The European project

The European project

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks with European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, Bruegel Director Jeromin Zettelmeyer and research fellow Anne Bucher about how to make the European Union work better. Ukraine, Bruegel’s newest state member, will soon receive more financial support but needs Europe to keep up its sanctions on Russia. How will the enlargement process shape relations between Kyiv and its neighbours? Closer to home, how should the Brussels institutions tackle simplification and deregulation? Can the European Commission do a better job with impact assessments to manage the costs and trade-offs of its policies? Does the EU need tougher enforcement against national gold-plating? As member states and the European Parliament put their stamp on, and add complexity to, new legislation, policymakers must find the political will to make the system work. Relevant research: * Bucher, A. and E. Golberg (2026) ‘Better regulation in the European Union needs a fresh start [https://www.bruegel.org/policy-brief/better-regulation-european-union-needs-fresh-start],’ Policy Brief 01/2026, Bruegel. * European Commission (2026) 'A Simpler, Clearer and Better Enforced EU Rulebook [https://commission.europa.eu/publications/simpler-clearer-and-better-enforced-eu-rulebook_en]', Communication, 28 April 2026. * Zettelmeyer, J. (2025) 'Draghi on a shoestring: the European Commission’s Competitiveness Compass [https://www.bruegel.org/analysis/draghi-shoestring-european-commissions-competitiveness-compass]', Analysis 02/2025, Bruegel.

Weapons, war and confusion

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie talks about the defence industry with Bruegel’s Guntram Wolff and journalist Sharon Weinberger, author of the books Imaginary Weapons, The Imagineers of War and the forthcoming Valley of Death. What defence systems are Europe and the US buying? Are countries like Poland and the Baltic states re-inventing how the EU approaches joint defence? How is the defence industry structured and what have been the major changes of the past 20 years? Does Europe really need its own DARPA – the US defence innovation agency? What is the future of joint procurement and how should public policy act? With ongoing wars in Ukraine and Iran, as well as heightened uncertainty in Asia and around the world, these questions are back in the spotlight. Relevant research: * Becht, M., J. Mejino-López and G. Wolff (2026) 'Who controls the defence industry? [https://www.bruegel.org/working-paper/who-controls-defence-industry]', Working Paper 08/2026, Bruegel * Kapstein, E., J. Ospital and G. Wolff (2026) ‘Reforming European defence procurement to boost military innovation and startups [https://www.bruegel.org/policy-brief/reforming-european-defence-procurement-boost-military-innovation-and-startups]’, Policy Brief 04/2026, Bruegel * Weinberger, S., 'Washington Rewrites the Rules of Funding Technological Innovation [https://www.wsj.com/politics/trump-government-research-funding-changes-0e5317a1]', The Wall Street Journal, 20 April 2026 * Weinberger, S. (2026) Valley of Death: How Big Tech is the Future of War, Little, Brown and Company [https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/sharon-weinberger/valley-of-death/9780316595933/?lens=little-brown]

Future-proofing and creative destruction

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie talks about sustainable finance with Bruegel’s Silvia Merler and Dirk Schoenmaker. How will markets adjust to the European Union’s new disclosure framework, watered down by an 'omnibus' simplification package. Is it really simpler? Who is using the new disclosures and how could clearer rules attract more investment? How can the EU manage the creative destruction of transition and minimise the risk of stranded assets? They also discuss how United States asset managers invest and how they cast their governance votes. Should the European Central Bank offer a separate interest rate for finance linked to the energy transition? How do green bonds, sustainability-linked bonds and transition finance work in the market? For sustainable finance to reach its potential, the EU will need to improve its capital markets generally and find ways to make its disclosure framework more practical and internationally viable. Relevant research: * Merler, S. (2025) ‘How to improve the European Union’s sustainable finance framework [https://www.bruegel.org/policy-brief/how-improve-european-unions-sustainable-finance-framework]’, Policy Brief 05/2025, Bruegel. * Merler, S. (2025a) 'Streamlining or hollowing out? The implications of the Omnibus package for sustainable finance [https://www.bruegel.org/first-glance/streamlining-or-hollowing-out-implications-omnibus-package-sustainable-finance]', First Glance, 03 March, Bruegel. * Schoenmaker, D. (2026) 'Risks for Europe of US dominance of global asset management [https://www.bruegel.org/policy-brief/risks-europe-us-dominance-global-asset-management]', Policy Brief 07/2026, Bruegel.

Exploring Chinese trade deflection

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan and Alicia García-Herrero sit down with Isabelle Mejean and Vincent Vicard to present their study on Chinese trade deflection, a chapter in the 2026 edition of the Paris Report, a CEPR-Bruegel initiative. They discuss the scale and speed of this redirection, what the European Union can do about it and the bigger structural problem facing European industry. Relevant research: * Emlinger, C, I Mejean, K Lefebvre and V Vicard (2026), ‘EU under pressure? Exploring Chinese trade deflection‘, in Rey, H, B Weder di Mauro and J Zettelmeyer (eds), Paris Report 4: The New Global Imbalances [https://cepr.org/publications/books-and-reports/paris-report-4-new-global-imbalances], CEPR Press, Paris & London.  This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now [https://bruegel.secure.force.com/events/UpdateAcc?sf=1&s4=1] to receive it in your mailbox!

Hungary’s future

In this special episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks with Bruegel’s Zsolt Darvas and Heather Grabbe about the historic Hungarian election of April 2026. Péter Magyar and his TISZA party won in a landslide over the Fidesz party and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has been in power for the past 16 years and changed the course of the European Union. Can Hungary unlock its EU funds and stay within its budget guardrails? What about the energy sector? Will the new government be more transparent about contracts with ties to Chinese and Russian investment? Is Hungary’s outlook on Ukraine likely to change? Will Hungary ever join the euro? How will the winners put together a new government to carry out their campaign promises? The discussion covers all this and more after nearly 80% of Hungarian voters went to the polls.  Related research: * Darvas, Z. (2026) ‘Hungary’s new beginning – under tight fiscal constraints [https://www.bruegel.org/first-glance/hungarys-new-beginning-under-tight-fiscal-constraints]’, First Glance,13 April, Bruegel. * Darvas, Z. (2019) 'With or without you: are central European countries ready for the euro? [https://www.bruegel.org/policy-brief/or-without-you-are-central-european-countries-ready-euro]', Policy Contribution 12/2019, Bruegel.  * Grabbe, H., J. Pisani-Ferry and J. Zettelmeyer (2025) ‘Updated assessment: Memos to the commissioners responsible for EU foreign, enlargement, and partnerships policies [https://www.bruegel.org/first-glance/updated-assessment-memos-commissioners-responsible-eu-foreign-enlargement-and]’, First Glance, 30 January, Bruegel. * 'Hungary's revived euro adoption prospects [https://www.bruegel.org/event/hungarys-revived-euro-adoption-prospects]', Finance Focus Event, 06 May 2026 with Júlia Király and Nicolas Véron, Bruegel.