Senior economists to give evidence to Lords Committee investigating economic and monetary union in the EU
Tomorrow, Wednesday 9 December, the House of Lords EU Committee currently holding an inquiry into economic and monetary union (EMU) will hear from experts on economics and global financial affairs. The Committee will also take evidence from a former Deputy Prime Minster of Denmark, who was vice-president of the European Commission for ten years.
The investigation is looking at the issue of strengthening EMU, within the context of the Five Presidents' Report.
At 10.05am on Wednesday the House of Lords EU Financial Affairs Sub-Committee will hear from senior economists, including Janet Henry, Chief Global Economist, HSBC; Martin Sandbu, Economist and journalist, Financial Times; and Sebastian Barnes, Economic Counsellor to the Chief Economist of the OECD.
They will be quizzed on a range of issues such as their assessment on the Five Presidents Report and their view on its impact on the UK and other non-Member States, how well the EU rules are being implemented, which facets of fiscal union are the most important, and whether a Capital Markets Union could support the completion of EMU.
In a second session, at 11.05 am, the Committee will hear from Henning Christophersen, former Deputy Prime minister and Finance Minister of Denmark and a former vice-president of the European Commission (1985–1995). He is currently a Senior Partner at consultancy Kreab.
Some of the areas that the Committee could cover with this witness will include the effects of further euro area integration on EU institutions, what can be achieved without treaty change, whether economic governance reform will be affected by the issues of individual Member States, and why financial integration and banking union seem right for Denmark but not for, say, the UK.
The evidence session will start at 10:05am on Wednesday 9 December. It will be in Committee Room 4 of the House of Lords.
