The EMU and the EBU: Time for reform

“Europe is back” is the title of a publication of the official think tank of the EU Commission (EPSC, 2018). “EU27 on solid path of growth, job creation, investments, innovation and inclusion”, “Economy Growth has returned: the crisis is now firmly in the past”, “Investment has recovered”, “EU is world’s top destination for foreign investment”, “A global trading superpower”, “Euro is world’s second largest currency”: those and more are the titles of chapters of this EPSC paper full of optimism. Quoting SWIFT2 , the document mentions that “over 36 % of global payments are concluded in euro — just short of the US dollar which stands at 39 %”3 . And the list of comparative successes for the EU/Euro area continues in the same tone. Of course, the aim of the document is to describe the global situation of the EU/ Euro area, without considering the differences which still exist among the Member States. At this regard, one could mention the level of public debt, (European Commission, 2017:19)4 the still important number of jobless people or the working poor, especially among non-educated young people, or the subsistence of non-performing loans that still weakens the situation of some banks in determined countries, despite of the realised progresses in this field. The unemployment due in a substantial part to a lack of qualified candidates for the proposed jobs requires the adaptation of the educating system to the new industrial revolution created by the increased digitalisation of the economy. The so-called heritage debts are to be eliminated because they are a permanent risk for financial stability. […]