Publications

At the June 1985 European Council meeting, in Milan, the diverging views about the future of Europe – its identity as a common trading area or as a more cohesive bloc – were bound to clash strongly, given the fact that the meeting was intended to consider various proposals for the reform of the European institutions. A Policy Brief by Andrea Colli

At the Castello Sforzesco, in the 1985 meeting, the European Council agreed with the Commission’s conclusion that an internal market could provide the economic and social “crisis management” the Community needed and secure its global economic competitiveness. A Policy Brief by Grace Ballor

By changing the rules before the actual impact of the 2025 penalties could be assessed, the European Parliament has undermined the very mechanism the EU had in place to foster innovation and competitiveness within the EU auto industry. A commentary by Rachele Cavara, and Francesco Zirpoli

To restart growth, the EU needs to focus on productivity and innovation. This does not require hundreds of billions of euros in new expenditure, but rather a sharp focus on the efficiency of existing budgets coupled with innovation-friendly rulemaking. A Policy Brief by Daniel Gros, and Jacob Funk Kirkegaard

Direct public subsidies to Chinese BEV producers in the forms of grants and tax breaks are relatively small. The Commission motivates a large part of the countervailing duties (CVD) with the argument that entire markets in China are so distorted by industrial policies that the Chinese BEV producers do not face market prices for credit and batteries. A Policy Brief by Daniel Gros, and Weinian Hu
Is the world de-globalizing? Is the global economy fragmenting along geopolitical lines? This article provides an overview of the available empirical evidence on de-globalization and fragmentation. A working paper by Italo Colantone

While economic theory and empirical evidence on human capital affirm the positive effects of education and training on productivity and economic growth, there is a tendency to treat skills enhancement as a universal remedy for labor market inefficiencies. A Policy Brief by Pietro Galeone

A peace-enforcement mission, complemented by security assistance, stockpile regeneration, and a dedicated financial framework, would provide the necessary deterrence and resilience against future Russian aggression. A commentary by Andrea Gilli, Mauro Gilli, and Niccolò Petrelli

European countries should plan for a Peace Enforcement mission and prepare for either Non-Combat Security Assistance and Support or for Mobile Rapid Reaction Force in order to be prepared for a “what if conflict resumes”. A Policy Brief by Andrea Gilli, Mauro Gilli, and Niccolò Petrelli

Voluntary certification is a novel approach that can restrict the harmful practices of some dominant platforms and motivate and reward emerging platforms that align their practices with the public interest. A Policy Brief by Dovev Lavie, Oreste Pollicino, and Tommaso Valletti

The global financial system is at a crossroads of two related processes: post-crisis reform—the so-called Basel III—that is missing its final stage, and the new political course in the United States, where the incoming administration has declared war on all pre-existing rules.

A recently published report by the Institute for European Policymaking, written by a multidisciplinary team of researchers at Bocconi University and the Toulouse School of Economics, provides timely insights into these challenges and offers concrete policy recommendations across three critical areas

In a nutshell, we see that 80 years of prime partnership have created a solid base of mutual appreciation and similar sensitivities. Europeans and Americans still see in the other their most valuable ally, NATO is highly regarded and cooperation trumps competition. However, eight years of American hyper-polarisation at home and mixed messaging abroad have taken their toll. In 2024, 63 percent of Europeans agree that it is time for Europe to go its own way.

Reduced economic insecurity generates not only a direct increase in demand for populist commitments but also a change in culture in the direction of lower trust and prevalent exclusionary rhetoric, which in turn are further indirect channels through which populist movements thrive

Lack of integration of capital markets is a major source of weakness and declining competitiveness of the European economy. While efforts to complete harmonization of capital market legislation in this domain should retain highest priority in the new Commission’s work programme, there is room to advance integration by exploiting the STS regulation introduced by the EU in 2017 as part of its broader efforts to implement the CMU.
The main finding is that at the peak of the latest tightening cycle, the ECB monetary policy stance was no more restrictive than it was at the peak of the two preceding ones; actually, probably less. Report Co-ordinator Francesco Decarolis.

“The Commission would like to be taking the lead on defense policy, but defense remains the domain of Member States”. Thomas Gomart is one of the most influential experts on foreign relations and geopolitics at the EU level: he has been director of the Ifri, Institute Francais de Relationes Internationales, since 2015. An expert in Russian geopolitics and the history of international relations, he has recently published the book L'accélération de l'histoire. Les noeuds géostratégiques d'un monde hors de contrôle ( Éditions Tallandier, 2024).

The first elected president of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy, discusses how to fix the decision-making process at the EU level

On 16 October 2024, Claudia Buch delivered a lecture titled Bank Profitability: A Mirror of the Past, Creating a Vision for the Future at Bocconi University. The event was co-organized by the Baffi Center on Economics, Finance, and Regulation and the Institute for European Policymaking @ Bocconi University (IEP@BU).

Building on a previous analysis of the trends of convergence and divergence between peripheral and core EA-12 countries after the euro area sovereign debt crisis (Bordignon et al., 2023), this work investigates the long-term evolution of such differences in economic, institutional, and political outcomes, testing whether a pattern of convergence was finally resumed and comparing the effects of this crisis with those induced by the Covid-19 pandemic.


On September 19, mister Roth gave a lecture to Bocconi students titled “Europe at the Crossroads: Turning Today’s Poly-Crisis Into Tomorrow’s Poly-Opportunity”. Eleanor Spaventa, a professor of European Law at Bocconi and a member of the IEP@BU managing board, chaired the event co-hosted by IEP@BU and the Department of Legal Studies.

While the focus of the new Commission will be crystallizing over the months and years to come, this short analysis of the mission letters for the future Commissioners suggests that the recent intervention of Mario Draghi on Europe’s competitiveness has been agenda-setting for the policy priorities as defined by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
