By Niccolò Battistini and Johannes Gareis Monetary policy has an impact on our daily lives. This post explores the ripple effects of the ECB’s recent monetary policy on housing affordability, housing sales and households’ home goods consumption. Monetary policy decisions affect the economy by influencing how much people can afford, invest and consume. The housing market is an important channel for this: changes in monetary policy affect mortgage interest rates, which in turn affect housing sales. However, since buying a home...

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Stablecoins are reshaping global finance – with the US dollar at the helm. Without a strategic response, European monetary sovereignty and financial stability could erode. However, in this disruption there is also an opportunity for the euro to emerge stronger. Stablecoins are reshaping global finance – with the US dollar at the helm. Without a strategic response, European monetary sovereignty and financial stability could erode. However, in this disruption there is also an opportunity for the euro to emerge stronger....

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By Othman Bouabdallah, Ettore Dorrucci, Carolin Nerlich, Christiane Nickel and Aurelian Vlad Following the June NATO summit, Europe is confronting heightened challenges in financing its green, digital and defence transitions as new defence commitments place increased pressure on national and EU budgets. Balancing strategic priorities with debt sustainability is crucial. This blog outlines a three-pronged strategy: (i) relying on existing fiscal mechanisms; (ii) additional fiscal measures at the national level; and (iii) fostering a more cohesive and productive Europe. Europe is facing...

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The European Commission is taking action against several EU Member States that have failed to notify the Commission of measures they have adopted to transpose EU Directives into their national laws. The deadline to transpose these Directives has expired recently. The Commission is sending a letter of formal notice to these Member States, giving them two months to reply and complete the transposition of the Directives. If they fail to do so, the Commission may issue a stronger warning,...

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The Commission analysis in this report is based on statistics for 2024 received from Member States in relation to the application of the e-commerce package 1. Introduction Against a backdrop of explosive growth in e-commerce activity and a fragmented regulatory framework for the collection of VAT on e-commerce supplies, the VAT e-commerce package, which came into effect on 1 July 2021, introduced a number of VAT and customs related reforms. These reforms were designed to help navigate the challenges presented by...

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By Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, Economic Counsellor and Director of Research, IMF Growing imbalances in largest economies underscore need for concerted adjustment in domestic macroeconomic policiesGlobal current account balances widened by a sizable 0.6 percentage points of world GDP in 2024. When adjusted to account for the volatility around the pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine, the widening is a notable reversal of the narrowing since the global financial crisis and may signal a significant structural shift. Our just released 2025 External Sector...

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