Bruegel

On Thursday 2 February Chinese premier Wen Jiabao signalled intention to move towards helping the euro area extricate from its trouble and declared that China was “investigating and evaluating concrete ways in which it can, via the IMF, get more deeply involved in the European debt problem”. Why is China, and more generally Asia, taking this stance? A new paper by Jean Pisani-Ferry together with European and Asian colleagues from the Asia-Europe Economic Forum (AEEF) discusses the implications of the euro crisis for Asia, reasons for Asia-Europe cooperation in solving it, and obstacles on the way to this cooperation.

A drastic change in the way we produce and consume energy is necessary to contain the risk of global environmental catastrophe. For its part, the EU has set agreed to a greenhouse gas reduction target of 80-95 percent by 2050, compared to 1990. This Policy Contribution largely draws on research conducted for The great transformation: decarbonising Europe’s energy and transport systems.

Economic growth in Europe will be affected by the costs of this transition from the current energy and transport system. A smooth transition towards a low-carbon energy and transport system could come at comparatively modest cost. Bruegel is contributing to this debate with this report, which is based on research that received funding from the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking.

For the third year in a row, the eurozone is the weakest link in the world economy. In 2010, attention was focused on responses to the crisis on the eurozone periphery – Greece, Portugal, and Ireland.

The strategy for addressing the euro debt crisis evolved last summer, as European leaders put economic growth right in the policy agenda. It was an important commitment. Yet, at this juncture, action is required, and for at least two reasons.

The euro area faces a double challenge: debt overhang and the need for price adjustment. This paper reviews the debt challenges in the household and corporate sectors and maps out some policy options. In particular, we document the increase in private debt prior to the crisis and consider how the corporate and household sectors have adjusted their balance sheets during the crisis.