The Sound of Economics

In this episode of the Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks about France’s politics and economy with Bruegel’s Jean Pisani-Ferry and Shahin Vallée, senior associate fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations. Why is France in such turmoil and who could be its next president? Where will the budget standoff lead? How does Europe adjust to waning French influence and a possible weakening of the Franco-German alliance that has long been at its economic core? As Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon lead early polling for next year’s elections, what are the possible consequences for the European Union? Will a strong candidate emerge from a more centrist party? And what will France do about its debt? Pisani-Ferry and Vallée break down what’s going on and where we could be headed, as well as the long-term outlook for European alliances across defence, industry and economic cooperation. 
Relevant research:

Mayer, F., J. Pisani-Ferry, D. Schwarzer and S. Vallée (2022) ‘Enlarging and deepening: giving substance to the European Political Community', Policy Contribution 15/2022, Bruegel

Pisani-Ferry, J. (2023) 'Why Europe’s Franco-German Engine Is Stalling', Project Syndicate

Macron's snap election gamble, Bruegel podcast with Rebecca Christie, Jean Pisani-Ferry and André Sapir, 2024

What's next for France and Europe? Bruegel podcast with Jean Pisani-Ferry, Bryn Watkins and Guntram B. Wolff, 2017

Vallée, S. (2026) 'France needs a new cross-party budget rule', L'Opinion

In this episode of the Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks with Bruegel’s Ben McWilliams and Ilaria Mazzocco about the triple challenge facing European Union automakers. Electric and autonomous vehicles require a big shift in the EU’s mindset towards cars. As diesel and other fuel prices soar, car buyers are looking for affordable transportation. On top of that, Europe must decide how to support its own industries as Chinese competition surges. What would be the best ways to preserve European jobs and expertise within the global supply chain? What is possible, given political realities? How can the EU bridge the disconnect between its desire for a strong manufacturing sector and its society’s need for affordable and accessible electric and hybrid cars?
Related research:

Bjerkan-Wade, B., I. García Bercero, A. Mathieu Collin, B. McWilliams and S. Tagliapietra (2026) 'The European Union’s automotive sector needs a plan, not undue protection', Policy Brief 19/2026, Bruegel

Cai, R. and Mazzocco, I. (2026) 'The New Carbon Order: China’s Response to Europe’s CBAM', Report, CSIS

U.S.-China Relations and the Future of America’s Energy and Automotive Sectors, Event recording, CSIS

Mazzocco, I. (2025) 'Will the United States Push Europe Toward China?', Commentary, CSIS

For roughly two decades, China's local governments used the revenue from selling land to property developers to build roads, metro lines and new urban districts, and to cover a large share of their spending. But when the property market slumped, developers began to default and land sales fell sharply, leaving localities with heavy debts and a shrinking source of revenue.
In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan and Alicia García-Herrero welcome Tianlei Huang to discuss the problem. They explore how China’s land finance model helped fund the country’s economic development and why it could not last. With no single source able to replace the vast revenue from land sales, they argue that deep structural reform will be needed to stabilise local government finances.
Relevant research:

Huang, T. (2025) 'The fiscal fallout from China’s property bust', East Asia Forum

García-Herrero, A. (2025) 'Ten challenges facing China’s economy', Analysis 25/2025, Bruegel

Huang, T. (2026) 'China's property bust is spilling across its borders', Blog post, Peterson Institute of International Economics

This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox!

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks about financing European innovation with the Jacque Delors Centre’s Marlene Schörner and Louise Tumchewics of the Royal Danish Defence College, specialist in the geoeconomics of defence and electronic warfare. Why do European companies need venture capital and public listings? Does it matter if promising companies go to US markets once they start to scale up? How can private investment finance defence and dual-use technology, and where do governments especially need to work with outside investors to develop new capabilities? What about sustainable finance – are venture capital and equity markets helping a new generation of clean technology, and does defence resilience have a role to play in ESG markets?
Related research:

Arampatzi, A., Christie, R., Evrard, J., Parisi, L., Rouveyrol, C., van Overbeek, F. (2025) 'A single market for capital: five priorities for the EU', Policy Brief No. 1161, SUERF – The European Money and Finance Forum

Merler, S. (2025) 'Can defence investment be sustainable? The European Commission thinks so', First Glance, Bruegel

Schörner, M. (2026) 'One fund to scale them all? Filling crucial financing gaps with the Scaleup Europe Fund', Policy Brief, Jacque Delors Centre

Schörner, M. (2026) 'How to revive Europe’s stock market listings: Europe should strengthen its public equity markets to finance innovation', Policy Brief, Jacque Delors Centre

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks with Bruegel’s Zsolt Darvas and Debora Revoltella about the European Union’s unprecedented, joint-debt funded Recovery and Resilience Fund, paid for with the NextGenerationEU bond sales program. As the European Commission gets ready to make the program’s final disbursements, did the project work? How much of its promised funding was actually spent? Did countries meet the conditions they agreed were necessary to get EU money? What about Italy? As the EU heads into its next seven-year budget cycle, what lessons can we learn to make the common budget more responsive to national performance? The political battle between austerity and investment will continue, and the RRF offers valuable lessons for what to do next.
Related research:

Christie, R., G. Claeys and P. Weil (2021) ‘Next Generation EU borrowing: a first assessment’, Policy Contribution 22/2021, Bruegel

Darvas, Z., R. Dom, M. Lappe, P. Saint-Amans and A. Steinbach (2025) ‘Bigger, better funded and focused on public goods: how to revamp the European Union budget’, Blueprint, Bruegel

Darvas, Z., L. Welslau and J. Zettelmeyer (2023) 'The EU Recovery and Resilience Facility falls short against performance-based funding standards', Analysis 08/2023, Bruegel

Darvas, Z and L. Welslau (2023) ‘First lessons from the Recovery and Resilience Facility for the EU economic governance framework’, Analysis, Economic Governance and EMU Scrutiny Unit

‘EIB Investment Report 2025/2026’, Report, European Investment Bank

Revoltella, D., T. Bending and A. Kolev (2022) ‘Recovery as a springboard for change’, Policy Brief No. 269, SUERF – The European Money and Finance Forum