The Post-COVID-19 Future of the Economic and Monetary Union

A decade ago, the Eurozone crisis resulted in comprehensive reforms of the EMU. In December 2020, leaders of the European Union reached an unprecedented political agreement to counter the effects of the COVID-19 crisis. Their decision led to the EU borrowing on the international financial markets to finance a recovery instrument: the Next Generation EU. While, on one hand, Next Generation EU is a one-time only budgetary facility, it opens the door for further integration of the EMU. On the other hand, Member States have different views on the way forward in the economic integration. During the discussion, experts will present the findings of the preliminary research paper focusing on the complex question of a Eurozone enlargement and EMU governance, and analyse in detail the different aspects and perspectives of economic and financial integration. Has the pandemic changed cohesion between the Member States? What are the challenges of further EMU integration? How attractive is the Eurozone for non-euro Members States? What is the role of intergovernmental decision-making in EMU governance?

Balázs Hamar, Head of Brussels Office, Antall József Knowledge Centre

Konrad Poplawski, Head of the Central European Department, OSW - Centre for Eastern Studies

Friedrich Heinemann, Head of Corporate Taxation and Public Finance Research Department, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research

Norbert Szijártó, Junior Research Fellow, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies Institute of World Economics (Hungarian Academy of Sciences) and Adjunct Professor, Corvinus University of Budapest

Moderator: Eoin Drea, Senior Research Officer, Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies