The Paris Agreement provides a framework for international carbon trading. Georg Zachmann and Annabelle Weisser discuss the many questions that will arise, and argue that international carbon credits can support the EU’s 2040 target if buyers’ club rules and leverage ensure real mitigation gains abroad

European banking remains fragmented, leaving billions of euros inefficiently allocated. Gyöngyi Lóránth, Anatoli Segura and Jing Zeng argue that a common deposit insurance system can encourage more risk-taking, but this should be accompanied by sufficiently strict supervision

EU banking rules are under pressure for simplification. Jesper Berg and Hans Geeroms argue that reforms should cut complexity without weakening financial safeguards

Digitalisation is reshaping how financial markets operate, says Christine Lagarde. For Europe, this is above all an opportunity to deepen integration, strengthen autonomy and anchor innovation in trusted public money across markets and payments

The central constitutional question for Europe is how sovereign democracies can govern common goods together without creating a sovereign European state. Hans Gersbach proposes reciprocal sovereignty as an answer

Europe faces unprecedented geopolitical and economic challenges, including high dependencies on external providers for energy, technology, security, and financial infrastructure. Frank Elderson argues reducing these dependencies is essential for safeguarding the European way of life