EU Reforms

The European Union is a success story for Europe. However, the process of European unification has stalled. Economic development is diverging in some countries of the EU and dissatisfaction with the central institution is growing in many places. In addition, the EU is facing new and sometimes greater challenges today than it did a few years ago. The consequences of the euro crisis, the migration crisis, climate change, Brexit, and most recently, the coronavirus crisis require new approaches to solutions and have triggered sometimes intense debates about reforms and the future role of the EU.

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To find an adequate response to the major issues of the future, the European Union must reposition itself both internally and externally.

  • How should the European Monetary Union develop further?
  • Is a European Social Union desirable?
  • Do we need an active European industrial policy?
  • What long-term climate strategy should the European Union pursue?
  • How can the integration of migrants into the labor markets succeed and how should structural policies be redesigned?

In the view of the ifo Institute, these challenges should not be met across the board with “more Europe.” Instead, policy areas need to be identified in which the provision of public goods at the European level generates added value. The EU should do more in policy areas where it can do more than the member states if they act individually. This is the case where economies of scale are important or where policy decisions made by individual countries strongly influence each other.

“The European Union should do more in policy areas where it can achieve more than member states do when acting individually. This is the case when economies of scale are important or when effects of policies in one country strongly influence other countries.”

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Clemens Fuest (President)