Bruegel Event Recordings

Nord Stream II – The second branch of the sub-sea gas pipeline from Russia to Germany is highly controversial. While Gazprom and its EU partners highlight the commercial nature of the project and the diversification of supply routes; Central and East European countries fear that the pipeline project makes them more dependent on Russian gas. The event on “Different perspectives on Nord Stream II“ is brought together key-experts who introduced their key-findings on the regulatory and economic aspects of Nord Stream II. For more information about the event see http://bruegel.org/events/different-perspectives-on-nord-stream-ii/

Nord Stream II – The second branch of the sub-sea gas pipeline from Russia to Germany is highly controversial. While Gazprom and its EU partners highlight the commercial nature of the project and the diversification of supply routes; Central and East European countries fear that the pipeline project makes them more dependent on Russian gas. The event on “Different perspectives on Nord Stream II“ is brought together key-experts who introduced their key-findings on the regulatory and economic aspects of Nord Stream II. For more information about the event see http://bruegel.org/events/different-perspectives-on-nord-stream-ii/

The Belt and Road initiative has the goal to promote regional and cross-continental connectivity between China and Eurasia. The ‘One Belt’ and ‘One Road’ refer to China’s proposed ‘Silk Road Economic Belt’ and ‘Maritime Silk Road’, and will consist of a series of infrastructure investments to facilitate trade between the regions involved. Potential challenges abound with financing the planned $890bn in investments. What will be the role of AIIB, a China-led multilateral institution with 57 member countries? Could European banks help finance the Belt and Road through cross border lending? More information about the event: http://bruegel.org/events/financing-the-belt-and-road-initiative/

Brexit presents the world trading system with novel issues, since the UK is likely to leave the EU customs union and the WTO regime has no provision regarding the break-up of customs unions. Imaginative solutions can of course be advanced, but the EU, the UK (and their WTO partners) should be aware that they are entering unchartered territory. The situation seems clearer with respect to the options available to the EU and the UK to redesign their bilateral trade relations post-Brexit.

Multinational companies pay taxes in different jurisdictions which have different tax rates. Hence, they can develop incentives to allocate a high share of profit to low tax jurisdictions and a low share of profit to high tax jurisdictions. National tax authorities may give companies specific rulings relevant to their business models to clarify how their corporate tax will be calculated. While such tax rulings are legal in general, they may violate state aid rules if they use methodologies to establish transfer prices with no economic justification and which unduly shift profit to reduce the taxes they pay. At this event we addressed the following questions: -Under what conditions do tax rulings violate EU state aid rules? -What is the rationale and justification behind relevant cases and decisions by DG Competition like the Apple case in Ireland? -Does DG Competition’s approach raise concerns about Member State sovereignty? -What challenges emerge from the intersection between competition policy rules and i

There has recently been much discussion as to whether Poland’s unprecedented economic success after 1989 will continue. Are Polish institutions strong enough to support further fast convergence with the West? Are economic policies appropriate? What is the role of the European Union? The lecture presented the key messages from a book on Poland Marcin Piatkowski is writing for Oxford University Press. The book (i) analyzes the sources of Poland’s and Eastern European historical backwardness, (ii) explains the drivers of Poland’s unprecedented economic success during the last 25 years, when it moved from being poor to rich within the life of just one generation, and (iii) proposes a new growth model for Poland and Eastern Europe to help them fully catch up with the West for the first time ever. The book also (iv) shares the lessons learned and insights from Poland’s experience for other countries in Europe and beyond. Finally, (v) it discusses possible scenarios for the country’s future development.

A number of campaigns fought in 2016 would appear to have been won or lost on evidence and analysis that did not stand up to scrutiny. Indeed, the very nature of ‘factual’ information was undermined with large parts of the public unwilling to accept conventional positions on matters of global import. Against this background, reliable, evidence-based rigorous analysis from think tanks should have been in high demand. Are think tanks victim of being captured by elites? What can think tanks do to create and build demand for their work in the circles that are currently dominated by rhetoric and opinion rather than evidence and analysis? Do think tanks need to examine and promote their brand values to be a widely trusted resource for everyone involved in the policy making process?

Inclusive growth has been the exception globally, and will be a greater challenge in the future. Achieving it has to be central to our agenda, but requires rethinking and reprioritisation – in economic, social and urban policies. There is also something we can all learn from policy experiences internationally. On 26 January we were happy to welcome Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore and Chairman of the Group of Thirty, to Bruegel to discuss these issues.

Europe’s private sector debt continues to weigh on the economic recovery, and the health of its banking systems. Legal standards that define the rights of creditors and of borrowers in debt distress are a crucial framework to allow an early restructuring of companies that can be saved, to work through a liquidation where this is unavoidable, and to allow a fresh start once debt has been discharged. Significant reforms have already been undertaken by individual EU states, and in November a new framework was proposed by the EU Commission. This event will discuss some key issues in this contentious field of law and economic reform: -Have legal impediments held back debt reduction and corporate sector growth? -Are Europe’s different legal cultures amenable to common norms? -Will such norms allow greater cross border investment and trade? -How can banks support debt reduction?

In Europe anti-immigration sentiment is on the rise because of the perception that immigration is taking away jobs and benefits from people. But what what is the real impact of migration on incomes and income convergence within Europe? How will the numbers and the impact look in 10–20 years? And what are the possible consequences of the rise in anti-immigration sentiment? What kind of policies would help make immigration work for everyone in Europe? What is the impact on fiscal policies, including social benefits? Should we reform social welfare policies in the light of large scale immigration? What should be the role of EU-wide policies?

In Europe anti-immigration sentiment is on the rise because of the perception that immigration is taking away jobs and benefits from people. But what what is the real impact of migration on incomes and income convergence within Europe? How will the numbers and the impact look in 10–20 years? And what are the possible consequences of the rise in anti-immigration sentiment? What kind of policies would help make immigration work for everyone in Europe? What is the impact on fiscal policies, including social benefits? Should we reform social welfare policies in the light of large scale immigration? What should be the role of EU-wide policies?

Post-communist societies have achieved remarkable successes, finally closing the happiness gap with people on similar incomes in non-transition countries. However, failure to deliver a fair distribution of the fruits of progress may lead to setbacks in political and economic development. This event featured a presentation of the EBRD Transition Report 2016-17. The report tracks the successes of post-communist countries but also reveals that not everyone has shared in this growing economic prosperity. It warns that “Countries where the majority of people perceived reforms to be designed for somebody else’s gain saw the reversal of both political and economic transition.” These perceptions have led to the emergence of anti-reform populists and crony capitalism. http://bruegel.org/events/transition-for-all-equal-opportunities-in-an-unequal-world/

Immigration was a major factor – if not the major factor – in the UK’s vote to leave the EU. The UK government is promising to take a tough stance on immigration in the negotiations. Meanwhile EU leaders are signalling that freedom of movement is non-negotiable and four central European countries are threatening to block any trade deal with the UK that would restrict the rights of their workers to live and work in the EU. At this event we brought together three experts to discuss what Brexit is likely to mean for the free movement of workers between the UK and the EU. See more at http://bruegel.org/events/labour-mobility-after-brexit/

The recent economic crisis has put the financial sector in the spotlight. Calls to revamp financial regulation have grown stronger. Competition in the banking sector has been perceived with caution. Competition (or the lack of it) will have a bearing on the typical failures associated with the financial system: excessive risk taking, credit overexpansion exuberant growth, bank misconduct. We are pleased to invite you to an event at which Prof. Xavier Vives will discuss the relationship between competition and stability of the banking sector. He will give a snapshot on the trends in competition policy practice and its interaction with regulatory developments in the field. Particular questions that will be addressed are: -Whether there is a significant trade-off between competition and financial stability. -How regulation and competition policy should interact, whether they can complement each other or whether they substitute for each other. -What the appropriate architecture for regulatory and competition a

Building a stronger and more competitive European banking sector, European Commission Vice President for Financial Services, Valdis Dombrovskis, set out his approach to supporting a stable, dynamic and diverse banking sector in the EU. A few days before proposing an important new package of banking sector legislation, he considered the challenges the sector faces in a low growth, low interest rate environment. He also talked about the priorities that will shape the upcoming proposals to revise the Capital Requirements Regulation and Directive. The presentation of the Vice-President was followed by a discussion with Guntram Wolff, Bruegel Director, selected experts and the audience. http://bruegel.org/events/what-next-for-europes-banking-future/

In the recent years “free” products and services have exploded in popularity. Social networks, web-based email, news services, mapping programs, video and music streaming, search engines - all are now widely offered to customers at zero prices. In fact, though often labelled as such, many of these products are not free. Consumers are exchanging their data for them. Only recently competition policy practitioners have started to adequately account for the unique attributes of zero-price markets. At this event Prof. Daniel Rubinfeld presented his research on how the abundance of zero price services has brought to the forefront issues regarding their welfare effects and the appropriate regulatory and enforcement tools.

On 24 November we were delighted to welcome Miguel Arias Cañete, European Commissioner for Climate Action & Energy to Bruegel to discuss the new energy package which will be launched the following week. Commissioner Cañete discussed crucial topics of European energy policy such as incentivizing investments in renewable energy, ensuring security of electricity supply and energy efficiency, as well as the forthcoming legislation on Energy Union Governance.

At this event Anatoli Segura Velez from Banca D'Italia discussed a new proposal on how to integrate the two tools in a macroprudentially coherent and transparent manner. He proposed in particular the introduction of a bank-specific Stress Test Buffer that adds to those in Basel III Pillar 1. He also emphasized the need to conduct stress tests with a procyclical severity, meaning that stress test severity is higher during booms. The presentation was followed by comments and a Q&A session.

The number of digital platforms is currently rising in many countries and sectors. What are the opportunities of platforms and which kind of regulation and policy framework is necessary to promote healthy competition?

Two mega-trends are rapidly converging to reshape the European energy system: decarbonisation and digitalisation. Based on strong public policies, decarbonisation is already reshuffling the European energy mix, while industry-driven technological innovation is progressively opening-up new and potentially disruptive opportunities for evolving energy systems. These trends will transform the European energy system from a static and centralised model into a dynamic and decentralised one. In this framework, the governance of the European energy system will also need to change. At this event, Simone Tagliapietra presented ongoing Bruegel research on these topics.