IEP@BU - Institute for European Policymaking @ Bocconi University

Working Paper - The Unintended Entrepreneurial Returns to University Grants

Evidence from Germany shows that university-wide grants increase the venture capital raised by graduates’ start-ups, with gains emerging only after seven years. A Working Paper by Daniel Gros, Giorgio Presidente, and Thomas Schwab

At the Table or on the Menu? Europe, Middle Powers and International Order

Join the IEP Annual Event at Bocconi University on 18 November to explore how the EU can work with middle powers to shape a renewed international order

EU Quotas on Chinese Hybrid Cars: A Public Relations Coup or a Harbinger of a Tougher Approach to Chinese ‘Overcapacity’?

The 2024 tariffs on electric vehicles had little impact. The latest deal is unlikely to make much difference. A commentary by Daniel Gros

Europe’s Anti-Poverty Strategy: From Targets to Results

Mario Nava, the European Commission’s Director-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, reviews progress on the measures discussed at the annual IEP Bocconi-EU Commission conference

We Know What to do to Fight Poverty

Affordable housing and quality jobs will be at the heart of the anti-poverty conference hosted by IEP Bocconi and the European Commission on 9 October in Milan. A commentary by Sylvie Goulard

Policy Brief - Housing First or Treatment First?

What the EU Can Learn from the US Department of Veterans Affairs’ Homelessness Programs about Mortality, Housing Stability, and Treatment. A Policy Brief by Syndey Costantini

Quality Jobs for All: Two Challenges, Both Within Reach

The EU’s fight against poverty requires both better-paid jobs and policies that help more people into work. A commentary by Giulia Giupponi

Italy’s Youth Policies Leave the Most Vulnerable Behind

As EU recovery funding ends, research on young people outside work and education shows why internships and hiring incentives are not enough. A commentary by Pietro Galeone

Russia Does Not Need a Military Victory to Defeat Europe

As Moscow struggles in Ukraine, it is exploiting political divisions across Europe. Rearmament alone cannot stop a strategy designed to break the continent’s will to resist. A commentary by Nathalie Tocci

Reforming EU Innovation Funding: IEP Bocconi Contributes to a European Proposal in Science

An INPACT! proposal in Science, with contributions from IEP Bocconi, calls for a clearer path from scientific discovery to market

Policy Brief - A Single EU Inc. Across 27 Member States

How the July Compromise Text Can Still Deliver a Usable Corporate Regime for European Startups. A Policy Brief by Luca Enrique, Casimiro A. Nigro, Tobias Tröger

Europe’s Digital Autonomy Starts With Its Power Grid

The EU’s data centre ambitions could turn clean energy into a competitive advantage, provided grid investment keeps pace and costs are shared fairly. A commentary by Ludovic Subran

Policy Brief - Europe as Central Power

Leading the Like-Minded, Building Partnerships Worldwide. A IEP Bocconi Policy Brief by Daniel Gros and Nathalie Tocci

IEP@BU Commentaries

Europe’s Bond Turmoil Need Not Become a Euro Crisis

A Tale of Two Bubbles

While AI is driving significant investment, U.S. economic growth remains lower than during the 1990s Internet boom due to the drag of Trump’s contradictory policies. Should the AI financial bubble burst, the global economy would pay twice. A commentary by Moreno Bertoldi, and Marco Buti

Early Exits Put ECB Independence at Risk

Long terms protect monetary policy from political interference. Candidates should commit to serving them in full. A commentary by Ignazio Angeloni

The Dangerous Illusion of a Short War

From Ukraine to Iran, leaders keep mistaking military power for strategic success. The conflicts they cannot end threaten to be worse than the “forever wars” they vowed to avoid. A commentary by Nathalie Tocci

Protecting Europe’s Declining Industries Will Not Stop the Far Right

The AfD’s success has given Europe’s political and business elites another excuse to blame Brussels. They should confront their own failures to invest in innovation and skills. A commentary by Lorenzo Bini Smaghi

Ukraine’s AfD Insurance Policy

Confiscating Russia’s frozen assets could secure Ukraine’s defence against a future withdrawal of German support. A commentary by Sir William Browder

The ECB risks mistaking noise for a signal

Bundesbank president Joachim Nagel has all but pre-announced a September rate rise. Central banks facing repeated supply shocks should follow trends, not the latest data point. A commentary by Ignazio Angeloni

The Global Bond Sell-Off is Becoming a Fiscal Reckoning

Rising inflation and mounting public debt are pushing up borrowing costs across advanced economies — while China’s apparent escape comes with costs of its own. A commentary by Lorenzo Bini Smaghi

Three Lessons from Jackson Hole for Governments and Central Banks

The age of cheap debt is over, monetary policy communication is changing and the future of digital finance still rests on central bank money. A commentary by Ignazio Angeloni

How Canada Can Strengthen EU’s Defence Ambitions

Ottawa’s participation in SAFE can expand Europe’s defence industrial base and deepen security co-operation among like-minded middle powers. A commentary by Rosalba Famà

Guns, Butter, and Sovereignty: Europe’s Future Hinges on Overcoming the Security Fragmentation Trap

Strategic convergence on security is no longer optional—it is the bedrock upon which Europe can salvage its economic and political integration project. A commentary by Marco Buti, and Francesco Nicoli

America’s Debt Problem Is Ultimately Political

Washington is unwilling to raise taxes or cut the deficit. As markets increasingly fear that inflation will be used to erode the debt burden, the Federal Reserve may eventually be forced to act. A commentary by Lorenzo Bini Smaghi

Putin’s Red Lines Are Written in Disappearing Ink

The Ukrainian military is now using British drones to strike deep inside Russia. Every new Western initiative prompts threats from Putin that never materialise: proof that support for Ukraine is working. A commentary by Sir William Browder

America’s Campaign-Finance Spiral Is Becoming a European Threat

The rise of political megadonors is reshaping US democracy. With seven national elections in the EU next year, Europe must prepare for the MAGA movement’s growing interference. A commentary by Morendo Bertoldi, and Marco Buti

We Must Prepare for the Post-Turnberry Era

One year after the EU-US tariff agreement, transatlantic relations remain unstable. Brussels must now define its strategy for the deal’s expiry and the next US presidency. A commentary by Moreno Bertoldi, and Marco Buti

Europe’s False Choice Between Defence and Welfare

Without greater security, the continent will struggle to attract investment, sustain growth and preserve its social model. A commentary by Lorenzo Bini Smaghi

Europe is Paying for Putin’s War

While Brussels boasts about collapsing the Russian war economy, European buyers have just handed the Kremlin a record nearly €6 billion for its gas. A commenary by Sir William Browder

EU's Global Ambitions Need a Bigger Budget

Europe needs a budget for defence, competitiveness and enlargement. National governments risk protecting old priorities instead. A commentary by Marco Buti

How the EU can Lead the Rest of the West

The EU should lead like-minded middle powers by offering coordination, restraint and market access rather than pretending to be a new hegemon. A commentary by Daniel Gros

Big Tech Is Turning American Capitalism Into a Sovereign Power

EU should not copy the founder-led model that has driven the US technology boom. It needs a form of capitalism that can innovate without eroding competition and democratic institutions. A commentary by Morendo Bertoldi, and Marco Buti

The War in Ukraine Will End Without Peace

Kyiv has shifted the balance of pressure, but Putin’s logic of survival points to stalemate, escalation and a Korean-style frozen conflict - A commentary by Sir William Browder

China Is Building an Alternative to the Brussels Effect on Data

As the EU tries to simplify its rules, Beijing is promoting a state-centred model of data governance shaped by industrial strategy, technological control and national security. A commentary by Francesco Decarolis

The Case for Setting Up an EU Critical Minerals Stockpile

The measures that Western economies are taking in order to respond to China’s chokehold over the supply of critical materials are unlikely to work as intended. A commenary by Daniel Gros, and Agathe Demarais

IEP@BU Events

SDA Bocconi School of Management, ROMA

21/10/2026, 18:00 - 21/10/2026, 19:00

Le medie potenze e il futuro dell’ordine internazionale: quali prospettive?

Quale ruolo possono svolgere le medie potenze nel plasmare il futuro dell’ordine internazionale? La loro influenza diplomatica, le loro partnership e il loro impegno nella cooperazione multilaterale possono contribuire ad affrontare le tensioni tra la competizione fra grandi potenze e l’azione collettiva?
Con Elissa Golberg Ambasciatrice del Canada in Italia, Albania e San Marino, Alta Commissaria del Canada a Malta e Rappresentante permanente del Canada presso le Agenzie delle Nazioni Unite a Roma (IFAD, FAO, WFP), Nathalie Tocci Senior Fellow IEP e Stefano Feltri Communication Advisor IEP.

Bocconi University

18/11/2026, 09:00 - 18/11/2026, 17:00

At the Table or on the Menu? Europe, Middle Powers and International Order

The global order is fracturing under the pressure of great-power rivalry, war, economic coercion, technological dependence, energy insecurity and climate disruption. As the US-led rules-based order weakens, middle powers can either submit to a world of competing empires or work together to renew international law and multilateral cooperation.

For Europe, this choice is existential: it can remain strategically dependent or act collectively to promote a more open, plural and non-imperial order based on autonomy, cooperation and mutual restraint. Achieving this goal requires more than rhetoric. Europe must strengthen its institutions, investments and innovative capacity across four critical domains: energy and climate, defence and security, trade and economic coercion, and technology and industrial policy.

The IEP Annual Event will examine whether Europe can turn its vulnerabilities into resilience and strategic autonomy, helping middle powers move from fragmentation towards a renewed global order.

News from IEP@BU

Financial Times Discusses IEP Bocconi’s CORE Proposal

Martin Sandbu engages with Gros and Tocci’s vision for international cooperation, while von der Leyen’s State of the Union echoes proposals on security and critical minerals

Von der Leyen Backs a European Security Council, an Idea Championed by IEP Bocconi

The proposal featured in Nathalie Tocci’s March policy brief for IEP Bocconi, which argued for a permanent framework to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy.

Silver Age Report on Longevity and Growth Featured by Population Europe

A new policy insight by Letizia Mencarini draws on research developed by IEP Bocconi in collaboration with Allianz

Evidence-Based Policymaking in a Fragmented World

IEP Bocconi Director Paloma Lopez-Garcia’s welcome remarks at the opening of the Second Junior Workshop in Geoeconomics, organized with CEPR and the Kiel Institute.

In collaboration with BAFFI Centre.

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A new website shows the roll-call votes in European Parliament by MEP, MEP, group, and country, going back to 2004. You can also download the data for free. By Simon Hix and Abdul Noury

IEP@BU Commentaries

Europe’s Financial Ambitions Stop at National Borders

Europe’s Bond Turmoil Need Not Become a Euro Crisis

Italy’s Fiscal Constraints Go Beyond Europe’s Deficit Rules

Trump is Trading Away Ukraine’s Leverage over Putin

Europe Should learn from Ukraine’s Diminishing Reliance on America

Europe’s Nationalists are Undermining the National Interest

The ECB Should Pause Quantitative Tightening

Europe’s Bond Turmoil Need Not Become a Euro Crisis

A Tale of Two Bubbles

Early Exits Put ECB Independence at Risk

The Dangerous Illusion of a Short War

Protecting Europe’s Declining Industries Will Not Stop the Far Right

Ukraine’s AfD Insurance Policy

The ECB risks mistaking noise for a signal

The Global Bond Sell-Off is Becoming a Fiscal Reckoning

Three Lessons from Jackson Hole for Governments and Central Banks

How Canada Can Strengthen EU’s Defence Ambitions

Guns, Butter, and Sovereignty: Europe’s Future Hinges on Overcoming the Security Fragmentation Trap

America’s Debt Problem Is Ultimately Political

Putin’s Red Lines Are Written in Disappearing Ink

America’s Campaign-Finance Spiral Is Becoming a European Threat

We Must Prepare for the Post-Turnberry Era

Europe’s False Choice Between Defence and Welfare

Europe is Paying for Putin’s War

EU's Global Ambitions Need a Bigger Budget

How the EU can Lead the Rest of the West

Big Tech Is Turning American Capitalism Into a Sovereign Power

The War in Ukraine Will End Without Peace

China Is Building an Alternative to the Brussels Effect on Data

The Case for Setting Up an EU Critical Minerals Stockpile

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