The Sound of Economics
10
Where can Europe be independent?
<p>In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks to former EU Competition Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager -- now chair of the board at Danish Technical University -- and Ditte Brasso Sørensen, who leads Think Tank EUROPA’s Stocktaking EU project, about how Europe can reduce its dependencies without grasping for the impossible goal of full economic independence. How can the European Union make its state aid framework fit for purpose? Can Europe anchor its own AI companies, and how will the big US firms manage their European business? What is the role of cle...
China’s financial system: big, powerful and still state-run
<p>China’s banking sector has expanded from a fragile, state-dominated system in the 1990s into the largest in the world. But this increased scale has not brought with it a shift toward market-driven finance, with the core logic of state-directed control over credit remaining a central feature of Chinese banking. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan sits down with Alicia García-Herrero and Fraser Howie to examine how banks continue to serve state priorities, funnelling household savings into politically favoured sectors while sustaining local governments and state-owned firms.</p><p>This episode is part of the...
Nature as equity
<p>In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie talks about nature and markets with Bruegel’s Heather Grabbe and Estelle Cantillon, FRNS research director at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. They explore policy efforts to make protecting natural resources more of a financial priority, such as nature credits and nature shares, as well as the difficulty of setting up these kinds of systems. How can public money and private investors cooperate? How does a program like this avoid cheating, moral hazard and failure to deliver? Both government resources and investor buy-in will be necessary for habitats and...
Tax, sovereignty and the EU
<p>In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie sits down with Bruegel’s Pascal Saint-Amans and Roel Dom to talk taxes. What happened to the OECD global minimum tax and the digital services levy debate in the wake of Washington’s turn against international agreements? How is the European Union gathering resources for its next budget? What is the difference between a tax and a levy – and why does it matter? Tax policy is social policy, and Bruegel’s new EU Tax Observatory project will shine a light on what’s going on.</p><p>Relevant Research:<...
All about CBAM, the cross-border carbon levy
<p>In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie sits down with Bruegel’s Ignacio García Bercero and Ben McWilliams to talk about the evolution of the European Union’s carbon border adjustment mechanism, known as CBAM. When will companies start paying? Which countries and sectors will be hit the hardest? And how will cross-border carbon levies work for electricity markets, given how hard it is to trace emissions to electrons? We discuss what it means to crack down on carbon leakage and how the EU can make the most of its new tools going forward.</p><p>...
China’s Yuan and Europe’s industry: a growing imbalance
<p>In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Yuyun Zhan is joined by Bruegel Senior Fellow Alicia García-Herrero and Jürgen Matthes of the German Economic Institute to discuss a growing concern for Europe’s economy: the undervaluation of Yuan, the Chinese currency and its impact on European competitiveness.</p><p>Is China’s price advantage the result of productivity and innovation, or of deeper structural distortions such as subsidies, overcapacity, and currency management? And what policy options does Europe realistically have when existing trade defence instruments seem ill-suited to address economy-wide price and exchange-rate effects?</p><p>Rele...
Europe’s looming budget fight
<p>In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie and Bruegel’s Zsolt Darvas discuss the European Union’s next seven-year financial plan with MEP Johan Van Overtveldt, chairman of the European Parliament’s budget committee. Negotiators have until the end of 2027 to figure out roughly €2 trillion in funding, with the parliament and member states not expected to sit down together until next year. How can the EU pay for public goods? Will countries and regions be willing to overhaul the way they finance farmers and other key sectors? Meanwhile, the EU may need to revisit proposals to borro...
AI, data and Europe’s quest to simplify
<p>In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie sits down with Bruegel’s Mario Mariniello and Bertin Martens to discuss technology regulation in the European Union. Brussels hopes to make its complicated rulebook more fit for purpose with digital “omnibus” plans, intended to streamline and improve oversight. But artificial intelligence, data collection and relations with United States tech giants are tricky subjects that may not be so easily addressed. How should companies manage data? What are the consequences for EU citizens, particularly those from minority language groups? And what kind of innovation can policy encourage in Europe...
Europe’s 2025 identity crisis: the year in review
Will Europe do what it takes to defend the continent and the single market? In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie is joined by Bruegel Director Jeromin Zettelmeyer and Senior Fellows Simone Tagliapietra and Reinhilde Veugelers to discuss the highs and lows of the past 12 months. As Bruegel celebrated its 20th anniversary with close to 100 events held across the European Union, the EU itself grappled with how to support Ukraine, how to boost its self defence and how to strengthen its economy to face modern challenges. From the Green Deal to competitiveness, technology and innovation, Europe...
EU-India: trading partners with potential
In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie is joined by Professor Amita Batra, of Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre for South Asian Studies, and Bruegel Senior Fellow Ignacio Garcia Bercero to discuss the European Union-India trade relationship and its potential. What scope is there for a free trade agreement, particularly regarding tricky sectors like steel and automotive manufacturing? How will Europe’s new Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism affect the dynamic? Is there room for closer cooperation given the geopolitical pressures posed by the United States and China? Working together, India’s growth and the EU’s trade experi...
