What if Britain rejoined the EU? Breaking up may be less hard than making up
If Britain ever sought to rejoin the EU, it could not be on the terms of membership the country previously enjoyed, warns Iain Begg. The UK’s budget rebate, exemption from Schengen and opt-outs from...
View ArticleFrom ‘Vincolo Esterno’ to ‘Nemico Esterno’: The disturbing new demonisation...
The dispute between Italy and the European Commission over the Italian budget for 2019 illustrates a shift in how member states treat the obligations of EU membership. Iain Begg and Kevin Featherstone...
View ArticleItaly rues the rules
On 21 November, the European Commission formally objected to Italy’s draft budget for 2019. But the Italian government refuses to compromise. Iain Begg explores what this stand-off might mean for the...
View ArticleReflecting on how to run €MU more effectively
The European Commission published a reflection paper at the end of May on deepening economic and monetary union. Iain Begg assesses the strategy for reform put forward, writing that the paper is...
View ArticleIs the UK economy starting to falter?
All of a sudden Britain has become the slowest growing of the major western economies, and there are increasing concerns about its medium-term outlook. Iain Begg writes that with both government and...
View ArticleThe gaffe that keeps on taking: How to break the deadlock over Britain’s EU...
The size of the ‘divorce bill’ the UK will pay following its exit from the EU remains one of the key sticking points in the Brexit negotiations. Iain Begg writes that despite the apparent deadlock over...
View ArticleExpect a backlash if the £50bn offer doesn’t move the Brexit negotiations on
After threatening to pay nothing to the EU, then conceding £20bn, the UK government has finally indicated it will pay a Brexit ‘divorce bill’ of £40-50bn. The initial reaction from Eurosceptics has...
View ArticleThe Brexit-sized hole in the future EU budget
The UK is a net contributor to the EU budget. Following Brexit, the loss of UK contributions will therefore likely require either a reduction in overall spending, or for the remaining member states to...
View ArticleRethinking the governance of economic and monetary union: Should rules...
Although the EU economy has returned to a period of stable growth since the Eurozone crisis, several key issues in the governance of economic and monetary union remain unresolved. Drawing on results...
View ArticleA paler shade of grey? It is hard to see how any in-between version of Brexit...
A simple metaphor captures the dilemmas around Brexit: some want white, others want black. To state the blindingly obvious, the two are mutually exclusive. In this post, Iain Begg considers the two...
View ArticleWhat if Britain rejoined the EU? Breaking up may be less hard than making up
If Britain ever sought to rejoin the EU, it could not be on the terms of membership the country previously enjoyed, warns Iain Begg. The UK’s budget rebate, exemption from Schengen and opt-outs from...
View ArticleFrom ‘Vincolo Esterno’ to ‘Nemico Esterno’: The disturbing new demonisation...
The dispute between Italy and the European Commission over the Italian budget for 2019 illustrates a shift in how member states treat the obligations of EU membership. Iain Begg and Kevin Featherstone...
View ArticleItaly rues the rules
On 21 November, the European Commission formally objected to Italy’s draft budget for 2019. But the Italian government refuses to compromise. Iain Begg explores what this stand-off might mean for the...
View ArticleA new take on ‘whatever it takes’?
Outgoing ECB President Mario Draghi recently expressed support for a closer fiscal union in the Eurozone, including cross-border fiscal transfers. As Iain Begg writes, these statements have...
View ArticleDeals, deals, deals: who needs them?
At a special meeting of the European Council on 20-21 February, EU leaders failed to reach an agreement on the organisation’s budget for 2021-27. As Iain Begg explains, the delicate process of...
View ArticleThe economic consequences of Covid-19
Covid-19 will have major economic consequences for Europe, but how large will the costs prove to be? Iain Begg outlines the difficult economic choices the outbreak poses for policymakers and analyses...
View ArticleWho pays for the war on Covid-19?
The Covid-19 outbreak has renewed calls for the Eurozone to establish a form of debt mutualisation, potentially via the creation of ‘Coronabonds’. So far, however, there is little sign of such a...
View ArticleHow different will this time be? Assessing the prospects for economic...
Covid-19 has already generated a sharp fall in global GDP and a rapid rise in unemployment, but what kind of recovery can we expect once the crisis passes? Iain Begg and Jun Qian write that in the most...
View ArticleCovid-19: The struggle to agree an EU response
On 23 April, EU leaders directed the European Commission to draft a proposal for an economic rescue plan to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak. Iain Begg writes that while the EU is shifting...
View ArticleNext Generation EU (NGE): The Commission’s Covid-19 recovery package
The European Commission has proposed a €750 billion package of grants and loans to aid the EU’s recovery from Covid-19. Iain Begg explains that much will now depend on whether the proposal can secure...
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