ZEW Lunch Debate in Brussels Puts European Fiscal Rules Under the Microscope

The sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone has prompted the architects of conventional European fiscal rules to show some particular creativity. In order to take control of the situation, existing fiscal policy measures such as the Stability and Growth Pact have been greatly altered and expanded since 2010. To what extent have these innovations been successful? Identifying the strengths and shortcomings of the fiscal reforms will be the focus of the next ZEW Lunch Debate set to take place at the Representation of the State of Baden-Württemberg to the European Union in Brussels on 16 September 2015.

The European Fiscal Compact, the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure, or the European Semester for economic policy coordination are all measures imposed by the European Union's financial strategists to rebuild the economic resilience of Europe’s fiscal rules following the recession of 2008 and 2009. Over the past five years, these reforms have been launched, evaluated on a regular basis and judged effective by their designers.

The question as to whether and how these new rules have proven successful in the context of effective budget restrictions from an economic and praxis-oriented point of view, will be discussed at the ZEW Lunch Debate on "Europe's New Fiscal Governance: a Quantum Leap or Not Worth the Paper It's Written on?"

• Prof. Dr. Friedrich Heinemann, Head of the Research Department “Corporate Taxation and Public Finance” at the Mannheim Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) and adjunct professor of economics at Heidelberg University.

• Nicolas Carnot, fiscal policy advisor of the Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN) of the European Commission

• Professor Albert Solé-Ollé, PhD, professor of economics at the University of Barcelona and head of the research programme "Fiscal Federalism" at the Barcelona Institute of Economics (IEB).

The panel discussion will be preceded by a presentation on “The Effectiveness of Fiscal Rules: Learning From Mistakes Made in the Past” from Friedrich Heinemann and Albert Solé-Ollé.