Fragmented power: Europe and the global economy

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Fragmented power: Europe and the global economy

Publishing date: 01 September 2007
Authors: André Sapir

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The European Union is the world‘s largest economic entity, with half a billion people and a gross domestic product slightly larger than the United States. It is the largest exporter, the largest foreign aid donor, the largest source of foreign investment, and a magnet for migrants. But its decision-making powers are often fragmented and ineffective.

To date there has been no comprehensive study of European international economic relations. This book fills that gap. It examines the main areas of Europe‘s foreign economic policy: trade, development, external competition policy, external financial markets, external monetary policy, migration and external energy/environment policy.

This book explains why it is time for the EU to wake up to its global responsibilities, and why, in the absence of reform of its governance system, Europe risks remaining a fragmented power.

The contributors to the volume are Alan Ahearne, Marco Becht, Olivier Bertrand, Arne Bigsten, Herbert Brücker, Beno?Æt Coeuré, Luis Correia Da Silva, Barry Eichengreen, Simon J. Evenett, Marc Ivaldi, Jean Pisani-Ferry, André Sapir, Coby van der Linde and Jakob von Weizsäcker.

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About the authors

André Sapir

André Sapir, a Belgian citizen, is a Senior fellow at Bruegel. He is also University Professor at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and Research fellow of the London-based Centre for Economic Policy Research.

Between 1990 and 2004, he worked for the European Commission, first as Economic Advisor to the Director-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, and then as Principal Economic Advisor to President Prodi, also heading his Economic Advisory Group. In 2004, he published 'An Agenda for a Growing Europe', a report to the president of the Commission by a group of independent experts that is known as the Sapir report. After leaving the Commission, he first served as External Member of President Barroso’s Economic Advisory Group and then as Member of the General Board (and Chair of the Advisory Scientific Committee) of the European Systemic Risk Board based at the European Central Bank in Frankfurt.

André has written extensively on European integration, international trade and globalisation. He holds a PhD in economics from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he worked under the supervision of Béla Balassa. He was elected Member of the Academia Europaea and of the Royal Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts.