Annual meetings

Bruegel Annual Meetings 2016, 6-7 September

The Annual Meetings are a high point in Bruegel's calendar.

Time and location: 6–7 September 2016
Autoworld, Brussels, Belgium

Speakers

Michel Barnier

Special Counsellor for Defence and Security Policy, European Commission,

Joachim Bitterlich

Ambassador (ret), and former European, Diplomatic and Security Advisor to Chancellor Helmut Kohl,

Elmar Brok

Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, European Parliament,

Nadia Calviño

First Vicepresident of Spain and Minister for Economy and Digitalization, Spain

Tom Carver

Vice-president for Communications and Strategy, Canergie Endowment for International Peace,

Grégory Claeys

Senior fellow (on leave for public service)

Daniel Daianu

Member of the Board, National Bank of Romania,

Paulina Dejmek-Hack

Economic Advisor, Cabinet of European Commission President Juncker,

Sylvie Goulard

Second Deputy Governor, Banque de France

Dominique Guellec

Head of Science and Technological Policy, Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry, OECD,

Brigitte Knopf

Secretary General, Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change,

Lawrence J. Lau

Ralph and Claire Landau Professor of Economics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong,

Matthew Lobner

Chief of Staff and Head of Strategy for Europe, HSBC,

Sylvie Matherat

Chief Regulatory Officer and Member of the Management Board, Deutsche Bank,

Romano Prodi

Former Prime Minister of Italy and former President of the European Commission,

Olli Rehn

Governor of the Bank of Finland and member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank,

Egon Schulz

Director of Wireless Innovation Centre, Huawei,

Maroš Šefčovič

Vice-President for Energy Union, European Commission,

Scott Stern

Professor of Management of Technology, MIT Sloan School of Management,

Guntram B. Wolff

Former Director

Director and CEO, German Council on Foreign Relations

Georg Zachmann

Senior fellow

Chair: Georg Zachmann, Senior fellow
Connie Hedegaard, Chair, KR Foundation
Brigitte Knopf, Secretary General, Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change
Simone Mori, Member of the Board
Laszlo Varro, Chief Economicst, IEA

The Paris Agreement marks a milestone in the fight against climate change. The EU can contribute not only by reducing its domestic emissions, but also by developing the political instruments and technological innovations necessary for global decarbonisation. With sensible energy and climate policies, the EU can punch above its economic weight in this crucial question. This session will discuss the place of decarbonisation in EU energy policy over the medium and long term.

Chair: Reinhilde Veugelers, Senior fellow
Albert Bravo-Biosca, Head, Innovation Growth Lab, Nesta
Dominique Guellec, Head of Science and Technological Policy, Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry, OECD
Robert Madelin, Senior Advisor, European Commission
Egon Schulz, Director of Wireless Innovation Centre, Huawei
Scott Stern, Professor of Management of Technology, MIT Sloan School of Management

The EU wants future growth to be built on innovation, but this ambition has so far not been achieved and few major companies at the digital frontier are European. Meanwhile, the dangerous cocktail of low growth and high public debt calls for any public spending to be smart. Evidence is necessary to target and justify public investment in R&D. How can Europe effectively create an environment that fosters innovation-based growth?

Chair: Grégory Claeys, Senior fellow (on leave for public service)
Nadia Calviño, First Vicepresident of Spain and Minister for Economy and Digitalization, Spain
Claude Denagtegal, Advisor, ETUC
Vazil Hudák, Deputy Chairman, GLOBSEC
Jakob von Weizsäcker, Member of the European Parliament

Is it time for a major rethink of the EU budget? The current budget is very small relative to GDP, and focuses largely on regional cohesion and natural resources. The 7-year frameworks prevent the EU budget playing a meaningful role in stabilisation. Moreover, using national contributions to finance the EU budget encourages countries to reason in terms of net contributions rather than policy effectiveness. Could a greater use of “own resources” improve the situation, and how might this revenue be raised?

Chair: Maria Demertzis, Senior fellow
Olli Rehn, Governor of the Bank of Finland and member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank

Olli Rehn, Minister of Economic Affairs of Finland, will discuss the state of the economy in Europe and Finland. He will focus on key elements of the Finnish government’s economic policy and the ongoing economic reforms. A special emphasis will be given to the recently agreed Competitiveness Pact.

Chair: Guntram B. Wolff, Former Director
Erik F. Nielsen, Group Chief Economist, Unicredit
Carmen Reinhart, Professor, Harvard Kennedy School

Presentation by Carmen Reinhart

Carmen Reinhart will give a lecture exploring some of the options countries have to reduce their sovereign debt burden – a pressing issue as the global economy tries to recover from its recent crises. She will especially focus on heterodox solutions such as restructuring and financial repression. Could these offer a way out for heavily indebted countries?

Chair: André Sapir, Senior fellow
Joachim Bitterlich, Ambassador (ret), and former European, Diplomatic and Security Advisor to Chancellor Helmut Kohl
Sylvie Goulard, Second Deputy Governor, Banque de France
Romano Prodi

There are two readings of the ongoing euro area crisis. One is that the original design was flawed: a stable monetary union requires much more than monetary integration. The other is that that the decentralised monetary union could have functioned properly if only its members had respected the rules. The panellists will share their experiences of the Euro’s development, and offer reflections on its future.

Chair: Guntram B. Wolff, Former Director
Alicia García-Herrero, Senior fellow
Pascal Lamy, President, Paris Peace forum
Lawrence J. Lau, Ralph and Claire Landau Professor of Economics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Matthew Lobner, Chief of Staff and Head of Strategy for Europe, HSBC

China-EU relations are continuously evolving as China seeks to rebalance its economy. This offers new opportunities for EU countries to sell consumer goods and services. Meanwhile, China's quest to increase and improve its investments abroad has put Europe among the top recipients of Chinese investment. The panel will discuss ways forward in the current difficult environment, where China is experiencing a slowdown and Europe is beset with its own difficulties.

Chair: Jean-Claude Trichet, Honorary Chairman of Bruegel
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, President of the Eurogroup

Chair: Zsolt Darvas, Senior fellow
Daniel Daianu, Member of the Board, National Bank of Romania
Charles Grant, Director, Centre for European Reform
Jean Pisani-Ferry, Senior fellow
Ludger Schuknecht, Former Deputy Secretary-General, OECD

With the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the EU, the euro area will become even more dominant relative to non-euro area countries. How does the deepened euro-area governance framework affect relations between euro and non-euro members of the EU? Should non-euro area countries contribute to further euro-area reforms, since they are one day expected to join the single currency? Or should the EU endorse a more explicit two-tier membership model?

Chair: Nicolas Véron, Senior fellow
Arnoud Boot, Chair of the Scientific Council
Paulina Dejmek-Hack, Economic Advisor, Cabinet of European Commission President Juncker
Michel Houdebine, Chief Economist, French Treasury
Barbara Novick, Vice-Chairman, BlackRock

Banking union, arguably the most significant EU-level structural reform of the past decade, remains unfinished. Meanwhile, the Juncker Commission’s capital markets union project is still at an early stage. This session will focus on current policy challenges and prospects to make Europe’s financial system more resilient and better supportive of economic growth.

Chair: Tom Carver, Vice-president for Communications and Strategy, Canergie Endowment for International Peace
Michel Barnier, Special Counsellor for Defence and Security Policy, European Commission
Elmar Brok, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, European Parliament
Jeremy Shapiro, Research Director, ECFR
Helen Wallace, Fellow, British Academy

Europe is being buffeted by extraordinary security challenges. More than one million migrants have entered the EU, while neighbouring Turkey is in political crisis, numerous European cities have been terrorised, and Putin continues to threaten the sovereignty of Ukraine. Join this session to discuss the impact that these geostrategic issues are having on the direction and economies of Europe.

Sylvie Matherat, Chief Regulatory Officer and Member of the Management Board, Deutsche Bank
Dirk Schoenmaker, Non-resident fellow

We have recently witnessed a rise of US investment banks and a decline of their European competitors. Should we worry? Does it matter whether European corporates are served by US or European investment banks? Meanwhile, since 2015, Chinese investment banks have overtaken American and European investment banks in the Asia-Pacific market. Dirk Schoenmaker will explore these issues and more in conversation with Sylvie Matherat.

Chair: Guntram B. Wolff, Former Director
Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President for Energy Union, European Commission

Vice-President Šefčovič will close the Bruegel Annual Meetings with an intervention on the energy union and the challenges for jobs, growth and investment. He will especially underline the key role played by low carbon innovation in moving the EU economy forward and bringing it closer to its citizens.

Theme: Banking and capital markets
Series: Annual meetings
Language: English