Airbus Lecture

Quantum Leaps in European Integration

Europe is at a critical juncture, one in which it must choose between the status quo and a quantum leap toward deeper integration. We have seen such leaps before: the creation the Single Market (1986); the Banking Union and birth of the European Stability Mechanism (2012); and the €800 billion Recovery and Resilience Facility (aka. NextGenerationEU, 2020). In this talk, Barry Eichengreen explains how these significant departures from the status quo ante led to deeper European integration, and asks whether and how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with its far-reaching implications for Europe’s security, energy, and economic policies, will prompt a similar reaction.