Newsletter: The risks and opportunities of state aid to fight the Covid crisis
Monday, 23 march 2021
Good morning Future is blue readers,
This week we are covering state aid, a policy instrument that is becoming more and more critical as the pandemic is hitting the EU economies for longer than expected. We’ve had a video discussion between Peter Bofinger, Professor for Monetary and International Economics at Würzburg University, hosted by Future is blue editorial coordinator Carlos Carnicero Urabayen. More details below.
We’re also featuring a paper by Jorge Núñez Ferrer, Senior Research Fellow at CEPS, about how to avoid the main risks in the recovery plans of Member States.
Risks and opportunities of state aid to fight the Covid-19 crisis
As the pandemic is hitting the European economies for longer than expected, EU Member States keep supporting struggling businesses. But how can Governments ensure they are targeting the right sectors? Obviously, some Member States have more fiscal capacity than others - so what are the implications for Europe´s cohesion once the crisis is over?
Don’t miss our video-talk where we try to find the right answers to these questions. We even had time to consider what lessons Europe can learn from the successful Covid crisis management in the US.
Access here the video-talk.
Avoiding the main risks in the recovery plans of Member States
In the first of a series of reports dedicated to the preparation and implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility of the EU, Jorge Nuñez Ferrer sets out some of the main risks to the success of the recovery programmes, such as a lack of focus and mistargeting, maintaining unsustainable sectors, delays in implementation, and the lack of both a European dimension and the capacity to implement such a complex programme over and above the normal EU budget.
Agenda Pública is part of a CEPS taskforce that has been set up to analyse in detail the Recovery and resilience facility. So, stay tuned for more reports coming over in the next months.
Access the full report here.
What we are reading
Outlook darkens for Europe’s virus-stricken economy
Rising infections and new lockdown measures prompt cuts to hopes for growth.
The cost of Brexit, January 2021: the end of the transition edition
New analysis by the Centre for European Reform finds that leaving the EU’s single market and customs union led total UK goods trade to fall by 22%, relative to a modelled Britain that remained in the single market and customs union.
Low interest rates in Europe and the US: one trend, two stories
Interest rates have been on a long-term decline, associated with declining productivity growth. To tackle this, the priorities are to reduce market concentration and, in Europe, change the financing model.
Successful Europe: unlocking a trillion Euro opportunity
Digital transformation can support jobs and businesses, while also speeding up Europe's competitiveness.
Have a nice week!
Raymond Torres, Funcas Europe Director