Monthly forum 22 March 2018

Pursuing convergence in the euro area: policy options for the EU and Member States

Speaker: Jeffrey Franks, Director, IMF Europe Office

Comments:  Gabriele Giudice, Head of Unit ECFIN.A2 ‘EMU deepening and macroeconomy of the euro area‘- European Commission, Sotiria Theodoropoulou, Head of Unit European economic, employment and social policies at the ETUI and Katja Lehto-Komulainen, Deputy General Secretary ETUC

Moderator: Philippe Pochet, General Director ETUI

Briefing:

The quest for greater convergence has been central to the debate on reforming the architecture of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). This debate has now reached a critical stage and decisions need to be made.

Convergence can concern many dimensions (for example, interest rates, real income per capita, social outcomes, business and financial cycles, etc.) of varying importance as regards the smooth functioning of the EMU and the political economy of its reform.

In this lunchtime debate we will look into the findings of a recent IMF working paper on how the EMU has fared across the different dimensions of convergence since its launch. The diagnosis offered by the IMF on why greater convergence or divergence has occurred will be debated, and we will discuss the implications for EMU reforms and national policies that are geared towards increasing convergence and, ultimately, ensuring the future economic and political sustainability of the EMU.

A light lunch will be served in the room from 12h.