On 20 February 2015, the Department of European Political and Administrative Studies of the College of Europe hosted the conference, " The International Effects of EMU and the Sovereign Debt Crisis".
In 1999, when the euro was introduced, many analysts predicted that it would surpass the dollar as the international reserve currency. After the outbreak of the Sovereign Debt Crisis in 2009, this prediction seemed to have vanished. Where do we stand now? What were the effects of the sovereign debt crisis on the international standing of the euro, on the relations between the euro area and international financial institutions, and on the area’s relations with its partners? Those are some of the questions that the speakers tried to answer during the conference.
Rector Jörg MONAR welcomed the speakers and the participants. Then Professor Michele CHANG (College of Europe) introduced Mr Moreno BERTOLDI (European Commission), who gave the keynote address.
In the first panel, Dandashly ASSEM (Maastricht University) shed light on the divergent positions of Central and Eastern European Countries regarding euro membership, while Lucia QUAGLIA (University of York) explained the United Kingdom’s preferences in financial regulation pre- and post-crisis. Patrick LEBLOND (University of Ottawa) then analysed potential changes in the EU’s capacity to influence international financial regulatory standards. Next Gabriel GLÖCKLER (European Central Bank) told the audience about the changing role of the International Monetary Fund in the management of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe.
In the second panel dedicated to the EU’s partners, Mattias VERMEIREN (Ghent University) analysed the effects of the rise of China on economic imbalances within the EU. Federico STEINBERG (Real Instituto Elcano) then spoke about the respective international roles of the euro and the dollar in the crisis and the potential respective evolutions in the years to come. Finally Andreas NÖLKE (Goethe University) explained the major problems the sovereign debt crisis in Europe created for large emerging markets in the world.