The wise Persons group’s verdict: opportunities and challenges to restructuring the European financial architecture

Kaplan, Lennart / Benedikt Erforth
External Publications (2019)

published on ettg.eu October 10, 2019

In light of an investment gap of $2.5 trillion per year in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, development finance remains at the center of the debate on European development policy. In April the Council of the European Union established a high-level Wise Persons Group (WPG) to review the European financial architecture and present options for reform. The group presented its conclusions in a report. This blog post offers an assessment of the WPG report and the different scenarios proposed. It concludes by arguing that any serious reform of the system in place must concentrate on the very essence of sustainable development in partner countries. Next to questions of economic efficiency and debt sustainability, ecological and social concerns in partner countries need to figure high on the agenda.