The Sound of Economics

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie invites MEP Johan Van Overtveldt and Bruegel Senior fellow Nicolas Véron to talk about the impact of the sanctions on Russian assets in the global financial system and what that means in terms of systemic risk for Belgium, for Europe and for the world. They discuss possible avenues where the EU could utilise 200 billion frozen Russian assets, in particular a recently proposed plan to use the assets as collateral and take out a loan to help fund Ukraine. Explore more of Bruegel's research on Ukraine. 

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie sits down with Oya Celasun, Deputy Director of the International Monetary Fund’s European Department, and Jeromin Zettelmeyer, Director of Bruegel, to talk about EU competitiveness. They define what the term means; discuss whether the EU has a competitiveness problem; and if so, how it can be fixed.

In the final episode of The Skills podcast series, Rebecca Christie discusses with Duygu Güner and Francesca Rosso on skills anticipation. They talk about the new skills that are emerging and the impact of skills anticipation on education and training. They also talk about providing the required skills needed for the green transition and about creating a smooth process for all workers, regardless of their skill level. This is part of a special Skills series of The Sound of Economics, where we discuss how we can utilise upskilling and reskilling initiatives to protect vulnerable groups of the workforce, how to build a resilient workforce and create a better functioning EU labour market. 

Nicolas Véron and Harald Waiglein discuss the origins and challenges of Europe's banking union in this episode. They cover the integration of supervision, resolution, and deposit insurance, the importance of international cooperation, and the unfinished business in the framework. They also explore the regulatory treatment of sovereign exposures, maintaining confidence in the banking sector, and adopting a best practice model.

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie invites Chiara Criscuolo and Reinhilde Veugelers. The speakers argue that the current pace of innovation is too slow to face the challenge of climate change and that a range of barriers and market failures remain at the root of the problem. To resolve these, a mission-oriented industrial strategy for the green transition is needed. Relevant publication: Industrial strategies for Europe’s green transition, Chapter by Chiara Criscuolo, Antoine Dechezlepretre and Guy Lalanne, Bruegel Blueprint (Sparking Europe’s new industrial revolution: A policy for net zero, growth and resilience), July 2023  Did COVID-19 accelerate the green transition? OECD paper, June 2023 Industrial policy and strategies, OECD project Quantifying industrial strategies, OECD project

The podcast discusses China's latest attempt to internationalize its currency, the RMB. They explore China's previous attempts, its current approach, and the potential implications. The experts also discuss the impact on the euro compared to the dollar and the potential fragmentation of the global financial system. Strategies to strengthen the euro and the rise of the RMB are also explored.

The podcast explores the concept of EU economic security, trade disruptions, and policy recommendations. Topics covered include securitization of economic policy, protecting economic interests, diversification, industrial policies, and the lack of incentives for companies to tackle risks in certain countries.

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie invites Heather Grabbe, Jean Pisani-Ferry, Fiona M. Scott Morton and Jeromin Zettelmeyer to do a yearly round-up of significant economic policy developments from Europe and the world. They discuss the implication of wars and recent European elections, interest rate hikes, green investment, industrial policy, EU fiscal rules reform and digital regulations.

On 7 December 2023, the 24th EU-China Summit took place in Beijing, where President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council, Charles Michel, met with China’s President, Xi Jinping and Premier, Li Qiang. Although both sides had various topics they wanted to address, there appeared to be minimal results. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan and Alicia García-Herrero invite Liwei Wang to take a deep dive into the expectations and outcomes of the Summit. They talk about the EU’s anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles, the EU’s trade deficit with China and China’s market access among various other topics. They also look at the road forward on EU-China dialogues and discuss the areas on which the two powers can work together more such as climate transition and artificial intelligence regulation. This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox!

Ukraine is an official EU candidate since June 2022. In mid-December 2023, the leaders of EU countries are meeting to discuss whether to start official accession talks. In this episode of the Sound of Economics, recorded on December 8 2023, Rebecca Christie invites Zsolt Darvas and Heather Grabbe to look at the timeframe for the talks, the procedures and the criteria needed for Ukraine’s accession into the EU. They also discuss the costs of enlargement and what it might mean for the EU. Finally, they acknowledge the necessity for the union to show its solidarity with Ukraine, by opening official accession talks, helping the country to improve and reconstruct itself; and welcoming it to the EU when it has met the accession requirements.