How to finance cohesion in Europe?

Upcoming OeNB conference to look at how financial flows help bridge income gaps in the European Union

Against the background of Austria’s EU Presidency, on November 26 and 27, 2018, the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) will hold its 2018 Conference on European Economic Integration (CEEI) at the Vienna Marriott Hotel. The conference entitled “How to finance cohesion in Europe?” will investigate how financial flows can help the EU fulfill its mandate to “promote economic, social and territorial cohesion, and solidarity among Member States.” After all, real per capita income convergence is both an objective and a condition of European integration.

As in the past years, the CEEI 2018 will feature internationally acclaimed speakers who will debate the best ways to promote and fund convergence both in and among the euro area, the European Union and Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (CESEE).

In this context, speakers will also revisit the question of whether and how to curb deindustrialization in Europe and how the EU’s regional policy can better meet persistent investment needs. Furthermore, the conference will seek to identify both policies that can incentivize investors to contribute to economic and social development and institutional and structural changes that can raise countries’ capacity to absorb funds. The conference will serve as a forum for discussing and assessing the implications these and other topics may have for Europe.

On November 26 and 27, 2018, OeNB Governor Ewald Nowotny will host the CEEI 2018, welcoming central bank governors from the CESEE region as distinguished speakers, including Anita Angelovska Bezhoska (Republic of Macedonia), Mugur Isărescu (Romania) and Dimitar Radev (Bulgaria). Benoît Cœuré, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, and Jeffrey D. Sachs, Professor at Columbia University, will deliver keynote lectures.