ZEW policy briefs

Over the past five years, the euro area's fiscal rules have been reformed and extended. It is not clear, however, whether these changes have been effective at boosting fiscal prudence, and whether they go far…

Fighting cartels is a major priority of EU competition policy. Acting in concert with national com¬petition authorities in the EU, the European Commission (EC) has made considerable efforts to promote…

The debate about reforms of the EU budget and the system of own resources has a long history. Many reform proposals have been made. Some of them are restricted to marginal adjustments of the existing system,…

Encouraging private investment in the EU is currently a primary goal of the European Commission. However, the effectiveness of public policies to stimulate private investment – such as a European Fund for…

Within the last few decades, rising environmental concerns have forced policy-makers to act in an effort to mitigate further harm. Yet though greenhouse gas emissions and the wasteful use of natural resources…

The financial and economic crisis has drawn attention to the need for a better understanding of destabilising effects that arise in the financial sector and spill over to the real economy. In turn, weakening…