Walking the Highwire: Rebalancing the European Economy in Crisis - Paperback

by Olli Rehn (Author)

Walking the Highwire tells the story of the Eurozone Crisis from the perspective of the former Vice-President of the European Commission who was responsible for Economic and Monetary Affairs in 2010-2014. It is a comprehensive European account that covers both events and decisions in Brussels and Frankfurt and in the member states, both in distressed countries and creditor states. It also provides an economic-political analysis of the crisis and its management, recognising that the Euro was created politically, and saved politically.

Thoroughly researched and based on economic analysis of the time, reports on various meetings and the author's own speaking notes and diary, this book begins with a narrative of crisis management 2009-2012, before moving on to address the beginning of the recovery from 2013-2014. It concludes with the lessons learnt from the crisis and a programme for reform of the Eurozone in the 2020s, with contemporary policy relevance.

This is an entertaining and engaging account which will be of interest to a wide audience: scholars and students, practitioners and commentators of the Eurozone.

Author Biography

Olli Rehn is former European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro (2010-2014). He was the European Commissioner for Enlargement from 2004 to 2010, in charge of the accession process of prospective new member states to the European Union (EU) and stabilisation in the Western Balkans. He served as Minister of Economic Affairs (2015-2016) and is a former Member of European and Finnish Parliaments. Since July 2018, he is the Governor of the Bank of Finland. He holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford in international political economy.

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