament and then the various member states. This progress has been hailed as a step in the right direction, with particular praise for the euro area leaders' plan to endow the European Central Bank (ECB) with supervisory powers and create new rules for managing troubled banks.
Topic:
Economics, Markets, Regional Cooperation, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
Europe

203. The EU Beyond the Crisis: The Unavoidable Challenge of Legitimacy

Author:
Richard Youngs
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
The euro crisis has mobilized the masses and unleashed vitally important debates about changing the model of European integration, both economically and politically. Yet, as European governments deepen economic cooperation and the crisis appears to have calmed, European Union (EU) member states feel increasingly confident that fundamental political changes are not necessary. This is a dangerously short-sighted calculation. To build a truly democratic EU, citizens need to have a greater voice in decision making.
Topic:
Debt, Economics, Markets, Regional Cooperation, Monetary Policy, Financial Crisis, and Reform
Political Geography:
Europe

204. Towards a Deeper EMU: An assessment of political divisions within the EU

Author:
Juha Jokela
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
Abstract:
Policymakers, observers and the media have referred to a vast number of divisions in crisis-torn Europe. The EU is divided between north and south or creditors and debtors. Some have emphasised the emerged division between anti-EU and pro- EU forces. Significantly, these divisions are also manifested within the eurozone, in the form of the current differences between the French and German views, and the increasing role of the populist movements in many euro countries. Yet others have highlighted the boundary between the eurozone and the rest of the EU, and suggested that the euro countries now form the core of the Union. Relatedly, some of the non-euro members are distancing themselves from the EU – most notably the UK – while many others aim to secure their influence in the Union, even if euro membership may have been put on the back burner.
Topic:
Debt, Economics, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Europe, and Germany

205. Challenges of the International Monetary System and Response Options: A South African Perspective

Author:
Johan van den Heever
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:
For the purposes of this paper, the international monetary system (IMS) may be described as the various mechanisms and institutions that underpin the exchange of different national and regional currencies in world trade and finance. The history of this system is well documented — for instance, Eichengreen (2008) and Lin, Fardoust and Rosenblatt (2012) — and proposals aimed at its reform are not in short supply.
Topic:
Economics, International Monetary Fund, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

206. Banks at the Service of the Economy?

Author:
Eric De Keuleneer
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
EGMONT - The Royal Institute for International Relations
Abstract:
This Policy Brief discusses a few simple measures to improve both the commercial and investment banking landscapes, with or without formal separation. Covering deposits with quality collateral would make them safer and would help create an easier guarantee and resolution mechanism at the larger eurozone level. Strong central counterparties and transparency requirements would improve market mechanisms and market discipline in capital markets and investment banking. Specific governance measures would also help improve the financial sector. Finally, a better control of bank solvency, together with improved capital market transparency and accessibility, should encourage the progressive deleveraging of commercial banks, and enhance the long term funding of the economy by capital markets.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Monetary Policy, and Governance

207. What if the Next Financial Crisis Hits the Banking Union? A Call for an "If All Else Fails" Clause

Author:
Stijn Verhelst
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
EGMONT - The Royal Institute for International Relations
Abstract:
This Policy Brief argues that the envisaged design of the Banking Union risks not being sufficient to deal with the next large-scale financial crisis. Therefore, an "if all else fails" clause should be approved, stating that the Banking Union members can provide joint last resort financing to deal with a future crisis. An agreement on the clause should be feasible because it is beneficial to all Member States.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe

208. A case for adjusting fiscal consolidation in the eurozone

Author:
Xavier Vanden Bosch
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
EGMONT - The Royal Institute for International Relations
Abstract:
Fiscal consolidation is essential to ensure the sustainability of euro zone countries' public debt. However, as a principle, consolidation should not be pursued at a pace unnecessarily undermining growth in the short term. Repeated downward revisions of growth call for the use of the flexibility foreseen in the EU fiscal framework. The Commission should adapt the deadlines for fiscal correction to prevent excessive, pro-cyclical adjustment in 2013. In turn, adequate surveillance and coordination must ensure structural adjustments constitute the core of fiscal consolidation plans.
Topic:
Debt, International Trade and Finance, Monetary Policy, and Reform
Political Geography:
Europe

209. Updating The EMU: Differentiated economic integration in the European Union

Author:
Samu Kurri
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
Abstract:
The financial and economic crisis has reinforced the two-layer economic integration structure in the EU. Many of the new rules and structures created during the crisis have focused on a solution to the euro crisis and are thus euro area-specific. There is little evidence, however, that the situation would have dramatically changed compared to the Maastricht EMU. All of the changes are still in line with the basic idea that all EU countries will join the euro when they are ready to do so. One of the key questions in the near future is likely to centre on the contours of the euro area specific decision-making, its relationship to the EU as a whole, and its institutions and procedures. Even if the Euro group remains 'formally informal', it has managed to transform itself into a de facto institution within the EU, and its role and weight is likely to increase rather than decrease.
Topic:
Debt, Economics, Monetary Policy, Financial Crisis, and Reform
Political Geography:
Europe

210. Net Neutrality and Mandatory Network-Sharing: How to disconnect the continent

Author:
Andrea Renda
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
A lively debate emerged on the proposed "Connected Continent" legislative package presented by the European Commission in September 2013. The package contains a proposed rule on the 'open Internet', which was heavily discussed in European Parliament hearings in early December. This commentary argues that while the proposed rule is in principle balanced and appealing, it is utterly impractical due to the enormous uncertainty that its application would entail. At the same time, the rule is very far from what neutrality proponents have argued for almost a decade: rather than the place for internet freedom, it would transform the Web into a place requiring constant micro-management and tutoring of user behavior. Both arguments lead to the conclusion that the current proposal should be at once reformed and analysed under a more holistic lens. On the one hand, Europe should launch an ambitious project for the future, converged infrastructure by mobilising resources and reforming rules to encourage investment into ubiquitous, converged, 'always on' connectivity. On the other hand, enhanced legal certainty for broadband investment could justify a more neutrality-oriented approach to traffic management practices on the Internet. The author proposes a new approach to Internet regulation which, altogether, will lead to a more balanced and sustainable model for the future, without jeopardising user freedom.
Topic:
Debt, Economics, Monetary Policy, Infrastructure, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe