
Topics
Bruegel researchers tackle a range of economic topics and issues, grouped across wider topics which cover the breadth of our expertise.
Through publications, events, social media, and a lively blog, Bruegel has carved a unique discussion space for everyone interested in improving the quality of economic policy. Through a dual focus on analysis and impact, and dynamic relationships with policymakers at every governance level, it has also established itself as a vibrant laboratory for economic policies.
Explore some of the hot topics in economic policy below:
Climate change

The role of competition in the transition to climate neutrality
The transition to climate neutrality requires the reallocation of production factors from polluting activities to non-polluting activities.

How can the European Union adapt to climate change?
A stronger adaptation governance framework would benefit adaptation efforts.
Energy

Europe Needs a Grand Bargain on Energy
Why a “Go It Alone” Approach Will Leave Countries in the Cold This Winter

Europe needs energy solidarity — not a North-South rift
The bloc must urgently implement a compensation scheme to prevent Putin from dividing member countries.

An individual tax on fuel consumption is an effective, flexible and sustainable solution to combat inflation
COVID-19

COVID-19 in the European Union: health impacts and effects on economic activity
What matters when it comes to managing the pandemic is to prevent intensive-care admissions and deaths arising from COVID-19.

COVID-19 and the shift to remote work
Hybrid arrangements in which part of the week is spent at the office, and part at home, are likely to become the norm.
Ukraine

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.

Xi, Biden switching strategies for dominance
The US now sees Asia more through an economic lens, while China shifts toward a security focus

Does the war in Ukraine call for a new Next Generation EU?
The European Union should take significant economic measures in response to the war in Ukraine, but a new Next Generation EU is not needed yet.
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Policy brief
17 February 2020
FDI another day: Russian reliance on European investment
Most foreign direct investment into Russia originates in the European Union: European investors own between 55 percent and 75 percent of Russian FDI s
Policy brief
06 February 2020
From climate change to cyber attacks: Incipient financial-stability risks for the euro area
The European Central Bank’s November 2019 Financial Stability Review highlighted the risks to growth in an environment of global uncertainty. On the w
Working paper
04 February 2020
Resisting deglobalisation: the case of Europe
Global trade and finance data indicates that the pre-2008 pace of economic globalisation has stalled or even reversed. The European Union has defied t
Book
03 February 2020
Megatrends: Key Forces Forging Our Future
A vision for Europe to prosper and best serve its citizens
Book
28 January 2020
A post-Brexit agreement for research and innovation
This report sets out what the Wellcome Trust and Bruegel have learned from a project to simulate a negotiation process between the UK and EU to create
Policy brief
09 January 2020
Market versus policy Europeanisation: has an imbalance grown over time?
This Policy Contribution tests the hypothesis that an imbalance has grown in Europe over the last few decades because markets have integrated to a gre
Policy brief
18 December 2019
Can EU competition law address market distortions caused by state-controlled enterprises?
The distortive effects that foreign state-owned or state-supported companies can have on European markets and on the European Union’s economic autonom
Working paper
12 December 2019
A new look at net balances in the European Union's next multiannual budget
Whenever the European Union’s budget is discussed, much of the political focus is on net balances – whether countries pay in more than they receive –
Policy brief
11 December 2019
Bridging the divide: new evidence about firms and digitalisation
Small European firms are falling behind in the race to digitalise, but so are their American counterparts.
Policy brief
09 December 2019
The European Union-Russia-China energy triangle
Concern is growing in the European Union that a rapprochement between Russia and China could have negative implications for the EU.
Policy brief
02 December 2019
The next generation of digital currencies: in search of stability
Recent developments have re-opened the debate on the future of money. This Policy Contribution discusses two aspects: the implications of the rise of
Working paper
20 November 2019
The state of China-European Union economic relations
More can be done to capture the untapped trade and investment opportunities that exist between China and the EU. China’s size and dynamism, and its re
Policy brief
19 November 2019
Crisis management for euro-area banks in central Europe
Euro-area bank integration has decreased as post-financial crisis national rules require banks to hold more capital at home. It might be undermined fu
Working paper
18 November 2019
How does China fare on the Russian market? Implications for the European Union
China’s economic ties with Russia are deepening. Meanwhile, Europe remains Russia’s largest trading partner, lender and investor. An analysis of China
Policy brief
05 November 2019
How to make the European Green Deal work
Ursula von der Leyen has proposed a European Green Deal that would make Europe climate neutral by 2050. With this Policy Contribution, the authors pro
Policy brief
10 October 2019
With or without you: are central European countries ready for the euro?
The debate on euro adoption by central European EU countries has intensified in the last years. In this Policy Contribution the author does not review