Finance and Economy


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18 Nov, 2024

Four think tanks have joined the EFA24 as Reporting Partners, each tasked with a single goal: to summarize and reflect on the key issues within our main thematic tracks - Climate, Democracy and the Rule of Law, Finance and Economy, and Security.

Our reporting partners - Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy (AIES) (Security Track), Bruegel - Improving economic policy (Finance & Economy Track), Europe Jacques Delors (Democracy & the Rule of Law Track) and KONTEXT Institut für Klimafragen (Climate Track) - followed the discussions closely to capture the key insights. Their observations serve as a foundation for our conversations at the European Forum Alpbach 2025.

For the Finance and Economy track, our reporting partner Bruegel has prepared a compelling report that tackles Europe’s pressing economic issues. In alignment with our annual theme “Moment of Truth”, this report calls for unified and urgent action on challenges such as inequality, AI’s impact on labour markets, financing the green transition, and fostering financial market sustainability.

Get a glimpse of the key insights:

The Evolution of Inequality

Within-country inequality has been increasing for the last two to three decades. Meanwhile, convergence between poorer and richer countries may have slowed because of conflicts or the impact of automation and technological change. Different levels of inequality within market economies show that some governments are more willing to deploy the tools to address this challenge. While still very limited, wealth taxation is often seen as a possible tool to tackle the problem.

Financing the Green Transition

Europe has a long-term strategy for the green transition and is starting to implement it. The strategy requires significant investment, which neither the public nor private sector can provide alone. The European Union needs to complete its capital markets union and increase the attractiveness of investment through better regulation.

The Future of Work: AI and Automation

Employment rates remain high, and the predictions that technological change will destroy jobs have yet to materialise. Given the rapid take-up of new technologies in recent years, Europe should focus on regulations that protect consumers and their personal rights, while protecting innovation and economic growth.

Defence

Russia poses the biggest threat to the security of democratic European countries. European defence needs greater transnational cooperation and more integration, so that European defence companies can achieve bigger scale and remain competitive globally. Unified capital markets will again be important in stimulating greater levels of short- and long-term investment.

Finance

  1. Demographic change challenges the sustainability of European pension systems and welfare states more generally. Governments must design systems that guarantee both intergenerational fairness and fiscal sustainability, while encouraging financial literacy.
  2. Digital currencies, specifically the digital euro, present new challenges and opportunities. Europe could reduce its reliance on foreign providers through the use of digital currencies. New digital payment methods may play a geopolitical role by making it easier to circumvent international financial sanctions.

Making economics useful for the modern world

Economists seek to anticipate and understand socioeconomic interactions. In the modern, data-rich world, the field has developed rigorous quantitative tools to improve fact-based policymaking. However, economists should also work collaboratively with other social scientists to offer more holistic approaches to complex problems.

Climate

Our reporting partner KONTEXT Institut für Klimafragen contributed to the Climate track, focusing on four key topics: creating visions for a sustainable future, building momentum for change, transforming industries, and establishing legal frameworks to drive progress.

Curious? Take a look at the blog post about their report!

Democracy and the Rule of Law

Our reporting partner Europe Jacques Delors participated in the “Democracy and the Rule of Law” track, analysing the key issues of EFA24: polarisation, democratic backsliding, climate policy, and the future of the EU.

Curious? Take a look at the blog post about their report!

Security

Our reporting partner, AIES - Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy, contributed to the Security Track, analysing a key issue: how Austria is struggling to reconcile its historic commitment to neutrality with its expanding responsibilities within the EU security framework.

Curious? Take a look at the blog post about their report!

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