European Commission

The Asian Development Bank Institute, the European Institute for Asian Studies, and the European Commission held a conference "Regionalism and reform of the global monetary & financial system - what role for Europe and Asia?", on 4 February 2010.

Scope of the seminar

Heads of State and Government from Asia and Europe agreed at their latest summit in Beijing, 2008, to cooperate in a pragmatic manner to overcome the global financial crisis and restore sound, sustainable economic growth. This conference examined what has been achieved since then in Europe and Asia and what can be achieved before the ASEM-8 Summit, which will take place in Brussels in October 2010.

This event brought together high-level academics and policy officials from Asia and Europe to take stock of developments and to analyse how the two regions could cooperate more effectively to reform the monetary and financial system at global and regional levels.

Both regions have much in common. Europe and Asia are emerging from the worst global financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression. Both have suffered from a steep decline in trade. The regions face similar challenges at the regional level, such as further increasing regional integration, providing financial assistance to hard-hit economies, reforming regulation of financial markets.

To ensure a sustainable recovery, Europe and Asia need not only to implement the appropriate polices in their own region, but also work together to find solutions to improve the stability of the global monetary and financial system. Despite the crisis, the economic ties between Asia and Europe remain strong and are expected to increase significantly.

Conference papers and presentations

Session 1: Regional Monetary Arrangements

Topic 1: Role of the euro in the global financial crisis

• Presenter: Dr. Jean PISANI-FERRY, Director, Bruegel - slides [625 KB]
• Discussant: Dr. MO Wangui, Economic official, Mission of the People's Republic of China to the European Union

 Topic 2: Quest for a regional monetary framework in East Asia

• Presenter: Dr. KAWAI Masahiro, Dean and Chief Executive Officer, Asian Development Bank Institute - slides [291 KB] and paper [197 KB]
• Discussant: Mr. Moreno BERTOLDI, Head of Unit Economies of America and Asia, IMF and G7/8, DG ECFIN - slides [125 KB]

Session 2: Regional Financial Framework for Balance of Payments Assistance & Surveillance

Topic 1: The multilateralisation of the Chiang Mai Initiative

• Presenter: Dr. Chalongphob SUSSANGKARN, Distinguished Fellow, Thailand Development Research Institute, Former Finance Minister of Thailand - slides [382 KB] and paper [617 KB] .
• Discussant: Mr. LEE Myung Soon, First Secretary (Ministry of Strategy and Finance), Embassy of the Republic of Korea

 Topic 2: Financial facilities for Member States in the EU

• Presenter: Mr. Paul KUTOS, DG ECFIN, European Commission - Slides [220 KB]
• Discussant: Dr. Zsolt DARVAS, Research Fellow, Bruegel

Session 3: Regional Financial Regulation & Supervision

Topic 1: New regulation and supervision for EU financial markets

• Presenter: Mr. Benjamin ANGEL, Head of Unit Economic Aspects of Regulatory Policy, DG ECFIN, European Commission - slides [2 MB]
• Discussant: Mr. Karel LANOO, Chief Executive Officer, CEPS

Topic 2: Regulation of Financial Markets in East Asia

• Presenter: Dr. Miranda GOELTOM, Professor of Economics, University of Indonesia and Former Governor, Bank of Indonesia - slides [8 MB] and paper [170 KB]
• Discussant: Dr. Peter WOLFF, Head of Department World Economy and Development Financing, German Development Institute - slides [29 KB]

Session 4: Reform of the Global Monetary System and the Euro

Topic 1: EU Perspective

• Presenter: Dr. Cinzia Alcidi, Research Fellow, CEPS - slides [757 KB]
• Discussant: Dr. Brigid GAVIN, Senior Economic Advisor, European Institute of Asian Studies

Topic 2: Perspective from East Asia

• Presenter: Dr. YAMASHITA Eiji, Professor, Graduate School of Economics, Osaka City University - slides [662 KB] and resumé [110 KB]

Topic 3: Asian perspective on IMF reform & beyond

• Presenter: Dr. HE Fan, Assistant Director, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing - slides [62 KB]
• Discussant: Dr. Srinivasa MADHUR, Senior Director of the Office of Regional Economic Integration, Asian Development Bank.

 

Downloads

• Registration form [2 MB] - See our privacy statement
• Programme [19 KB]
• Practical information [81 KB]
• Map of Commission buildings [414 KB]
• Metro map [2 MB]

Contact

For any queries, please contact Mr. Gertjan Driessen, the conference organiser, by e-mail .