Jeromin Zettelmeyer, Bruegel’s new director, discusses Europe’s response to the ongoing crisis with Toni Roldán

Bruegel’s new director Jeromin Zettelmeyer talks in this video podcast with our director Toni Roldán about policy responses to the current energy crisis and its implications beyond the short term for Europe as a whole.

Although much progress has been made in European integration, according to Zettelmeyer the unfinished business is banking union and financial integration, where progress has not been as expected due to insufficient fiscal integration. The EU’s response to the current energy crisis has in recent months brought tensions arising from this fiscal inequality to the surface, warns Zettelmeyer. Any European solution to the energy crisis results in unequal consequences for member states, which have to manage through fiscal means. However, it is crucial to know that there are differences in the capacities of different countries to do so. On the European NextGenEU funds, Bruegel’s new director believes that they have contributed to calming the markets, sending the signal that European solidarity can prevent this crisis from having a devastating impact on the debt sustainability of member states. However, there is a kind of race between the problems that arise and the reaction of the institutions. The future may be even more complicated, and at the same time the margin for fiscal policy is shrinking. Thus, austerity is still on the horizon.

The conversation between our director and the new director of Bruegel at Esade Madrid is also available in audio-podcast format.