Decoding the Euro Crisis: Its Past and Future
Past Event
The crisis in the Eurozone is fed by a complex and intertwined mix of economic, financial and political problems. There are a number of plausible scenarios ahead, ranging from muddling through to disaster, and it is difficult to predict which one will become reality. What we know, however, is that the path Europe follows will have powerful ramifications for the United States and the world.
On October 19, the Center on the United States and Europe (CUSE) and Economic Studies at Brookings hosted a discussion on the crisis. Panelists presented distinct views of the causes of the crisis and the scenarios for what happens next. Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Carlo Bastasin is a noted Italian columnist specializing in the nexus of government, economics and finance, especially in Europe. His forthcoming book Saving Europe (Brookings Press, 2012) provides a detailed explanation of how Europe went from global financial crisis to its current situation. Brookings Fellow Douglas Elliott is a former investment banker focusing on the financial sector around the world. Edwin Truman, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, is a former Federal Reserve System and U.S. Treasury official.
Senior Fellow and CUSE Director of Research Justin Vaïsse provided introductory remarks and moderate the discussion. After the program, panelists took audience questions.
Agenda
Introduction and Moderator
Justin Vaïsse
Former Brookings Expert
Director, Policy Planning Staff - French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
Panelists
Carlo Bastasin
Nonresident Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center on the United States and Europe
Edwin Truman
Senior Fellow
More Information
To subscribe or manage your subscriptions to our top event topic lists, please visit our event topics page.
China has a strategic dilemma. They’re frustrated by the status quo, and they’re probing for ways to change it. But taking big, bold actions would come at an extraordinary cost to them. You can’t eliminate the possibility that they would be willing to pay that cost, and so we have to be prepared for it. But if you accept the proposition that war is inevitable, and we must do everything we possibly can to prepare for it now, then you risk precipitating the very outcome that your strategy is designed to prevent.