@boehmlasse
Head, Economic Governance and EMU Scrutiny Unit, European Parliament. Supporting the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. Comments on EU economic policy coordination, Capital Markets Union, energy and industrial policy. Personal account.
The European Parliament’s ECON committee endorses the nomination of Boris Vujčić as @ecb.europa.eu Vice-President with 38 votes in favour, 4 against, 7 abstentions. Consultation procedure, next: plenary. #ECB
Now 09:30-11:30 CET: @ecb.europa.eu President Lagarde in @europarl.europa.eu Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON). Livestream: multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/webstream...
Yes could be, data is notoriously fuzzy. But it’s an indication that we are very far away from a seamlessly integrated labour market…
Sobering statistics on labour mobility in the single market, at least from the perspective of matching skills with labour market needs: less than a third of moves to other EU countries are motivated by employment considerations, compared to family reasons with 45%.
Also noteworthy that the Commission Note to the Eurogroup takes up the case of transforming the ESM into a European Monetary Fund pooling EU-level debt issuance, an initiative which came to a halt years ago.
Frank admission by #Eurogroup President Pierrakakis that the international role of the Euro will not be strengthened automatically simply because the US is set on destroying the global political order, but that Europe will need to do its homework esp Re CMU/SIU (quote below frm his official remarks)
5- Credibility. The success of any narrative on the future rests not only on its superficial appeal but also the credibility of actors to get there. Europe’s narrative on huddling together to jointly face an uncertain future only works if real steps are taken - in defence, single market etc.
4- Clarity. At the end of the day no matter how much gloss you put on it in the form of an imagined (and ahistoric) ethno-Christian transatlantic “community”, America First means Europeans Second. Call a spade a spade.
3- Specific. Values such as rule of law, democracy etc are abstract. Shifting the discourse to specific examples of what this means transforms them into sth more tangible. But this also means speaking up, and saying the quiet part loud, in where we differ from this US administration.
2- Communication. Discussing European identity and goals is more cumbersome for the EU given it is not a homogenous entity. But even small steps would help: why not invite more voices from other European countries on national media, to give diversity a face and turn it into a strength?
1- Power. in the age of geopolitics, narratives are a weapon. If Europe does not occupy the narrative space, others will. At home and abroad.
I understand everyone who wants to move on from Rubio’s #MSC2026 speech given that it was an attempt to split Europe in a nicer-than-Vance superficial way.
A few things are worth keeping in mind though:
Still wondering how to best call Rubio’s speech: an exercise in sketching out a (historically selective, to put it mildly) ethno-Christian transatlanticism translating into a neo-seigneurialism for “partners” who align behind the Trump administration policy agenda?
… or embark on the long and winding road of gradually finding painful compromises on where to reduce other expenditure. But if you stumble across the magic money tree first give us a shout across the Channel!
Source: EC debt sustainability monitor economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/publications...
If the EU wants to be serious about defence, we need to talk money and the economy: unless Member States reform public budgets in 2027/28 debt levels rise rapidly due to defence spending projections.
(blue/back lines: unchanged fiscal policy; other lines: Member States following medium-term plans)
Absolutely- my point is that if enhanced co-operation should be used it should be used carefully after constructing as broad a majority as possible. It’s not a silver bullet in the sense that it will not automatically generate a pull-effect for the “outs”
Enhanced co-operation is more of a Pandora’s Box than meets the eye:
While 26 out of 27 Member States moving ahead might unblock a stalled situation, the minimum of 9 MS going alone risks leading us into a Holy Roman Empire of overlapping micro-jurisdictions - the very opposite of a single market.
Lagarde in @europarl.europa.eu: “advancing the Savings and Investments Union is essential. Swift agreement on the market integration and supervision package will deepen our capital markets and allow Europe to more effectively channel its considerable savings into productive investment.”
Live now: President Lagarde speaks at the @europarl.europa.eu plenary debate on the ECB’s Annual Report for 2024.
Follow here multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/webstream...
What always strikes me with analyses of European responses in the international arena is how readily the term “unity” is used, without questioning whether this is temporal or structural: Are we seeing unity, or merely an alignment of views? And in how far does it translate into pro-active policy?
Last night the US National Defence Strategy was published, and it was a fitting end to this week underlining for Europeans and other US allies that the old world is not coming back.
'You're on your own, kid' seems the main message to me.
Yes and I very much hope so but I think Carney’s first observation, at least as far as as I understood it, is that the world will move away into different directions including in the form of different (ad-hoc and formal as well as informal) alliances - and not all of them democratic…
We mustn’t shrug at this because, as Hannah Arendt once wrote (in ‘Truth and Politics’), Truth is “the ground on which we stand and the sky that stretches above us”.
Take away the commitment to truth and no debate, discussion or argument is possible and we truly end up in a world where foul is fair.
Wondering what #Carney’s (accurate I think) description of the international system translates into:
a system of shifting alliances which some aim to transform first into a more stable “Concert” akin to 19th century Europe, which could eventually morph into a renewed but selective multilateralism?
In the age of global power politics and spheres of influence the EU’s external room for manoeuvre is shrinking fast.
Its internal market though still provides it with levers to create agency, if it wants to use them - including for building a sound internal capital market to finance its security.
From: EC 2026 European Macroeconomic Report, p. 44
The Capital Markets / Savings and Investments Union too often flies underneath the radar as too complex/divisive/long-term but this chart illustrates why it should be a top priority:
*Half* of all investments by EU households go abroad, rather than being channelled to EU companies who need capital.
Full text here: www.sachverstaendigenrat-wirtschaft.de/jahresgutach...