The Sound of Economics

The Sound of Economics

The Sound of Economics brings you insights, debates, and research-based discussions on economic policy in Europe and beyond. The podcast is produced by Bruegel, an independent and non-doctrinal think tank based in Brussels. It seeks to contribute to European and global economic policy-making through open, fact-based, and policy-relevant research, analysis, and debate.

Episodes

October 8, 2025 47 mins
In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie speaks about migration trends in the Western Balkans with Bruegel’s Nina Vujanovic and Nina Ruer, as well as Professor Herbert Brücker from Berlin’s Humboldt University in Germany, Since 2015, workers have been heading to Germany from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo, aided by a regulation specific to that region. How have th...
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In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Bruegel’s Rebecca Christie, Zsolt Darvas and Jacob Funk Kirkegaard discuss the European Commission’s budget plan and the battle for the next multiannual financial framework. Will the budget be enough to cover the EU’s needs? What is an “own resource” and how do the member states contribute? Can the EU overhaul the way it supports agriculture, and does it make sense to merge support fo...
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September 25, 2025 27 mins
In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan sits down with Alicia García-Herrero and Ben McWilliams to explore China’s quest for energy self-sufficiency and especially its attempt to become an “electrostate”. Can a country transform its vast energy needs into a strategic advantage; and what does it mean for the world if that country is China? And where does Europe stand in this race?

Relevant research
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    September 17, 2025 44 mins
    In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie talks with Niclas Poitiers and Damien Levie, head of the FDI screening unit in the European Commission's Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security. They discuss how the EU aims to reduce risks, track projects and coordinate national procedures related to non-EU investments in companies and critical infrastructure. How can the EU protect itself when inve...
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    In this episode of The Sound of Economics, we discuss the State of the Union address that Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, delivered on 10 September 2025. 

    Bruegel's Rebecca Christie, Simone Tagliapietra, Reinhilde Veugelers and Jeromin Zettelmeyer discuss whether the EU is ready to meet the moment. How can Europe boost its economic and geopolitical independence? What steps are most needed t...
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    September 4, 2025 45 mins
    In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Rebecca Christie discusses central bank independence and credibility with Francesco Papadia and Lucrezia Reichlin, Bruegel fellows and former top officials at the European Central Bank. As the Federal Reserve comes under increasing political pressure in the U.S., understanding what central banks do and why they are needed is more important than ever. Traditional monetary policy, digit...
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    August 27, 2025 55 mins
    In this episode of The Sound of Economics, we explore where Europe fits into a world of geopolitical uncertainty and whether it can rise to the challenge. Host Rebecca Christie is joined by Jeromin Zettelmeyer, Bruegel's Director, and Jason Furman, the Aetna Professor of the Practice of Economic Policy at Harvard University and former top economic adviser under President Barack Obama. 

    They argue that the EU needs to ...
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    August 20, 2025 42 mins
    In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie is joined by ECB Senior Economist Christoph Kaufmann and Bruegel’s Stavros Zenios to unpack how disaster risk, political instability and investor behaviour collide in euro-area bond markets. They explore why investment funds respond differently to fiscal and political shocks, compared to other investor groups, and what are the consequences for both periphery and ...
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    In this episode of The Sound of Economics, we explore the shifting strategies of European companies operating in China, as unveiled in a new Bruegel paper co-authored by Alicia García-Herrero, Théo Storella, and Jianwei Xu. Host Yuyun Zhan speaks with Alicia and Théo about the findings, which are based on panel survey data from the European Chamber of Commerce in China.

    The discussion dives into the four typologies of...
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    In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie is joined by Simon O’Connor, head of the secretariat for the Ukraine Donor Platform, along with Tyson Barker (Atlantic Council) and Bruegel’s Elina Ribakova.

    The guests discuss the challenges of financing reconstruction while the war is ongoing, the role of the defence industrial base, and Ukraine’s growing strategic importance to European defence. They ...
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    In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie discusses how insurance funds invest in the global economy with Patrick Hoedjes, Head of Policy and Supervisory Convergence Department of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), and Bruegel’s Jesper Berg, Marie-Sophie Lappe and David Pinkus. Where is the money going? What role does European policy play? How can we make sure citizens un...
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    In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie is joined by Bruegel’s Director Jeromin Zettelmeyer and Affiliate Fellow Ben McWilliams to discuss new research on climate action and international cooperation. They present their chapter in the Paris Report 3, exploring the decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries, the design of the Clean Industrial Deal, and relatively high energy costs. They discuss how ...
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    July 2, 2025 38 mins
    In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie discusses how common financial-services supervision could jumpstart the EU single market with Bruegel’s Nicolas Véron and Enrico Letta, former Italian prime minister and author of the EU’s flagship single-market report. They talk about ways to boost the European Securities and Markets Authority, the current regulator, and move away from national silos by putting ...
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    Critical technologies including artificial intelligence, semiconductors and quantum computing are gaining increasing attention due to their strategic importance and indispensable role in national security. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan invites Alicia García-Herrero and Claudio Feijóo to look into how the world’s three leading global economies, China, the US and the EU, are advancing in these cutting-edg...
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    June 18, 2025 48 mins
    In this episode of the Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie talks about the proposed digital euro with ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone and Bruegel Senior Fellow Pablo Hernández de Cos. Why does the EU need a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)? How much should citizens be able to hold? How will it affect financial stability and the banking system? They discuss the state of play and why the case for the digital...
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    In this episode of the Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie discusses global development with Bruegel director Jeromin Zettelmeyer and Alfonso García Mora, vice president for Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank Group’s arm for mobilizing private finance. They discuss what tools are available, what needs can be addressed, and how that fits into today’s geopolitic...
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    How Europe’s defence sector can align to climate goals without compromising security needs

    In this episode of the Sound of Economics, we look at the present and future efforts of the defence sector to integrate climate sustainability. Host Rebecca Christie is joined by Bruegel's Simone Tagliapietra and Kädi Ristkok, Executive Director of Cleantech for Baltics. Together, they explore the challenges and practical steps ...
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    May 26, 2025 32 mins
    In this episode of The Sound of Economics, we look at what came out of the May 19 EU-UK summit. Host Rebecca Christie speaks with Bruegel’s Ignacio García Bercero and Heather Grabbe about the shift in post-Brexit ties between the two trading partners, what needs to be negotiated next, and how this relates to contentious transatlantic trade relations. U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of big tariffs against the EU contrasts ...
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    In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan sits down with Bruegel’s own Alicia García-Herrero and Plamen Tonchev, Head of Asia Unit at the Athens- based Institute of International Economic Relations (IIER), to dive into China's economic presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, a region that we have not covered much before in terms of its relations with China. The conversation delves into the geostrategic importance of...
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    In this episode of the Sound of Economics, we look at how Europe can attract and keep top-tier scientific researchers, especially given US political turmoil and the Trump administration’s conflicts with higher education. Host Rebecca Christie speaks with Bruegel’s Reinhilde Veugelers and Mario Mariniello, joined by Daniel Gros of the Institute for European Policymaking at Bocconi University, to discuss how the academic world i...
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