The European Union: Challenged and Poised for Change

Date

October 9, 2014, 12:00 AM EDT
Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington, DC
Marco Buti (European Commission), Vítor Gaspar (Former Minister of Finance of Portugal), Adam S. Posen (PIIE), Ajai Chopra (PIIE), Lucio Vinhas de Souza (Moody's Investor Service) and Paolo Mauro (PIIE)

Event Summary

The Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)  held its semiannual Moody's Investor Service–PIIE Sovereign Economic Panel on October 9, 2014. The panel covered "The European Union: Challenge and Poise for Change." Marco Buti, director-general for Economic and Financial Affairs at the European Commission, provided the opening address, "The European Union's Investment and Growth Model Going Forward," and Vitor Gaspar, new director of the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department and former finance minister of Portugal,  delivered the keynote speech on "Fiscal Sustainability and Frameworks."

Adam S. Posen, PIIE, chaired the first panel discussion the EU financial system on the eve of the Single Supervisory Mechanism. Panelists  included Karolina Ekholm, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Sweden; Michael Foley, managing director of Global Financial Institutions at Moody's; and Ajai Chopra, visiting fellow at PIIE.

Lúcio Vinhas de Souza, managing director and sovereign chief economist at Moody's, chaired the second panel discussion on euro area adjustment anchors and fiscal frameworks. Panelists included Ayhan Kose, director of the Development Prospects Group at the World Bank; Rolf Strauch, member of the Board at the European Stability Mechanism; Paolo Mauro; and Elena Duggar, Group Credit Officer at Moody's.

Event Materials

Agenda [pdf]

Event opening

Adam Posen, President, PIIE

Opening speech: The European Union's investment and growth model going forward
Unedited rush transcript [pdf]

Marco Buti, Director-General, DG-ECFIN, European Commission
presentation [pdf]

Session 1: The EU financial system on the eve of the single supervisory mechanism
Unedited rush transcript [pdf]

Chair: Jacob Kirkegaard, Senior Fellow, PIIE

Panelists:   
Karolina Ekholm, State Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Sweden
presentation [pdf]
Michael Foley, Managing Director, Global Financial Institutions, Moody's
presentation [pdf]
Ajai Chopra, Visiting Fellow, PIIE

Keynote Speech: Fiscal sustainability and frameworks
Unedited rush transcript [pdf]

Vitor Gaspar, Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF

Session 2: Beyond euro area programs: adjustment anchors and fiscal frameworks in the EA
Unedited rush transcript [pdf]

Chair:  Lúcio Vinhas de Souza, Managing Director, Sovereign Chief Economist, Moody's

Panelists:
Ayhan Kose, Director, Development Prospects Group, World Bank
presentation [pdf]
Rolf Strauch, Member of the Board, European Stability Mechanism
presentation [pdf]
Paolo Mauro
presentation [pdf]
Elena Duggar, Moody's
presentation [pdf]

Event closing

Lúcio Vinhas de Souza, Managing Director, Sovereign Chief Economist, Moody's

Video