ECFIN Director-General Marco Buti delivered the keynote speech on “The Future of the EU fiscal governance” at the FIRSTRUN Final Conference at CEPS, a leading ​think tank and ​forum for debate on EU affairs, on 29 January. FIRSTRUN (Fiscal Rules and Strategies under Externalities and Uncertainties) is a project by a consortium of prestigious universities and economic policy institutes to conduct research and policy analysis on EU economic governance. In his comprehensive analysis, Marco Buti addressed key changes to EMU’s fiscal architecture since the crisis; assessed the current EU fiscal framework; and examined the future of EU fiscal governance, including the 6 December package. Buti concluded that while steps have been taken to breach EMU fault lines revealed by the crisis, the present set-up remains vulnerable to shocks and places too heavy a responsibility on the ECB. He also explained the difficulty in finding the right balance between EU and national levels, and between rules, institutions and market discipline, and noted that the proper sequencing of reforms is key. Regarding the roadmap for deepening EMU, Buti’s parting recommendation was to “fix the roof when the sun is shining.”