After the atrocities of the second world war, Europe has successfully rebuilt itself, with every generation moving closer together and adding a brick to our paneuropean project: a continent of prosperity, democracy, and the rule of law. However, this progress was not brought about by fragmented national responses, but by trade andclose cohesion. Even though this prosperity was repeatedly challenged throughout history we came out of each crisis more united, resilient, and prosperous than before, not least because of those who shape economic
policy in Brussels.

So last Friday, RBI gave Europe’s economic policy center stage with Mr. Marco Buti, one of its key shapers, as our guest of honor. Over the 35 years Marco Buti has spent in public service supporting the positive economic development of the European Union, he has found himself repeatedly at the forefront of crisis-management. Now he has condensed his experiences into his latest book ,,The Man Inside – A European Journey Through Two Crises”.

Following the presentation, Ms Birgit Niessner, Director of the Department of Economic Analysis and Research at the Austrian National Bank, and Mr Thomas Wieser, former Chairman of the Euro Working Group, both joined Mr. Buti to revisit the economic policy design and implementation in Europe over the past decade. Together, the panel concluded that European integration has been driven too much by crises in the past several years. The EU must get back into the driver’s seat!