On 21 July, EU leaders agreed on a €1.8 trillion package to boost the recovery after the COVID-19 lockdowns, including a one-time €750 billion recovery fund named ‘Next Generation EU’. For the first time in history, the EU will issue common debt to finance expenditures throughout the EU. However, the fall in output and the required macro policy response are much bigger than the recovery plan. The common EU response will not carry the bulk of the fiscal effort to pull the EU economy out of the Covid-19 slump. As usual, national fiscal policy will have to carry most of the burden. This means that the European Central Bank, which has been ensuring favourable financing conditions in recent months, and the European Commission, which is in charge of the European fiscal rules, will play a crucial role in the next few years to ensure the EU recovers swiftly. This session will unpack this multifaceted topic, shedding light on the potential ways forward.

• Chair: Gregory Claeys, Senior fellow, Bruegel

• Marco Buti, Head of Cabinet, Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni

• Karolina Ekholm, Professor, University of Stockholm

• Reza Moghadam, Chief Economic Advisor, Morgan Stanley

This session will be held under the Chatham House Rule and is only open to Bruegel members and a small number of selected invitees. It will not be livestreamed