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
02 November 2021
Is the ECB right to take on climate change?
The real issue here is not that the ECB takes a very sizeable risk by pursuing climate objectives but rather, that it cannot afford not to. And by doi
Maria Demertzis
Opinion piece
22 October 2021
Can EU fiscal rules jump on the green bandwagon?
By and large, setting a new green golden rule would be a useful addition to the existing EU fiscal framework.
Guntram B. Wolff
Opinion piece
22 October 2021
COP26: why carbon pricing is crucial to China’s climate change pledges
China’s emissions trading scheme is a welcome but to reach its full potential, it needs to cover more of China’s emissions, go beyond the electricity
Alicia García-Herrero and Junyun Tan
Opinion piece
13 October 2021
The inconsistency in global strategic relations
All of this talk on strategic retrenchment and autonomy is the language of escalation, not of appeasement and collaboration.
Maria Demertzis
Opinion piece
07 October 2021
Xi’s pledge on financing coal plants overseas misses point
China’s domestic installation of coal-fired power plants continues at great pace.
Alicia García-Herrero and Simone Tagliapietra
Opinion piece
07 October 2021
The only quick-fix to Europe’s energy price crisis is saving energy
The only thing Europe can quickly do to prevent a potentially difficult winter is to actively promote energy conservation in both the residential and
Georg Zachmann and Simone Tagliapietra
Opinion piece
06 October 2021
Will China use climate change as a bargaining chip?
Beijing shows signs of changing tactics ahead of the COP26 conference.
Alicia García-Herrero and Simone Tagliapietra
Opinion piece
05 October 2021
Letter: The lesson Europe should learn from the gas crisis
Europe’s gas supply security could more effectively be safeguarded by ensuring that unused alternatives are maintained.
Georg Zachmann and Simone Tagliapietra
Opinion piece
04 October 2021
The geopolitical conquest of economics
Although economics and geopolitics have never been completely separate domains, international economic relations were shaped for 70 years by their own
Jean Pisani-Ferry
Opinion piece
01 October 2021
Letter: Declining investment may explain why rates are low
Perhaps an analysis of the causes of the declining investment rate would bring us closer to explaining why real interest rates are so low.
Marek Dabrowski
Opinion piece
30 September 2021
What Evergrande signals about China's economic future
Under Xi Jinping's new economic agenda 'common prosperity', China is cracking down on indebted real estate developers like Evergrande.
Alicia García-Herrero
Opinion piece
28 September 2021
The pandemic’s uncertain impact on productivity
The pandemic has certainly permanently affected our way of working. Whether this is for the better remains to be seen.
Maria Demertzis
Opinion piece
27 September 2021
Can climate change be tackled without ditching economic growth?
The ultimate answer to the question on whether climate change can be tackled without ditching economic growth depends on our willingness to step up cl
Guntram B. Wolff, Simone Tagliapietra and Klaas Lenaerts
Opinion piece
23 September 2021
For remote work to work, new ground rules are needed
The pandemic has shown workers and employers that another way to work is possible. The European Union should develop a framework to facilitate hybrid
Mario Mariniello
Opinion piece
22 September 2021
Europe doesn’t need a ‘Mega-Fab’
Europe should defend its existing dominance in equipment manufacturing for semiconductors and invest in chip design instead of luring high-end fabrica
Niclas Poitiers
Opinion piece
14 September 2021
El Salvador’s great crypto experiment
Can bitcoin surpass the dollar in popularity and make El Salvador the first state to operate entirely with a private currency?
Maria Demertzis