The Sound of Economics

Olaf Sleijpen, President of De Nederlandsche Bank and ECB Governing Council member, joins Jeromin Zettelmeyer, Bruegel Director and European policy economist. They examine rising long-term interest rates, soaring public debt and geopolitical shocks. The conversation also explores AI-driven risks, cyber threats, ECB crisis tools, banking reform and why deeper European integration could strengthen resilience.

Elina Ribakova, Bruegel economist on Russia and sanctions, Simone Tagliapietra, energy and climate policy specialist, and Bruegel Director Jeromin Zettelmeyer examine Europe’s State of the Union priorities. They discuss Ukraine’s economic war, China, defence, electrification, nuclear power, critical materials, Canada’s possible associate membership, investment constraints and the EU’s strained alliances with the US.

Philip Luck, CSIS economics director and former US State Department official, joins former EU trade negotiator Ignacio García Bercero and Bruegel economist Jacob Funk Kirkegaard. They unpack the US-Canada trade war, from tariffs and retaliation to sovereignty and geopolitical pressure. The discussion explores escalation risks, Canada-Europe trade ties, CETA, critical raw materials, Europe’s single-market hurdles, and whether midterm politics could open a path to compromise.

Political scientist Stefanie Walter and European policy expert Heather Grabbe explore Iceland’s rejection of renewed EU talks and Switzerland’s fraught ties with Brussels. They examine Europe’s overlapping circles of integration, disputes over sovereignty, immigration and neutrality, and the legal challenges of cooperation beyond membership. The conversation also connects enlargement, Brexit, Ukraine and NATO to Europe’s evolving security and economic landscape.

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks about how to fight financial crime with Bruegel’s Nicolas Véron and James Freis, former chief compliance officer at Deutsche Börse and former head of FinCEN, the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The European Union is setting up its new Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLA), which from 2028 will have a combination of supervisory and standard-setting duties. What does it mean to start a new EU agency? What effect will it have for prevention and enforcement in areas like fraud, tax evasion and other abuses? What is the EU’s history in this area, and what past weaknesses is the new agency trying to correct? Given such a big and important mandate, will AMLA have the resources to do its job?Related research: Freis, J. H. and M. Waibel (2024) ‘The United States-Led Development of Financial Sanctions Since 1945’, in C. Zilioli, R. Bismuth and L. Thévenoz (eds) International Sanctions: Monetary and Financial Law Perspectives, Brill  Véron, N. (2025) ‘Updated assessment: Memo to the commissioner responsible for financial services’, First Glance, Bruegel Véron, N. and J. Kirschenbaum (2019) ‘A Major Step Toward Combating Money Laundering in Europe’, Blog Post, Bruegel Véron, N. and J. Kirschenbaum (2018) ‘A better European Union architecture to fight money laundering’, Policy Brief, Bruegel

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie talks about the rise of billionaires in the global economy and United States politics with guests David de Jong, author of the nonfiction book Nazi Billionaires, and Karel Lannoo, chief executive of the Brussels-based think tank CEPS. How are today’s billionaires shaping the US political climate, and how have things changed from the first Trump administration? What are the geopolitical consequences? How can Europe emulate US dynamism and economic growth while also resisting the conflicts of interest that arise when money and policy overlap? Will proposals currently pushed by the European Commission – like 'EU Inc' and the Capital Markets Union – shift the needle in this regard? What role does taxation play? This episode tackles some of the hard and complicated questions about money, politics and prosperity in today’s world. Related research:  Arnal, J. and Lannoo, K. (2026) ‘Do not blame Basel: the Output Floor and Europe’s banking competitiveness debate’, CEPS In-depth Analysis, CEPS  Arnal, J., Lannoo, K. and Thomadakis, A. (2024) ‘Staying ahead of the curve’, Task force report, CEPS  Christie, R. (2026) ‘The billionaire paradox’, First glance, Bruegel  de Jong, D. (2022) ‘Nazi Billionaires: The Dark History of Germany’s Wealthiest’ Dynasties’, Harper Collins   de Jong, D. (2024) ‘The Richest Man in Germany Is Worth $44 Billion. The Source of His Family Fortune? The Nazis Know’, News Story, September 12 , Vanity Fair  EU Tax Compass is a Bruegel-led project co-funded by the European Union

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks about the future of work with Bruegel’s Alexandre Mendonça and MIT professor Paul Osterman, author of a new book called Disposable Workers: the Transformation of Employment. In the United States and the European Union, companies are shifting away from long-term permanent jobs to a system with less certainty. Which industries have been most affected and how does that look for their workers? Who benefits from part-time work? Which workers are most disadvantaged? How can public policy adjust around these new dynamics? Artificial intelligence changes what skills workers need and immigration trends shape which workers are available. What conditions will help the economy grow and thrive? Related research:  Osterman, P. (2026) ' Disposable Workers: The Transformation of Employment', Upcoming, Harvard University Press    Mendonça, A. (2025) 'On Labor Markets, Inequality and Productivity', Dissertation, Stockholm School of Economics Christie, R., M. Grzegorczyk and D. Mulcahy (2022) 'Better pensions for the European Union’s self-employed', Policy Contribution 05/2022, Bruegel  

Silvia Merler, market-savvy Bruegel researcher explaining bond plumbing and investor demand. Jeromin Zettelmeyer, Bruegel director unpacking debt-issuance designs and policy trade-offs. Agnès Bénassy-Quéré, Banque de France deputy governor on safe assets and central bank implications. They debate what makes an asset safe, technical barriers to EU safe bonds, layered issuance options, and practical steps to boost euro-area safe assets.

Paul Triolo, Washington-based technology and policy expert, and Bertin Martens, Bruegel senior fellow on the digital economy, map the global AI stack. They discuss layers from energy and chips to models and apps. They debate China’s convergence with the US, US policy and export-controls drama around frontier models, and whether a coordinated European build-up of compute and hardware could close the gap.

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie talks about the future of European Union-United Kingdom relations with Bruegel’s Heather Grabbe and Richard Corbett, a former UK Labour Party MEP and also a former advisor to a president of the European Council. Did Brexit turn out the way its supporters hoped, and what have been the economic costs? Will the UK look to rejoin the single market any time soon? The EU has a slate of prospective new members lined up for closer relations who could take priority, especially Ukraine, whose candidacy has been fast-tracked because of the ongoing war. How does Kyiv’s progress affect British prospects? Would the UK have to join the euro if it wanted to come back fully? Are other kinds of relationships possible? With global uncertainty higher than ever, the UK and the EU still have great incentive to work together.Relevant research: García Bercero, I. and H. Grabbe (2025) 'The EU-UK reset: a first, big step in the right direction', First Glance, Bruegel Grabbe, H. (2026) 'Symbolic membership for Ukraine could bring practical security benefits to the EU', First Glance, Bruegel Berg, J., R. Christie and H. Geeroms (2026) 'The UK is still not ready for real rapprochement with the European Union', First Glance, Bruegel Corbett, R. (2026) 'Institutional aspects of Ukrainian accession to the EU', Policy Brief, FEPS Corbett, R. (2026) 'Is Britain considering a return to the EU?', Comment, Encompass Corbett, R. (2026) 'Rejoining the EU Quickly is a Realistic Prospect', 26 May, International Policy Digest