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11. What Germany should fear most is its own fear: An analysis of Target2 and current account imbalances

Author:
Paul De Grauwe and Yuemei Ji
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
This paper analyzes two claims that have been made about the Target2 payment system. The first one is that this system has been used to support unsustainable current account deficits of Southern European countries. The second one is that the large accumulation of Target2 claims by the Bundesbank represents an unacceptable risk for Germany if the eurozone were to break up. We argue that these claims are unfounded. They also lead to unnecessary fears in Germany that make a solution of the eurozone crisis more difficult. Ultimately, this fear increases the risk of a break-up of the eurozone. Or to paraphrase Franklin Roosevelt, what Germany should fear most is simply its own fear.
Topic:
Economics, Regional Cooperation, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

12. Regulatory Quality in the European Commission and the UK: Old questions and new findings

Author:
Andrea Renda, Oliver Fritsch, Claudio M. Radaelli, and Lorna Schrefler
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
This paper examines the quality of impact assessments in the European Commission and the United Kingdom for the period 2005-2010. We coded 477 impact assessments for the UK and 251 for the European Commission, using a detailed scorecard - adjusted to reduce the bias evidenced by previous usages of this instrument.
Topic:
Economics, Regional Cooperation, and Governance
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

13. How to Negotiate under Co-decision in the EU: Reforming Trilogues and First-Reading Agreements

Author:
Lukas Obholzer and Christine Reh
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
The Constitutional Affairs Committee is currently reviewing the European Parliament's Rules of Procedure to increase the effectiveness, transparency and inclusiveness of first-reading agreements under co-decision. This CEPS Policy Brief takes a stand as to which rules should be adopted to achieve these objectives. Given the steep rise of early agreements and Parliament's role as a guarantor of EU legitimacy, we place a premium on inclusiveness and transparency. The rules suggested are designed to maintain efficiency for technical proposals, facilitate effective decision-making on urgent files and increase the overall legitimacy of legislative decision-making in the EU.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, Treaties and Agreements, and Governance
Political Geography:
Europe

14. In Search of Symmetry in the Eurozone

Author:
Paul De Grauwe
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
One of the major problems of the eurozone is the divergence of the competitive positions that have built up since the early 2000s. This divergence has led to major imbalances in the eurozone where the countries that have seen their competitive positions deteriorate (mainly the so - called ' PIIGS ' – Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain ) have accumulated large current account deficits and thus external indebtedness, matched by current account surpluses of the countries that have improved their competitive positions (mainly Germany).
Topic:
Economics, Markets, Regional Cooperation, Global Recession, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe, Greece, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Ireland

15. An Agenda for the European Council: Feasible steps to bring the eurozone back from the precipice

Author:
Stefano Micossi
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Once again the European Council will meet in an emergency session at the end of June, with the eurozone economy in recession and actually plummeting in its Southern periphery. Further doubts are also growing on the sustainability of sovereign debts due to the vicious spiral of deteriorating bank balance sheets, ballooning potential liabilities from banking rescues and widening spreads on government borrowings. The sovereign debt crisis in the periphery has now turned into a fully fledged banking crisis that threatens to spread from Greece to Spain and tomorrow, who knows, to Italy, France and even Germany itself.
Topic:
Debt, Economics, Regional Cooperation, Financial Crisis, and Governance
Political Geography:
Europe, Greece, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy

16. 'Grexit': Who would pay for it?

Author:
Daniel Gros, Cinzia Alcidi, and Alessandro Giovannini
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
What would be the cost if Greece were to exit from the eurozone? This much-debated question cannot be answered with a single number. The consequences of Greece's exit would depend decisively on the exact circumstances of events in the country itself as well as the general state of financial markets in the eurozone.
Topic:
Debt, Markets, Regional Cooperation, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe and Greece

17. A European Deposit Insurance and Resolution Fund

Author:
Daniel Gros and Dirk Schoenmaker
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
The eurozone is caught in a 'diabolical loop' in which weak domestic banking systems damage sovereign fiscal positions and conversely, in which risky sovereign positions disproportionately threaten domestic banking stability. A European-level banking system could go a long way towards breaking this unfortunate loop and stabilising the eurozone. This would require a European safety net for cross-border banks.
Topic:
Economics, Regional Cooperation, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe

18. Lobbying the European Parliament: A necessary evil

Author:
Maja Kluger Rasmussen
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Despite the growth of lobbying in the EU over the past two decades, the EU has taken a rather laissezfaire approach to regulating lobbying activity. While the European Parliament (EP) is in many ways more transparent and more accessible than many of the EU's national parliaments, the code of conduct for lobbyists and the Parliament's own rules of procedure are rather vague. As a result of the 'cash for laws' scandal, the EP President, Jerzy Buzek, has established a working group to draw up a new set of rules to govern the access and behaviour of lobbyists and to formulate a code of conduct for Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). The working group is currently considering seven proposals put forward by Jerzy Buzek, including a mandatory lobbying register for all EU institutions; a strengthening of MEPs' declarations of financial interests, with more frequent updates; a code of conduct for MEPs; a 'legislative footprint' for rapporteurs and tougher sanctions for non-compliance with these rules. While the reform proposal, as it stands now, offers a significant improvement of the Parliament's current rules, it does not go far enough, however.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation and Governance
Political Geography:
Europe

19. On the Tasks of the European Stability Mechanism

Author:
Stefano Micossi, Fabrizia Peirce, and Jacopo Carmassi
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
In recent weeks pressures on the euro and eurozone sovereign debtors have subsided. Buoyant growth in the global economy, increasingly benefiting also the European economy, has of course played an important role in calming financial markets. But even more important has been the perception that France and Germany are again working constructively for a strong economic Europe. More broadly, the acute turbulence in financial markets since the spring of 2010 may have finally convinced our political leaders, notably including the German political establishment, that the benefits of a stable currency far outweigh the costs that may have to be borne to make it work properly. The euro will only be trusted if the member states effectively coordinate their economic policies not only to ensure fiscal stability, but also to eliminate persistent divergences in productivity leading to unsustainable imbalances between national savings and investment (Schäuble, 2011).
Topic:
Security, Economics, Regional Cooperation, Monetary Policy, Financial Crisis, and Governance
Political Geography:
Europe, France, and Germany

20. The Case for 'More Single Market'

Author:
Jacques Pelkmans
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
With the Commission's consultation period on the Single Market Act (European Commission, 2010) nearing its end, it is high time for the EU to get its act together. Priority should immediately be restored to the issue of the Single Market, and EU powers to deepen and widen the internal market, where economically justifiable, ought to be utilized to the full. This CEPS Policy Brief explains why.
Topic:
Economics and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe