Spring Meetings: “Europe is Back!”

 

The European Union was well-represented at the 2018 International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings that were held in Washington, DC from April 19-21. The EU signed a number of cooperation agreements with the IMF, WB, and Inter-American Development Bank, putting forward several initiatives to address some of the current global economic challenges, such as proposals to ensure a fair taxation of the digital sector and the upcoming launch of a new bond to advance sustainable development goals. On top of it all, the EU also had a positive message to share: Europe is back!

 

The European economy grew much faster than expected in 2017, with a historically low public deficit (-1.2%) and a historically high employment rate (72.3%). Learn more in our Spring Meeting wrap-up piece. In the margins of these meetings, we also recorded an EU NOW podcast with Elke König, chair of the Single Resolution Mechanism, which was installed as part of the EU’s efforts to recover from the 2008 banking crisis and protect Europe from systemic shocks in the future. Listen to it here, read our corresponding Medium piece, and stay tuned for Commissioner Moscovici’s press conference on the 2018 Spring Economic Forecast (happening tomorrow at 7:00 AM EST).