The current pandemic is not only a health crisis, but it is also a major shock to the world economy, and to the economy of the euro area. The financial architecture of the euro area has been significantly strengthened since the 2008-09 crisis. Nevertheless, euro area countries could not agree on the introduction of a jointly-issued risk-free asset, the Eurobond. With a need for a big fiscal stimulus and an expected large increase in public debt, this matter has come to the forefront again. During this EU Chat, we will review the issues involved, the previous discussions that took place and the positions different euro area countries take in the current discussion.  

Interested in hearing the EU’s perspective and discussing these issueswith a chance to ask questions from an expert? Dr. István P Székely is the EU fellow at CEUCE for 2019-2020 and a principal advisor of the European Commission (DG ECFIN) in Brussels. Previously, he was Country Director and Research Director in DG ECFIN. During the recent crisis, he was the EU Mission Chief in the EU-IMF financial assistant programs for Ireland and Romania. He is an economist by training with a PhD from the University of Cambridge. Prior to joining the European Commission, he worked at the Corvinus University in Budapest, where he is currently an honorary Professor, the University of Bonn, the UN Secretariat in New York, the National Bank of Hungary, and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. He has a number of academic publications, including several books.

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