Nicolas Véron

Bruegel Policy Brief on Global Governance

Following the work several co-authors had done for the Finnish Presidency of the European Union in September, Bruegel just published a Policy Brief on 'Global Governance: An Agenda for Europe'. In it, we argue that US leadership in global governance can no longer be taken for granted, and that this creates new responsibilities for the EU. To rise to these responsibilities, the EU needs to get its act together and improve the efficiency and legitimacy of its own internal governance mechanisms.

Download BruegelPolicyBrief_181206.pdf in case the above link is not functioning.

German Qualms about the French

The column I wrote today for La Tribune originates in several debates in which I participated in Berlin during the last few weeks. I was struck by the level of resentment of many German interlocutors vis-à-vis the French on industrial affairs. The discussions generally revolved around the three stories of Hoechst-Aventis, Siemens and Alstom, and EADS.

Download Tribune_061218_en.pdf to read it in English. Download Tribune_061218.pdf for the piece as originally published in French.

Corporate Dual Citizenship

The debate on corporate national identity rages on. My column in La Tribune, which now appears every two weeks, is today devoted to a discussion of Volkswagen recent announcement of downsizing its production in a Belgian plant.

Did VW favor Germany for non-economic reasons? Download Tribune_061204_en.pdf to know more (in English) or Download Tribune_061204.pdf (in French).

Last week I also participated in an online chat co-sponsored by Mazars, the Paris-based accounting firm, on the related issue of economic nationalism.

The Beffa Report and France's "New Industrial Policy"

Before France's government raised economic patriotism to the level of national policy in July 2005, it had promoted the notion of "New Industrial Policy", the embodiment of which was the commissioning of a report on Innovation to Jean-Louis Beffa, the CEO of Saint-Gobain, one of France's oldest companies. The resulting "Beffa Report" was published in early 2005 and I wrote an analysis for Commentaire, the Paris-based journal edited by Jean-Claude Casanova.

Download Commentaire_110.pdf to read the article (in French) as it was published in July 2005. At the time I looked forward to a response by one of the Beffa Report's authors, but unfortunately this never materialized.

It is interesting to remember this debate and the Beffa Report, now that the French government's interventionism in industrial matters has become much more visible on the world stage, even though not always with the aura of success. The idea that the scope for national industrial policies is severely restricted by the internationalization of large companies was further developed in my later Bruegel policy brief, Farewell National Champions.