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Marek Belka Marek Belka
Sharon Bowles Sharon Bowles
Claudia M. Buch Claudia M. Buch
Bucher Anne Anne Bucher
Marco Buti Marco Buti
Carlo Cottarelli Carlo Cottarelli
Guillermo de la Dehesa Guillermo de la Dehesa
Filippo di Mauro Filippo di Mauro
Stephen Fidler Stephen Fidler
Martin Jahn Martin Jahn
Enda Kenny Enda Kenny
Pascal Lamy Pascal Lamy
Erkki Liikanen Erkki Liikanen
Dan O'Brien Dan O'Brien
Jim O'Neill Jim O'Neill
Olli Rehn Olli Rehn
Peter Spiegel Peter Spiegel
Jürgen Thumann Jürgen Thumann
Maarten Verwey Maarten Verwey
António Vitorino António Vitorino
Charles Wyplosz Charles Wyplosz
Anders Åslund Anders Åslund
  • Commissioner Olli Rehn
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Brussels Economic
Forum 2013
A Europe 2020 Initiative – 19 June 2013
We talk about the non-tradeable to tradeable sector, why do we only want this? What about the productivity within the tradeable sector?”
Filippo Di Mauro,
ECB
I don't like to use this term competitiveness, competitiveness is a subjective term, I like to talk about international performance.”
Guillermo
de la Dehesa,
Banco Santander
We are experiencing protracted slow growth, but, we are not in a phase where in a normal recovery things would go back to normal”.
Anne Bucher,
DG ECFIN
We do not have a euro crisis we have a debt crisis.”
Jurgen R.Thurman,
Business Europe
On the euro in general, the decisions which have been taken were good, I also think that we had no alternative there with the decisions made, as always they were too little, too late.”
Jurgen R. Thurman,
Business Europe
20 years ago we had 20% youth unemployment in Germany, today it is at 7% so this goes to show you what you can achieve if you work on this.”
Jurgen R. Thurman,
Business Europe
You have innovation in Europe, but what we are missing is to have everybody on board.”
Anne Bucher,
DG ECFIN
The whole enlargement process made us much stronger competitively.”
Martin Jahn
President of the Czech Automotive Industry Association
I don’t believe there is a euro crisis. The euro has been a very successful project, and increases the global competitiveness of Europe.”
Martin Jahn
President of the Czech Automotive Industry Association
I don’t think we need higher taxation. I think we just need more effective taxation collection.”
Martin Jahn
President of the Czech Automotive Industry Association
We are out of the emergency situation and the proof of it is that we are now discussing the engines of growth.”
Filippo di Mauro,
ECB
When it comes to labour market reforms, adjustment is taking place, but is this enough? My answer is no.”
Filippo di Mauro,
ECB
Global supply chains have completely changed international performances. They can coordinate complexity at distance.”
Guillermo
de la Dehesa,
Banco Santander
Some describe Europe as a convergence machine, and with the crisis, this machine has been broken.”
Anne Bucher,
DG ECFIN
The surplus countries have a contribution to make. The excess savings in the surplus countries needs to be channelled to deficit countries in the form of foreign direct investment.”
Anne Bucher,
DG ECFIN
History shows that a banking crisis can have devastating effects on the real economy.”
Erkki Liikanen,
Governor,
Bank of Finland
The solution has to be a single supervisory mechanism. This needs to power to shut down and wind up non-performing banks.”
Erkki Liikanen,
Governor,
Bank of Finland
Once the single supervisory mechanism is agreed, a single resolution mechanism needs to follow.”
Erkki Liikanen,
Governor,
Bank of Finland
Rapid progress to a fully-fledged banking union is absolutely essential for Europe’s economic health.”
Maarten Verwey,
Deputy Director-General,
DG ECFIN
It is absolutely important to break the feedback loops between bad banks and weak sovereigns.”
Maarten Verwey,
Deputy Director-General,
DG ECFIN
The creation of a single supervisory mechanism is a momentous step.”
Maarten Verwey,
Deputy Director-General,
DG ECFIN
The single resolution mechanism needs a strong authority to resist pressures. We need a system so that banks can be wound up in an orderly manner.”
Maarten Verwey,
Deputy Director-General,
DG ECFIN
Why did we have so much integration of debt markets but not of equity markets? What would have happened if equity markets were more integrated?”
Claudia M. Buch,
University of Tübingen
We have a problem of debt overhang, that is obvious, and this creates risk in banking that do not stop at national borders. But many of these risks have moved onto the ECB’s balance sheet.”
Claudia M. Buch,
University of Tübingen
Banking union will create a common risk sharing mechanism, which is critical to the proper functioning of the financial system.”
Claudia M. Buch,
University of Tübingen
If we pool our banks – small, with conservative profiles – with the big banks in Europe with risky profiles, what will happen? How will it deal with small subsidiaries of big banks?”
Marek Belka,
President,
National Bank of Poland
Risks show up locally and we think they should be dealt with locally.”
Marek Belka,
President,
National Bank of Poland
Maybe a properly executed banking union will lead to genuine cross-border banking mergers – the lack of mergers has always struck me, as they remain confined to national borders.”
Jim O’Neill,
(former) Goldman Sachs Asset Management
If EMU is to be strengthened, you have to do it now. Because when you go further in the future, the natural incentive of players will recede.”
Jim O’Neill,
(former) Goldman Sachs Asset Management
Not all financial institutions have the same purpose – what an investment bank exists for is not the same as a commercial banks. And you need both doing separate things for a healthy economy.”
Jim O’Neill,
(former) Goldman Sachs Asset Management
We need the banking union, and we need it sooner rather than later.”
Maarten Verwey,
Deputy Director-General,
DG ECFIN
The bottom of the US equity prices was the first evaluation of asset quality, markets felt confident but we have not seen that.”
Jim O’Neill
Why do we repeat these crises? Ignorance and arrogance. We must act now when we remember.”
Erkki Likanen,
Governor,
Bank of Finland
Bail in is the rule, bail out is the extreme exception.”
Erkki Likanen,
Governor,
Bank of Finland
If banks had higher capital buffers then the risks would have been better, higher equity capital is one way to deal with this.”
Claudia M. Buch,
University of Tübingen
Europeans simply do not feel that they belong to a community.”
Pascal Lamy,
Director-General, WTO
Further European integration is it still the way forward.”
Pascal Lamy,
Director-General, WTO
Market size does matter.”
Pascal Lamy,
Director-General, WTO
Legitimacy is an issue of contention, the European project can only be achieved through greater legitimacy.”
Pascal Lamy,
Director-General, WTO
The EU's policy mix is focused on sustainable growth and job creation. In fiscal policy, consistent consolidation of public finances will continue, though with a slower pace.”
Olli Rehn
Commission Vice-President responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro
A deep fiscal union will not emerge overnight. We will lose our citizens unless this is done through a profoundly democratic process – and even the best economic ideas must pass this test before they can be realized.”
Olli Rehn
Commission Vice-President responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro
Banking union is not about bailing out bankers, it is about getting a banking system that serves the real economy.”
Olli Rehn
Commission Vice-President responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro
Stress in financial markets has been significantly reduced, but this has not yet transmitted much into the real economy.”
Olli Rehn
Commission Vice-President responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro
Market size does matter, especially in the capitalist market system we live in whether we like it or not.”
Pascal LAMY
Director-General, WTO
It is the people that make politics and unless a new narrative appears that creates a sense that European integration, European identity, and Europe is for tomorrow, not for the past, this is the biggest challenge.”
Pascal LAMY
Director-General, WTO
Europe must find a new action to orient its citizens forward, a forward looking narrative which unites Europeans in the belief that their future can be better than their past.”
Pascal LAMY
Director-General, WTO
Legitimacy is an issue of contention, the European project can only be achieved through greater legitimacy, This is about affection, guts, hearts, Europeans simply do not feel that they belong to a community.”
Pascal LAMY
Director-General, WTO
Further European integration is it still the way forward.”
Pascal LAMY
Director-General, WTO
We are very clear on the need to break the link between banking and sovereign debt. Achieving such clarity was critical to our managing the economic crisis. Now we must deliver, in real practical terms.”
Enda KENNY
Prime Minister of Ireland
Unemployment is and has to be of the gravest and most urgent concern to us all. It has to be our greatest priority.”
Enda KENNY
Prime Minister of Ireland
Banking union is absolutely crucial. For leaders, it’s a credibility test we cannot afford to fail. Following through on decisions is the very least our citizens expect and demand.”
Enda KENNY
Prime Minister of Ireland
We know what is necessary to do the right thing and be elected, one, you need well-functioning financial markets and, two, you need well functioning welfare states.”
Marco Buti
Director-General, DG ECFIN
The starting point ... is that the monetary union was incomplete, and we have or are in the process of achieving better discipline now over budgets.”
Sharon Bowles
MEP
Achieving better discipline over budgets is harder to do when times are difficult, but then again may not have been done if these were not difficult times.”
Sharon Bowles
MEP
Everybody wants the euro. People are equally afraid of the breakup of the European Union.”
Antonio Vitorino
Notre Europe - Jaques Delors Institute
My reality check is looking at the graphs for debt repayment.”
Sharon Bowles
MEP
Front loading the fiscal adjustment is better from all points of view, front loading countries tend to lead to faster economic growth.”
Anders Aslund
Peterson Institute for Int. Economics
The Masstricht Treaty was a miracle, and it would have been a total miracle if it had only been for two things, one, its lack of inclusion of a banking union and, two, a mistake that the fiscal discipline framework was badly made and made to fail.”
Charles Wyplosz
Graduate Institute of Int. and Development Studies
As we think about fixing the situation the risk is to do too little, while aiming at too much.”
Charles Wyplosz
Graduate Institute of Int. and Development Studies

The Brussels Economic Forum (BEF) 2013 will focus on the EU’s Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and its further development. The annual gathering of economic decision makers, legislators and opinion leaders will again be the forum in which current economic issues are tackled through high-level and substantive debate.

Today more than ever, the future of the EMU is at the heart of the debate. While exiting the debt crisis through restoring fiscal sustainability and reinforcing competitiveness remains the key priority, wider challenges need to be addressed:

  • How to secure a sustained competitiveness of Europe in the global economic environment?
  • What is required for a genuine and robust EMU going forward and how to get there?
  • What role for banking, fiscal and economic union as part of the EMU road map?

The 14th edition of the Forum will once again be an inspiring event not to be missed. Participants will have the opportunity to hear the views of key decision makers and meet with top officials from national governments, EU and international institutions, as well as leading academics and business leaders.

The Future of EMU
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