Past events

International migration is at the top of the European political agenda. European labor markets need immigrants. Population aging has already created labor shortages, but immigration also raises concerns about distributional conflicts.

These concerns, sometimes real and sometimes imagined, have played an important role in the rise of populist parties across Europe, and in the Brexit referendum. This lunchtime seminar, the first in a series, presented an overall assessment on the welfare effects of immigration when both the effects on labor market and public finances are accounted for.

It analyzed an often-overlooked aspect of international migration: emigration from European welfare states and how it can be expected to affect their fiscal and political sustainability.

The challenges facing the Eurozone are multifaceted, with Greece still having a long road to recovery and Italy facing a dangerous mix of a large government deficit and an already high debt level. This Lunch Debate was dedicated to discussing possible courses of action for the EU, if levels of sovereign debt become unsustainable. A special focus was placed on how an insolvency procedure for sovereigns may be designed as well as the risks and opportunities this presents.

The 2019 report, ‘A Fragmenting Europe in a Changing World’, touched upon the increasing challenges that the EU was facing – both within and outside the Union. After thoroughly assessing the current macroeconomic outlook for Europe, the event focused on discussing the rise of China as a leading power in science and technology. The report showed that Chinese acquisitions of European high technology companies and investments in sensitive public infrastructure attracted public attention and these developments challenged the European Union to respond appropriately, while offering ample opportunities for progress both at the member country and at the EU level.  

Since the French-German Meseberg declaration from June 2018, the debate about euro-area reforms has gathered new momentum. The EconPol Europe Lab Session will discuss chances and risks of recent policy initiatives such as an unemployment re-insurance scheme or tools incentivising structural reforms in the member states. Can these instruments deliver what their proponents promise? How could a compromise on EMU reform look like that finds support in all member states? 

In this parliamentary breakfast, EconPol Europe researchers discussed recent convergence trends within and across EU member states and the strengths and shortcomings of current reform proposals to incentivise structural reforms with Members of the European Parliament.

Chair
Clemens Fuest, ifo Institute and University of Munich

Speakers
Cinzia Alcidi (CEPS)
Mathias Dolls (ifo Institute)