Bruegel director Guntram Wolff frames the two debates that will dominate the upcoming meeting of the European Council on 23 February 2018 – the shape of the next EU budget, and the method by which a new European Commission president will be appointed.

Major questions still hang over the next EU budget, or multiannual financial framework (MFF), and not just because of Brexit.

The next budget, another seven-year MFF that will run from 2021 through to 2027, will likely reflect Europe’s developing priorities in sectors such as defence, border control and fighting climate change. Other sectors may face a cut in spending, particularly given the shortfall left as a result of the UK’s departure.

Elsewhere, the European Council and European Parliament have still to reach agreement over the future of the Spitzenkandidaten process, by which the appointment of current European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker was decided in 2014.

These topics are lead items on the agenda for the European Council meeting on February 23. Bruegel director Guntram Wolff features in this episode of ‘The Sound of Economics’, highlighting the key considerations and likely deciding factors in the debates still to be had.

Ep 350 - Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut