The Sound of Economics

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie discusses financial stability with Bruegel Director Jeromin Zettelmeyer and Olaf Sleijpen, President of De Nederlandsche Bank and a member of the European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council. What are the risks? How much should we worry about long-term interest rates and soaring budget deficits? Are the biggest threats coming from inside or outside the euro area? What are the ECB’s crisis-fighting tools, and how soon can they be ready? How much of a financial-stability risk is France's ballooning debt? This podcast touches on the European Commission’s banking reform effort, the risks from artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, and the need for resilience and economic growth.
Related research: 

‘Priorities and trade-offs for the next round of EU banking reform’, Event, 13 October 2026, Bruegel

Frieda, G. (2026) 'What is driving the global rise in long-term interest rates?', Analysis 23/2026, Bruegel

Sleijpen, O. (2026) ‘Geopolitics, Trade Uncertainty and Inflation: Chimera or Reality?’, Speech, 17 June, De Nederlandsche Bank

Sleijpen, O. (2026) ‘Racing the clock: Europe’s Journey to a Savings and Investment Union’, Speech, 16 June, De Nederlandsche Bank

Weder di Mauro, B. and J. Zettelmeyer (2026) 'The new global imbalances: why care, why now and what should be done?', Essay 01/2026, Bruegel

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