Reforming the European Union: Conflicting Views and Common Ground

The French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to push through reforms of the European Union and the Euro area. However, there is still large disagreement on the appropriate steps forward or even on the direction of reforms. Do we need a joint Euro area budget to share macroeconomic risks, or would this rather create bad incentives and permanent one-sided transfers between countries? Should national fiscal and economic policies be coordinated more closely, or should we rely on competition, market discipline and subsidiarity? Should fiscal rules and centralized policies be enforced more strictly on national governments? Moreover, as the years of crisis urged governments to install a rescue mechanism, to intensify macro surveillance and to further regulate the financial system, it remains unclear if these measures are sufficient to prevent future crises – and if not, what else is needed? The 98th KKG puts a special focus on European economic integration and the search for appropriate steps to foster macroeconomic stability in the European Union and in the Euro area.