State of the Union live

In this special live episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks with Bruegel Director Jeromin Zettelmeyer, Deputy Director Simone Tagliapietra and Non-resident Fellow Elina Ribakova about the 2026 State of the Union speech, delivered 16 September in Strasbourg by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Energy, China, defence, the single market – what were her priorities and can she convince the European Union to take action? What about her proposal to look into “associate” EU membership for Canada? Did Prime Minister Mark Carney’s 17 September speech move things forward?  What does the EU need to do and where will the necessary investment come from? How will big member states like France and Germany shape the debate? As the war in Ukraine continues, how will the EU manage its economic and security commitments? International alliances and political resilience will be more critical than ever in navigating these challenges.Related research: Christie, R., García Bercero, I., Kirkegaard, J.K., Luck, P. (2026) 'What the US-Canada trade war means for Europe', Podcast, Bruegel García-Herrero, A., Ribakova, E., Risinger, L. (2026) 'The China‑Russia asymmetric partnership: Implications for Europe', Policy Article, Kiel Institute for the World Economy  Ribakova, E., Risinger, L. (2026) 'Europe’s Untapped Arsenal', Opinion piece, Foreign Affairs Steinbach, A., Wolff, G.B. & Zettelmeyer, J. (2025) 'The Governance and Funding of European Rearmament', Intereconomics, 60(4), ZBW – Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft Tagliapietra, S., Wolff, G. B. (2026) 'Europe’s climate-resilience moment has arrived', First glance, Bruegel Tagliapietra, S. (2025) 'Europe’s fight should start by doing away with hesitation', First glance, Bruegel Zettelmeyer, J. (2026) 'Europe’s challenges: what is new?', Newsletter feature, 31 August, Bruegel Live version of the podcast: The Sound of Economics Live: The State of the European Union 2026

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie sits down with Philip Luck, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies economics programme, and Bruegel’s Ignacio García Bercero and Jacob Funk Kirkegaard to discuss the trade war between the United States and Canada. As the US announces import bans on various Canadian products, this podcast explores how Washington and Ottawa got to this point. What will happen next, and what will be the spillovers for Europe? The European Union has a strong free trade agreement with Canada and is discussing further integration in areas like digital policy. Will Mark Carney’s scheduled September visit to Strasbourg move the dial? What will be the impact on Canada’s internal economy, not to mention the EU single market? Will the EU and Canada move closer to establishing a coalition in support of rules-based trade? And how will the upcoming US November mid-term elections affect – or not – what happens next in the trade wars?Relevant research: Luck, P. (2026) ‘Elbows Up: Economic Coercion and U.S. Border Labor Markets in the 2025 Trade War’, SRRN Luck, P. (2026) ‘Elbows Up: The Price of Economic Coercion Against Canada’, Analysis, Center for Strategic and International Studies García Bercero, I. (2026) ‘An EU strategy in the wake of the United States Supreme Court tariffs ruling’, First Glance, Bruegel García Bercero, I. (2026) ‘Defining the new strategic direction for European Union trade policy’, First Glance, Bruegel Kirkegaard, J. (2026) ‘Europe Is Stuck With America’, Opinion piece, Foreign Affairs Christie, R. (2026) ‘Stuck in the Middle Again’, Opinion piece, Internationale Politik Quarterly

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks with Bruegel’s Heather Grabbe and Stefanie Walter about Iceland’s referendum on restarting European Union accession talks, Switzerland’s upcoming votes on EU relations and what Europe has to offer for countries inside and outside the club. Why did Icelandic voters reject the proposal to reopen talks? Why does Switzerland have such a complicated relationship with its neighbouring countries, even as it remains part of the Schengen passport-free travel zone? Economic and security concerns are more intertwined than ever with Europe’s relationships with the United Kingdom, Ukraine and North Africa, especially given changes at NATO. Democracy is the cornerstone of Europe’s alliances and also comes with a host of complications – how can the European institutions position Brussels best?Relevant research: Grabbe, H. (2026) ‘Jilted by Iceland – but Wider Europe is forming through new cooperation structures around the EU’, First Glance, Bruegel Grabbe, H. and S. Lehne (2016) 'Can the EU survive populism?', Carnegie Endowment Malet, G. and S. Walter (2024) 'The reverberations of British Brexit politics abroad', European Union Politics, 25(1), 63-85. Malet, G. and S. Walter (2023) 'Have your cake and eat it, too? Switzerland and the feasibility of differentiated integration after Brexit', West European Politics Marini, M. and S. Walter (2024) 'Learning from precedent: how the British Brexit experience shapes nationalist rhetoric outside the UK', Journal of European Public Policy De Vries C., S. Hobolt and S. Walter (2021) 'Politicizing International Cooperation: The Mass Public, Political Entrepreneurs, and Political Opportunity Structures', International Organization Walter, S. (2021) 'Quo vadis, Swiss-European Union relations?', Blog Post, Bruegel

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks about how to fight financial crime with Bruegel’s Nicolas Véron and James Freis, former chief compliance officer at Deutsche Börse and former head of FinCEN, the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The European Union is setting up its new Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLA), which from 2028 will have a combination of supervisory and standard-setting duties. What does it mean to start a new EU agency? What effect will it have for prevention and enforcement in areas like fraud, tax evasion and other abuses? What is the EU’s history in this area, and what past weaknesses is the new agency trying to correct? Given such a big and important mandate, will AMLA have the resources to do its job?Related research: Freis, J. H. and M. Waibel (2024) ‘The United States-Led Development of Financial Sanctions Since 1945’, in C. Zilioli, R. Bismuth and L. Thévenoz (eds) International Sanctions: Monetary and Financial Law Perspectives, Brill  Véron, N. (2025) ‘Updated assessment: Memo to the commissioner responsible for financial services’, First Glance, Bruegel Véron, N. and J. Kirschenbaum (2019) ‘A Major Step Toward Combating Money Laundering in Europe’, Blog Post, Bruegel Véron, N. and J. Kirschenbaum (2018) ‘A better European Union architecture to fight money laundering’, Policy Brief, Bruegel

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie talks about the rise of billionaires in the global economy and United States politics with guests David de Jong, author of the nonfiction book Nazi Billionaires, and Karel Lannoo, chief executive of the Brussels-based think tank CEPS. How are today’s billionaires shaping the US political climate, and how have things changed from the first Trump administration? What are the geopolitical consequences? How can Europe emulate US dynamism and economic growth while also resisting the conflicts of interest that arise when money and policy overlap? Will proposals currently pushed by the European Commission – like 'EU Inc' and the Capital Markets Union – shift the needle in this regard? What role does taxation play? This episode tackles some of the hard and complicated questions about money, politics and prosperity in today’s world. Related research:  Arnal, J. and Lannoo, K. (2026) ‘Do not blame Basel: the Output Floor and Europe’s banking competitiveness debate’, CEPS In-depth Analysis, CEPS  Arnal, J., Lannoo, K. and Thomadakis, A. (2024) ‘Staying ahead of the curve’, Task force report, CEPS  Christie, R. (2026) ‘The billionaire paradox’, First glance, Bruegel  de Jong, D. (2022) ‘Nazi Billionaires: The Dark History of Germany’s Wealthiest’ Dynasties’, Harper Collins   de Jong, D. (2024) ‘The Richest Man in Germany Is Worth $44 Billion. The Source of His Family Fortune? The Nazis Know’, News Story, September 12 , Vanity Fair  EU Tax Compass is a Bruegel-led project co-funded by the European Union

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks about the future of work with Bruegel’s Alexandre Mendonça and MIT professor Paul Osterman, author of a new book called Disposable Workers: the Transformation of Employment. In the United States and the European Union, companies are shifting away from long-term permanent jobs to a system with less certainty. Which industries have been most affected and how does that look for their workers? Who benefits from part-time work? Which workers are most disadvantaged? How can public policy adjust around these new dynamics? Artificial intelligence changes what skills workers need and immigration trends shape which workers are available. What conditions will help the economy grow and thrive? Related research:  Osterman, P. (2026) ' Disposable Workers: The Transformation of Employment', Upcoming, Harvard University Press    Mendonça, A. (2025) 'On Labor Markets, Inequality and Productivity', Dissertation, Stockholm School of Economics Christie, R., M. Grzegorczyk and D. Mulcahy (2022) 'Better pensions for the European Union’s self-employed', Policy Contribution 05/2022, Bruegel  

In this episode of the Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie sits down with Bruegel Director Jeromin Zettelmeyer, researcher Silvia Merler and Bank of France Deputy Governor Agnès Bénassy-Quéré to talk about common European debt and the idea of a 'safe asset'. What makes government bonds a part of public infrastructure as well as a tool for financing public goods? Why is how to borrow money for public goods treated as a separate question from how to spend it? Should the European Union sell more common debt or look at a layered system that works with national borrowers, such as the swap proposal put forward by Olivier Blanchard and Angel Ubide? Will United States Treasury bonds always be the world’s only major reference asset, or will the EU get a seat at that table? This episode discusses what a safe asset is, why it matters to Europe and what steps policymakers should take next.Related research: Lappe, M.S and J. Zettelmeyer (2026) ‘A sober look at the case for common European Union debt,’ Working Paper 20/2026, Bruegel Bénassy-Quéré, A. (2025) 'Looking for a “fair” international monetary system,' VoxEU Column, 16 April, CEPR Merler, S. (2025) 'More EU debt issuance would be the best response to Trump’s tariffs,' First Glance, Bruegel Christie, R. (2022) 'If it doesn’t trade, is it really marketable debt?,' Blog Post, Bruegel Christie, R. (2025) 'Unlocking the Own Resources Debate – Debt and Competitiveness,' Testimony, Bruegel

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan and Alicia García-Herrero are joined by Bertin Martens and Paul Triolo to take stock of the global artificial intelligence race, from energy and chips to models and applications. They discuss China's progress in catching up to the US, what the recent turmoil around Anthropic's most advanced models reveals about the politics of releasing frontier AI and why Europe, dependent on the US for both chips and models, is left exposed on all sides. They explore whether an "Airbus for AI", an initiative for pooling compute, capital and expertise across member states, could close the gap, and what it would take for Brussels' new cloud and AI industrial proposals to matter at scale.Relevant research: García-Herrero, A. and B. Martens (2026) 'Stack battles: the US-China artificial-intelligence rivalry is moving beyond chips alone', Analysis 18/2026, Bruegel García-Herrero, A. and B. Martens (2026) 'Europe needs a strategy to close the artificial intelligence compute gap', Analysis 13/2026, Bruegel 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 to receive it in your mailbox!

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie talks about the future of European Union-United Kingdom relations with Bruegel’s Heather Grabbe and Richard Corbett, a former UK Labour Party MEP and also a former advisor to a president of the European Council. Did Brexit turn out the way its supporters hoped, and what have been the economic costs? Will the UK look to rejoin the single market any time soon? The EU has a slate of prospective new members lined up for closer relations who could take priority, especially Ukraine, whose candidacy has been fast-tracked because of the ongoing war. How does Kyiv’s progress affect British prospects? Would the UK have to join the euro if it wanted to come back fully? Are other kinds of relationships possible? With global uncertainty higher than ever, the UK and the EU still have great incentive to work together.Relevant research: García Bercero, I. and H. Grabbe (2025) 'The EU-UK reset: a first, big step in the right direction', First Glance, Bruegel Grabbe, H. (2026) 'Symbolic membership for Ukraine could bring practical security benefits to the EU', First Glance, Bruegel Berg, J., R. Christie and H. Geeroms (2026) 'The UK is still not ready for real rapprochement with the European Union', First Glance, Bruegel Corbett, R. (2026) 'Institutional aspects of Ukrainian accession to the EU', Policy Brief, FEPS Corbett, R. (2026) 'Is Britain considering a return to the EU?', Comment, Encompass Corbett, R. (2026) 'Rejoining the EU Quickly is a Realistic Prospect', 26 May, International Policy Digest

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan and Alicia García-Herrero invite Philippe Le Corre to examine the growing tensions at the heart of European Union-China relations. With China reporting a record $1.2 trillion trade surplus last year, European industries face intensifying competition across a far wider range of sectors than before, from chemicals and green tech to pharmaceuticals and, most visibly, the auto industry. They explore whether the EU's new trade instruments are up to the task, why member state fragmentation may be a bigger obstacle than Beijing itself and how the risk of Chinese retaliation constrains every move Brussels makes.Relevant research: García Bercero, I., B. McWilliams and S. Tagliapietra (2026) ‘The flaws in the European Union’s proposed Industrial Accelerator Act and how to fix them’, Policy Brief 10/2026, Bruegel 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 to receive it in your mailbox!