Maria Demertzis
Senior fellow, Bruegel
Maria Demertzis is a Senior fellow at Bruegel and part-time Professor of Economic Policy at the School of Transnational Governance at the European University Institute in Florence. She was the Deputy director of Bruegel until December 2022. She has previously worked at the European Commission and the research department of the Dutch Central Bank. She has also held academic positions at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in the USA and the University of Strathclyde in the UK, from where she holds a PhD in economics. She has published extensively in international academic journals and contributed regular policy inputs to both the European Commission's and the Dutch Central Bank's policy outlets. She contributes regularly to national and international press.
Disclaimer of external interests
Featured work
The value added of central bank digital currencies
Can Central Bank digital currencies be considered as the weapons of finance?
De-risking as an economic strategy
European public opinion remains supportive of Ukraine
Public support for Ukraine is holding up in allied countries, but preparations should be made for scenarios in which support ebbs away.
Looking backwards not forwards: why has the European Central Bank been slow to react?
Bank of Russia’s immobilised assets: what happens next?
De-dollarisation
A change of tack on EU-China relations
Decentralised finance: good technology, bad finance
Given the importance of digitalisation, it is fair to ask whether these digital decentralised services will become established and normalised.
Doing ‘whatever it takes’ to save the banks
How much will the EU pay Russia for fossil fuels over the next 12 months?
With sanctions incomplete, the European Union could pay Russia about €30 billion for fossil fuels in the next year.
Could crypto assets jeopardise the financial system?
There are no shortcuts to finance
The basic underpinnings of regulation, reserves and (legal) recourse are missing in decentralised finance, or DeFi.
The ECB as part of an imperfect architecture
One year in ten numbers
A reflection on how the world has changed since the Ukraine invasion, through the lens of ten revealing numbers.
Are sanctions against Russia working?
The Russian economic model is totally dependent on an industry that will become extinct.
The EU response to the United States Inflation Reduction Act
The EU must avoid the trap of having to take sides in the conflict between the US and China.
Concessional climate finance: the Bridgetown Initiative
Central Bank digital currencies as weapons of finance?
An analysis on how CBDCs can be used in emerging economies to include more people in financial systems.
Fleeing the flood: is the EU ready for climate migration?
How should EU policymakers tackle the growing problem of climate migration?
Is there social added value in digital currencies?
Testimony on crypto and CBDCs to the Fintech committee of the European Parliament.
Why do European countries join the EU?
The direction in which the EU will evolve in the future will depend on finding a minimum common denominator.
NextGenerationEU: an underused facility?
The RRF has great potential to become an instrument for ‘insuring’ EU countries against common shocks.
Political cooperation does not mean economic dependence
A robust economic system that can sustain shocks of any nature, including political, is needed.
How have sanctions impacted Russia?
In this paper we assess both the immediate economic impact and the likely longer-term impact of sanctions on the Russian economy.
The critical importance of chips – and having a plan for them
The Chips Act is the first, and an imperfect, step towards a long-term strategy that still needs to be designed.
The importance of being fiscally earnest
As interest rates increase over the course of the next few months, there are bound to be asset-price corrections & rethinking of investment decisions.
A cold winter
Reforming energy markets must aim to make them less vulnerable to crises such as today’s, even if such crises are rare.
The Sound of Economics Live: Assessing the State of the Union 2022
In this episode, we look at the State of the Union address delivered by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
Bruegel Annual Meetings, 6-7 September 2022
The Annual Meetings are Bruegel's flagship event which gathers high-level speakers to discuss the economic topics that affect Europe and the world.
EU Enlargement in a New Light
A collection of articles compiled following a joint Bruegel-Intereconomics event on EU enlargment.
Euro-dollar parity: beyond symbolism
Lack of certainty that the euro will stay prevents it from a greater international role. Until addressed, the dollar will continue to be hegemon.
An analysis of central bank decision-making
Bank of England MPC celebrates 25 years and we use this occasion to compare its decision-making process to that of the ECB
Is MiCA the end of the crypto wild-west?
As the process of digitalisation makes ideas around decentralised finance more relevant, there will be an increasing need for monitoring
EU enlargement in a new light
What would increase government support around EU enlargement, and what role could membership play in future peace talks?
A new European tool to deal with unjustified rising spreads
The ECB needs a new tool to prevent the current rise in spreads, triggered by monetary policy tightening, from escalating into a new euro-area crisis.
Ukraine and what it means for European Union enlargement
The real issue for EU leaders when they discuss Ukraine’s application at a 23-24 June summit and beyond, is what kind of club the EU should be.
Fragmentation risk in the euro area: no easy way out for the European Central Bank
The ECB should design a specific tool that will accompany interest rate hikes to neutralise the risk of fragmentation directly for countries facing it
Three headaches for the European Central Bank
Once again, the limits of EMU architecture are visible and will require a rethink.
Adapting to European technology regulation: A conversation with Brad Smith, President of Microsoft
Invitation-only event featuring Brad Smith, who discussed the regulation of big tech in the context of Europe's digital transformation.
Buy now, pay later: the age of digital credit
A relatively new fintech market, BNPL is currently not regulated in the EU, meaning that consumers do not have the same protection level as they do fo
How are crises changing central bank doctrines?
How is monetary policy evolving in the face of recent crises? As central banks take on new roles, how accountable are they to democratic institutions?
What is in store for Euro area economies?
ECB Executive Board Member Philip Lane discussed the outlook for Euro area economies.
Repurposing the peace dividend
The war in Ukraine has brought an end to a 60-year period in which Europe has enjoyed a peace dividend, an amount released by reducing defence expendi
A sanctions counter measure: gas payments to Russia in rubles
A requirement for gas to be paid for in rubles is a way for Russia to side-step central bank sanctions.
War on Ukraine: the day after
The international community will have to restart the long process of de-escalation in order to preserve peace. We have a long climb ahead.
Tackling future risks to banks
How to address vulnerabilities in banks in the coming years?
War in Ukraine: reflections on the economic consequences for Russia
Sergei Guriev joined us to discuss how the Russian invasion of Ukraine will affect the economies of Russia and the world.
The week inflation became entrenched
The events that have unfolded since 24 February have solved one dispute: inflation is no longer temporary.
The weakness of average inflation targeting
Introducing average over time without defining what this means is counterproductive and current levels of inflation in the US will sooner or later exp
A debate on fiscal rules and the new monetary strategy
Presentation of the Yearbook of the Euro 2022.
The Euro in 2022
An annual review of the euro published jointly by Fundación ICO and Fundación de Estudios Financieros to expand knowledge, raise awareness of the sing
Venture capital: a new breath of life for European entrepreneurship?
Whether the dynamism of European venture capital of the past two years can be sustained and kick start a credible alternative to bank finance in the E
A new EU treaty to fight climate change
Thirty years after Maastricht, a new treaty is needed: one that will commit the EU to tackling its greatest challenge in the decades ahead, climate ch
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs): the next chapter in crypto
As with any new technology, exciting opportunities are being created, but similarly there are risks.
New model for growth in Europe
Contribution to the European Economic and Social Committee info newsletter of January 2022.
Productivity and the role of Global Value Chains
The 3rd MICROPROD Policy Dialogue will tackle how Global Value Chains (GVC) and productivity affect the fourth industrial revolution.
The euro comes of age
A well-functioning euro reflects a degree of unity that allows the EU to credibly claim a position at the global table and therefore help shape the po
A role for the Recovery and Resilience Facility in a new fiscal framework
Discussions on reforming European Union fiscal rules must consider a more permanent but targeted role for the Recovery and Resilience fund to meet cli
Policy coordination failures in the euro area: not just an outcome, but by design
Discussions on the fiscal framework should aim to correct its procyclical nature with a view to promoting more cooperative outcomes.
Inflation ideology: camp permanent or camp temporary?
Policy focus should be on tackling uncertainties by being able to tackle as many scenarios as possible.
L’Union européenne et les États-Unis, un an après
Après une année troublée par Kaboul et AUKUS, qu'avons-nous retenu de l'an I de la présidence Biden ? Maria Demertzis revient sur les évènements marqu
Inside the European crises: a conversation with Marco Buti
At this event Marco Buti discusses his new book, in which he gives an insiders look at European policy making.
Fiscal policy and rules after the pandemic
What are the possibilities for shaping the new fiscal policy?
Covid recovery and the green transition: What can promotional banks do?
What is the role of promotional banks in financing the green transition?
Growth and inflation after the pandemic in the EU
Countries hit comparatively hard during the financial crisis, helped also by domestic and European policies, are bouncing back from the pandemic faste
Phasing out COVID-19 emergency support programmes: effects on productivity and financial stability
How can European countries phase out the COVID-19 support measures without having a negative impact on productivity and financial stability?
COVID-19 financial aid and productivity: has support been well spent?
In the EU, this support has prevented the emergence of unemployment and has kept average employment high.
The socioeconomic effects of COVID-19 on women
The pandemic has disproportionately affected women both professionally and at home. Although the gender gap in labour force participation since the on
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
Understanding the socioeconomic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women
Testimony before the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) on the consequences of the pandemic on women.
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.
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.
The Sound of Economics Live: Unboxing the State of the Union 2021
In this episode, we look at the State of the Union address delivered by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
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?
Sustainable finance
Bruegel Annual Meetings, Day 3 - In this session on the final day of the Meetings, our panelists will discuss the future of finance and its sustainabi
Conversation on the recovery programmes
Bruegel Annual Meetings, Day 2- In this session, we discuss the recovery programmes.
Bruegel Annual Meetings, 1-3 September 2021
The 2021 Annual Meetings gathered high-level speakers and participants to discuss how to recover from the crises brought on by the Covid pandemic
Who should pay the climate bill?
If we need to get into a war-type mentality to fight climate change, we also need a war-type development plan, so that everyone manages the transition
What to expect from the ECB’s monetary policy strategy review?
Emphasis will be placed on greening monetary policy and clarifying the ECB's price stability objective, but is this enough?
Climate change and lifestyle choices
Do we need drastic changes in our lifestyles so that we can meet our climate ambitions by 2050?
Europe should not neglect its capital markets union
The European Union’s capital markets remain very underdeveloped compared to the United States.
Women, Covid-19 & The EU Recovery Plan
How can we ensure that the recovery plan doesn’t leave women behind, when services were predominantly impacted by Covid-19 restrictions?
Europe must fix its fiscal rules
The pandemic has shown that the EU’s spending framework reflects an outdated economic orthodoxy.
The great COVID-19 divergence: managing a sustainable and equitable recovery in the European Union
Policymakers must act to prevent lasting divergence within the EU and to prevent scarring from the fallout from the pandemic.
EU recovery funds and good governance
A live podcast with Tomáš Zdechovský MEP.
After COVID-19: a most wanted recovery
This event was part of the T20 Spring Roundtables and focused on strategies for a swift and sustainable economic recovery for Europe.
Crypto… mania
Cryptocurrencies are here to stay but are unlikely to be considered a credible alternative to money anytime soon.
China and the WTO: (How) can they live together?
What changes can be made to make China and the WTO more compatible with each other?
Central bank currencies going digital
Electronic cash might be the future, but it is still unclear what payment innovation it offers for the public, certainly in the euro area. And it is u
Living standards and financial resilience across Europe
What has the impact of the pandemic on households’ financial resilience been, and how should policy makers respond?
More Europe or less Europe?
Europe is often a ship with multiple captains. The boat moves forward in calm seas, but when the slightest wind puts it off course, it is not easy to
Financial literacy and the fearless woman
Many gender gaps persist, but an important one that puts women in a very disadvantageous position is the gap in financial literacy.
The impact of COVID-19 on productivity: preliminary firm evidence
Online event organised in the framework of MICROPROD, a project to improve our understanding of productivity, its drivers and how we measure it.
The four pillars of a digital strategy
The European Commission’s digital compass attempts to build strong fundamentals. It is a start. An ambitious digital agenda however requires a strate
Think green act local: the role of the G20 in sustainable infrastructure
In this workshop, invited guests will discuss priorities and proposals for the Italian G20 Presidency for a green local infrastructure agenda.
Presentation of the Euro Yearbook 2021
Join us for the launch of the eighth edition of the 'Euro Yearbook'.
Low interest rates in Europe and the US: one trend, two stories
Interest rates have been on a long-term decline, associated with declining productivity growth.
Carbon price floors: an addition to the European Green Deal arsenal
As the European Union sets out a more ambitious climate policy, carbon price floors provide an opportunity to place greater emphasis on altering expec
The economics of biodiversity
Join us in conversation with Sir Partha Dasgupta and Frans Timmermans to mark the publication of The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review.
A K-shaped recovery and the role of fiscal policy
The spine of the letter represents the fall in activity at the start of the pandemic. Then there is a split, which leads to the two ‘arms’ that captur