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Event Review: COVID-19: From Lockdown to Recovery

Tuesday, 27.10.2020

10:00 – 17:30

10th Annual Intereconomics / CEPS Conference

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. Ill-prepared and reluctant to halt economic activities, EU member states were slow to react to contain the spread of the virus. Although necessary, the lockdown measures came with a heavy price. The global coronavirus pandemic has had devastating economic, social and global health consequences, leaving hundreds of thousands dead, millions unemployed and countless others suffering from the various side effects. Governments around the world went into crisis mode, closing borders, enforcing lockdowns and shuttering economic activity.

As the timeline for the pandemic remains fluid and uncertain, many questions remain: How much longer can the economy stand the partial shutdown? What policy measures are needed to put the EU on a road to recovery? How will the crisis impact the youth? The need for economic and financial assistance for EU member states with limited fiscal space is urgent. The response to the economic damage this crisis has inflicted on the Union must be joint and swift – the future of the EU depends on it.

Studies and conclusions of the conference speakers are published in Intereconomics No. 6 of 2020.

In cooperation with

The global coronavirus pandemic has had devastating economic, social and global health consequences, leaving hundreds of thousands dead, millions unemployed and countless others suffering from the various side effects. Governments around the world went into crisis mode, closing borders, enforcing lockdowns and shuttering economic activity. As the timeline for the pandemic remains fluid and uncertain, many questions remain: How much longer can the economy stand the partial shutdown? What policy measures are needed to put the EU on a road to recovery? How will the crisis impact the youth? The response to the economic damage this crisis has inflicted on the Union must be joint and swift – the future of the EU depends on it.

Program

Keynote speech: Economic recovery in the age of COVID-19

  • Robert Skidelsky
    Emeritus Professor of Political Economy, University of Warwick

Session I: The economic response to COVID-19 in the EU

  • Paolo Gentiloni
    Commissioner for the Economy
  • Natacha Valla
    Dean of the Sciences Po School of Management and Innovation
  • Jörg Kukies,
    State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Germany
  • Moderator
    Cinzia Alcidi
    Director ad Interim, CEPS

Session II: Recovery as an opportunity for revision: Preventing a lost generation

  • Debora Revoltella
    Director of the Economics Department, European Investment Bank
  • Sue Maguire
    Honorary Professor, University of Bath
  • Robert Pollin
    Co-Director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Matilda Gettins
    Fridays for Future Munich
  • Moderator
    Ekaterina Sprenger
    Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Intereconomics

Session III: Post-COVID: A return to normal?

  • Barry Eichengreen
    Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley
  • Daniel Gros
    Director, CEPS
  • Moderator
    Jiffer Bourguignon
    Editor, Intereconomics