The Sound of Economics

Rebecca Christie sits down with Jean Pisani-Ferry and André Sapir to discuss the upcoming parliamentary elections in France, amidst growing voter dissatisfaction and legislative gridlock. They discuss the political intrigues behind the upheaval and highlight the potential consequences of a National Rally-dominated assembly, which could obstruct European Union decisions and implement protectionist...

In October 2023, the European Union launched an investigation into whether Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers were receiving unfair subsidies which give them an advantage in the market. In June 2024, the European Commission announced the preliminary conclusion that it would levy additional tariffs of between 17.4ؘ–38% on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs). This would be placed on top of an e...

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie sits down with Tony Connelly , Europe editor of Irish public service broadcaster RTÉ, and David Gow , who chairs the Royal Society of Edinburgh's EU-Scotland initiative. They discuss EU-UK relations after Brexit, how Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales fit into the picture, upcoming British elections, and long-term prospects for Irish un...

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Bruegel’s non-resident fellow Dirk Schoenmaker presents his latest book ‘ Corporate Finance for Long-Term Value ’ with host Rebecca Christie and CFO at Nederlandse Gasunie, Janneke Hermes . They talk about how corporate finance and sustainability can go together. New models can help firms quantify the cost of social and environmental factors, so they can...

Bruegel and the Financial Times partnered up to host a debate featuring lead candidates from major EU political parties on EU economic issues, namely growth, the single market, economic security and the EU budget. The participants of the debate were: Sandro Gozi, Renew Europe Now Ursula von der Leyen, The European People's Party Nicolas Schmit, the Party of European Socialists Anders Vistisen, Ide...

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan talks to Bruegel Senior fellow Alicia García-Herrero and President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, Jens Eskelund , about foreign companies doing business and investing in China. They discuss the difficulties of navigating current geopolitical tensions as well as China’s domestic environment. Jens presented the latest results...

In a world of increasing uncertainties, the European Union’s need to protect itself from new shocks is on the rise. Pandemic-related supply disruptions,  the energy crisis provoked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and economic coercion coming from China have all shown that the EU needs to do more to prepare itself for what may come. But how should Europe de-risk its external relationships without...

The relationship between the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is at the heart of efforts to help Ukraine after Russia's 2022 invasion. How do the alliances work together and how can further cooperation help?   In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie speaks with Oana Lungescu , who served as the longest serving NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organizatio...

How does the EU manage its increasingly vast number of digital laws? Bertin Martens , Kai Zenner and Rebecca Christie discuss how these rules are made, how they work together and how they fit in with the EU's goal of better regulation in this episode of The Sound of Economics. Relevant research: A dataset on EU legislation for the digital world , Bruegel dataset by Kai Zenner, J. Scott Marcus and...

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan sits down with Alicia García-Herrero and Paul Triolo to discuss China’s innovation drive and how it compares with the US on key technologies, including semiconductors, green technology and biotech. They delve into how China climbed up the technology ladder, the impact of current geopolitical tensions and the outlook of US-China tech rivalry. Th...

Bruegel and the Financial Times partnered up to host a debate featuring representatives from EU political parties on EU economic issues, specifically competitiveness and growth, economic security and green transition. Rebecca Christie sits down with Bruegel Senior fellow Heather Grabbe , FT Europe correspondent Andy Bounds , also moderator of the debate, to unpack the views they gathered from the...

Climate change is a rising threat to European financial stability, says European Stability Mechanism chief economist Rolf Strauch on this episode of The Sound of Economics. Together with Bruegel non-resident fellow Stavros Zenios and host Rebecca Christie , Strauch discusses how the EU can rally to protect itself from future shocks and keep its sovereign debt backstops ready to meet future needs. 

Science Po professor Jérôme Sgard discusses his new book on the debt crisis of the 1980s on this episode of The Sound of Economics, with host Rebecca Christie and award-winning book author and journalist Paul Blustein . They explore the shockwaves that hit developing countries during this period, starting with the quasi-default of Mexico in 1982, as well as the Brady bond debt relief plan that fol...

In this episode of the sound of economics, Rebecca Christie invites Georg Zachmann and Christian Zinglersen to talk about the ambitious idea of creating a more integrated European electricity market. They discuss the drastic change in Europe’s energy outlook, as we switch from a world of fossil imports to mostly domestic electricity production. They address the benefits of a better-coordinated Eur...

European Union leaders want to breathe new life into the Capital markets union, the decade-old project to reduce fragmentation and put finance to work for the single market. In this episode of the Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie sits down with Thomas Wieser , former President of the Eurogroup Working Group and chair of the EU's 2019 High Level Group on financial architecture, and Nicolas Véro...

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan sits down with Alicia García-Herrero and Zichen Wang to talk about China’s Two Sessions, the Chinese government's annual plenary sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), held from 4–11 March 2024. They discuss the growth targets which were given during the sessions a...

Two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the European Union has held together rather than let the conflict divide it. Rebecca Christie discusses the EU’s shifts on trade, energy security and economic cooperation with André Sapir and Ben McWilliams . They discuss how the bloc weaned itself off Russian fossil fuels in record time, adjusted its relationship with China, and managed rel...

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie is joined by Bertin Martens , Bruegel Senior fellow and Werner Stengg , expert of EVP Margrethe Vestager’s cabinet. They explore the complexities of artificial intelligence (AI) regulation, focusing on the European Union's AI Act. They discuss the goals and potential effectiveness of the new artificial intelligence rules, including in are...

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan sits down with Alicia García-Herrero and June Park to talk about South Korea’s semiconductor industry, specifically how geopolitical tensions like China’s localisation needs and US export controls could impact the sector. They also discuss South Korea’s economic relations with both of those countries and how they are affected by the semiconduct...

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 ass...

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...

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie sits down with Nicolas Véron and Harald Waiglein to look at the status of Europe’s banking union. They discuss how the project started, how it is going and the political climate that has brought us to this stage of the project. They also point out the unfinished business including insurance, the crisis management framework and more.

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. Relev...

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan invites Alessia Amighini and Alicia García-Herrero to discuss China’s latest push to internationalise its currency, the Renminbi. They talk about China’s previous two attempts, its approach to internationalise the RMB this time around and the wider implications of a strengthened RMB. This might prompt other countries to try and strengthen their...