The Sound of Economics

On 12 March 2026, China approved its 15th Five-Year Plan, setting the country's economic and strategic direction through 2030.  In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan and Alicia García-Herrero sit down with Bert Hofman for a first assessment of the plan. They discuss its key priorities — from industrial policy and export-led technology growth to social policy and redistribution — and examine what Beijing's new blueprint means for the European economy.
This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox!

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks with Klaas Knot, former governor of the Dutch central bank, and Bruegel Director Jeromin Zettelmeyer about the big issues facing the European Union economy. Will euro-area inflation rise in response to energy price shocks from the US and Israeli attacks on Iran? How quickly can monetary policy respond when trouble emerges? How is the Dutch economy doing compared to the rest of Europe? Meanwhile, the European Commission has proposed an Industrial Accelerator Act to protect EU manufacturing from the onslaught of Chinese exports – how does it stack up against the status quo? This episode features insights from two of Europe’s top economists on the major challenges of 2026 and the role of the European Central Bank in keeping the euro-area economy together.
Relavant research:

Mathieu Segers Lecture 2026 with Klaas Knot (in Dutch)

García Bercero , I, B. McWilliams, N. Poitiers and S. Tagliapietra (2026) '‘Made with Europe’ not ‘Made in Europe’ should guide EU industrial policy' First Glance, Bruegel, 10 February.

McWilliams, B., S. Tagliapietra and J. Zettelmeyer (2025) ‘Reconciling the European Union’s clean industrialisation goals with those of the Global South’, Policy Brief 18/2025, Bruegel

Steinbach, A, G Wolff and J Zettelmeyer (2025), ‘Rethinking the governance and funding of European rearmament‘, in Gensler, G, S Johnson, U Panizza and B Weder di Mauro (eds), The Economic Consequences of The Second Trump Administration: A Preliminary Assessment, CEPR Press, Paris & London.

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie is joined by Bruegel’s Elina Ribakova, Simone Tagliapietra and Guntram Wolff to talk about the US and Israeli strikes on Iran. What happens to energy prices as military action intensifies and the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted? If this conflict is a net positive for Russia, what does it mean for the ongoing fighting in Ukraine? How can Europe rally its defence industrial base? How does this complicate trade and political relations with China? Even if oil and gas prices rise only temporarily, this conflict will cause lasting shocks and force a new reckoning with the European Union’s energy dependence.
Relevant research:

Tagliapietra, S. (2026) 'How will the Iran conflict hit European energy markets?' First Glance, Bruegel, 2 March.

Ribakova, E. (2025) 'Ukraine, Europe and the new economics of war' Opinion, Financial Times

Mejino-Lopez, Juan, and Guntram B. Wolff. "Boosting the European Defence Industry in a Hostile World." Intereconomics, vol. 60, no. 1, ZBW – Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft, 2025, pp. 34-39

Hilgenstock, B. and E. Ribakova (2025) 'Why Russia’s economic model no longer delivers', Analysis, Bruegel, 16 July

Dabrowski, M. (2025) 'How resilient is Russia’s economy after four years of war?' Working Paper 32/2025, Bruegel

In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks to former EU Competition Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager -- now chair of the board at Danish Technical University -- and Ditte Brasso Sørensen, who leads Think Tank EUROPA’s Stocktaking EU project, about how Europe can reduce its dependencies without grasping for the impossible goal of full economic independence. How can the European Union make its state aid framework fit for purpose? Can Europe anchor its own AI companies, and how will the big US firms manage their European business? What is the role of clean technology and critical raw materials in securing the EU’s future? Denmark’s experience of European integration, particularly on key topics such as Greenland and the euro, shows how countries can balance sovereignty with shared purpose.
Related research:

Brasso Sørensen, D. (2026) 'STOCKTAKING EU - Taking stock of the Commission's first year', EUROPA, available at: https://thinkeuropa.dk/en/node/4391

Grabbe, H. and J. Zettelmeyer (2024) ‘Not yet Trump-proof: an evaluation of the European Commission’s emerging policy platform’, Policy Brief 03/2025, Bruegel, available at: https://www.bruegel.org/policy-brief/not-yet-trump-proof-evaluation-european-commissions-emerging-policy-platform

China’s banking sector has expanded from a fragile, state-dominated system in the 1990s into the largest in the world. But this increased scale has not brought with it a shift toward market-driven finance, with the core logic of state-directed control over credit remaining a central feature of Chinese banking. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan sits down with Alicia García-Herrero and Fraser Howie to examine how banks continue to serve state priorities, funnelling household savings into politically favoured sectors while sustaining local governments and state-owned firms.
This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox!