Commentary
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Recent commentary
US tariffs on Chinese imports: managed trade is back
A hike in US tariffs is not a return to wholesale protectionism, and the European Union is unlikely to duplicate the US approach
De-dollarisation is all about de-risking
How to ensure European economic security in a world of interdependence?
German pension reform push crystallises challenges faced by many European countries
The burden of pension reform should be shared across generations, even if it is politically difficult
Xi’s visit underlines the hard choices the European Union faces on China
The EU cannot separate policy on China from its goals of containing Russia and ensuring economic security
Commentary items
Republishing and referencing policy
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Opinion piece
08 May 2014
Addressing social problems should be at the heart of Europe’s economic strategy
Europe has overcome the most acute financial crisis. But failure to address more forcefully the growing social problems will undermine debt sustainabi
Guntram B. Wolff
Opinion piece
23 April 2014
Ukraine crisis shows global governance is in a mess
The crisis surrounding Ukraine shows that global governance is in a mess, but events there are merely a symptom of something larger.
Jim O‘Neill
Opinion piece
15 April 2014
Germany relishes role of hegemon, but is not able to play the part
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble recently declared that the European Union has “moved sovereignty to the European level” – a startling claim,
Ashoka Mody
Opinion piece
14 April 2014
Appreciate the yuan depreciation
Since the beginning of this year, the renminbi has been depreciating against the US dollar. That marked a departure from the earlier trend of the Chin
Opinion piece
13 March 2014
Managing 50 years of Troika debt repayments
Europe faces a delicate long-term balancing act to reconcile the interests of creditors and debtors. History will reward generosity.
Guntram B. Wolff
Opinion piece
07 March 2014
Tectonic shifts
Europe has just started a long journey of discovery. Banking union amounts to a regime change for European finance. Even as prospects for the first st
Nicolas Véron
Opinion piece
13 February 2014
The ECB is much too stodgy
The euro fuelled a leveraged bet that went bad. The ECB is best positioned to orchestrate the painful sharing of losses. If the ECB does not reinvent
Ashoka Mody
Opinion piece
13 February 2014
Taking the mandate of the ECB seriously
The ECB must achieve price stability in the euro area and contribute to the general economic objectives of the Union, if its price stability mandate a
Guntram B. Wolff and Marcel Fratzscher
Opinion piece
13 February 2014
The ECB’s bridge too far
The line between audacity and hubris is a fine one. Rather than constituting a great success, OMT may well be remembered as an error born of expedienc
Ashoka Mody
Opinion piece
13 February 2014
France and Germany must both change economic strategy
A more balanced economic strategy in the two countries is crucial to help the peripheral countries solve their own predicaments and ensure the sustain
André Sapir
Opinion piece
24 January 2014
Un grand pas pour l'Europe, mais le déficit démocratique demeure
Le 18 décembre, les ministres des finances européens ont annoncé un accord sur la mise en place d'un mécanisme de résolution unique (MRU) pour le trai
Nicolas Véron
Opinion piece
17 January 2014
2014 Financial Odyssey
The European Banking Union matures in 2014, with the ECB assuming its role as single supervisor. This column outlines the transition to the new steady
Guntram B. Wolff and Silvia Merler
Opinion piece
14 January 2014
Let’s not wait for a saviour
As a despondent year ends, there appear rays of hope. A healing world economy should help economic growth pick up. At home, a new Central government c
Ashoka Mody
Opinion piece
13 January 2014
The ghost of Deauville
On 19 October 2010, Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy agreed that in future, sovereign bailouts from the European Stability Mechanism would require th
Ashoka Mody
Opinion piece
13 January 2014
Europe’s Institutional Mismatches Will Create More Turbulence in 2014 than in 2013
2013 has been a remarkably calm year in Europe, arguably the calmest since the onset of financial crisis in 2007.
Nicolas Véron
Opinion piece
10 January 2014
Monetary policy cannot solve secular stagnation
What role can quantitative easing play? I am not quite as negative on QE as Olivier Blanchard but certainly agree that it cannot fundamentally solve t
Guntram B. Wolff