Reflection Paper on the Deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union

The Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), along with the European Commission, hosted the North American launch of the European Commission's new "Reflection Paper on the Deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union" on June 22, 2017. The reflection paper sets out possible ways forward for deepening Europe's Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), including concrete steps that could be taken prior to the next European elections in 2019 and several options for completing the EMU architecture in the years thereafter. New research on the lessons of United States’ own history of slow integration, conducted by PIIE fellows analyzing the historical formation of key national American economic institutions, was presented as well.

PIIE Director Emeritus and Senior Fellow C. Fred Bergsten and EU Ambassador to the United States David O'Sullivan provided opening remarks. The lead authors, both from the European Commission, were José Leandro, director for policy, strategy and communication, and Gabriele Giudice, head of unit, EMU deepening and macroeconomy of the euro area. Leandro and Guidice presented the Commission’s proposals, followed by discussion by Stan Veuger, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, and Jeromin Zettelmeyer, PIIE senior fellow.

PIIE presenters for the second part of the program included Senior Fellow Jacob Funk Kirkegaard on America's fiscal union, Research Fellow Jeremie Cohen-Setton on the transmission of regional shocks in early US history, and Nonresident Senior Fellow Anna Gelpern on the formation of America's national banking system.