The Euro’s Future: Deepening the Economic and Monetary Union

On June 23, 2017, the Atlantic Council’s Eurogrowth Initiative hosted Jose Leandro and Gabriele Giudice, the authors of the European Commission’s Reflection Paper on the Deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union.

This paper expands on the views of the Five Presidents’ Report on completing Europe’s Economic Monetary Union (EMU) and supplements the broader discussion initiated by the White Paper on the future of Europe. Some key points from the reflection paper that were expanded upon in the discussion were:

– The importance of the Economic Monetary Union to the overall success and integrity of the European Union project.  

– The ability of risk-sharing programs to decrease the overall long-term volatility of the the financial sector.

– The significance of strengthening the architecture of the EMU and enhancing government accountability in order garner more support from EU citizens.

With 340 million citizens and the second most important currency in the world, the paper begins by explaining just how vital a strong and united EU is to the global economy. The leaders want to keep this momentum, but challenges such as high unemployment, and high levels of debt are hindering its advancement. The formulation of a financial union will bring Europe closer to the goals they ultimately want to achieve.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia European Union Eurozone International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy Trade