Florence, 26 April 2012

The European University Institute and the Wharton Financial Institution Center are organizing a conference entitled “Governance for the Eurozone: Integration or Disintegration?” to be held at the EUI in Florence on Thursday, April 26, 2012. The conference will bring together leading economists, lawyers, political scientists and policy makers to discuss the current economic situation in the Eurozone with particular emphasis on the economic governance of the Eurozone.

There will be three panels, one keynote speech and one dinner speech. The first panel will consider the role of the European Central Bank, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM) in dealing with the European sovereign debt crisis. Further, it will discuss the boundary of credit/fiscal policy support for the financial system between central bank and fiscal authorities. The second panel will discuss how to reform the growth and stability pact, creating credible enforcement mechanisms. Moreover, it will deal with the mechanism and the regulation for providing liquidity to governments and financial institutions subject to a risk of sovereign debt default. The final panel will analyze whether the Eurozone is diverging into two groups and the consequence of a two tier Europe for the governance of the Eurozone. Further, it will discuss what the financial and economic crisis of the Eurozone means for emerging and developing countries.