Euro-area reform [What Think Tanks are thinking]

Briefing 01-12-2017

The Heads of State or Government of the countries sharing the euro currency will hold a summit on 15 December 2017 to discuss ways to improve the functioning of the euro area. European Council President Donald Tusk, who also chairs the Euro Summit, has said that the discussion will focus on further steps to complete Banking Union and on setting the direction for deeper euro-area economic integration, with decisions to be taken in June 2018. European Union Member States which are not members of the 19-nation euro bloc, other than the UK, have also been invited to the Euro Summit. Among proposals floated are that the single currency area should have a budget and a finance minister and that the existing euro-area bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), should be transformed into a European Monetary Fund. Germany, in particular, is cautious about far-reaching reforms. This note brings together commentaries, analyses and studies by major international think tanks and research institutes on euro area reforms and related issues.