On 1 June, the European Central Bank will celebrate its 25th birthday. After its tumultuous teenage years, it's easy to forget its first uncertain steps. In this new episode of In The Room, Lex Hoogduin looks back to his time as right-hand man to the ECB's first president - managing the behind-the-scenes politics and developing the strategy - and at how, in his view, the central bank has since strayed from its mandate. In The Room is a series of conversations with officials who played crucial roles in the history of the EU.Edited and produced by davidstudio. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit twentyfourtwo.substack.com

As the man who built and ran Europe's financial "firewalls" (the EFSF and ESM) from 2010-2022, Klaus Regling was a central figure in the euro crisis. In this new episode of In The Room, he looks back not just on those 12 tumultuous years but on his time as the European Commission's top economic official and as an architect of Europe's monetary union.In The Room is a series of conversations with officials who played crucial roles in the recent history of the EU.Edited and produced by davidstudio. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit twentyfourtwo.substack.com

In 2011, a new Irish coalition took office under Enda Kenny only four months after its predecessor was forced to seek a sovereign bailout. It was left to the Kenny government to pick up the pieces after the collapse of the debt-fuelled “Celtic Tiger” and negotiate a better deal. From 2011-2016, Andrew McDowell was at Kenny’s side as his head of programme implementation and chief economic adviser – bargaining with (among others) German Chancellor Angela Merkel and two European Central Bank presidents. In The Room is a series of conversations with officials who played crucial roles in the recent history of the EU. Glossary: bit.ly/3KduEUe.Edited and produced by davidstudio. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit twentyfourtwo.substack.com

As the right-hand man to Jean-Claude Juncker (chairman of the Eurogroup from 2005-13) and vice president of the Euro Working Group from 2011-14, Georges Heinrich found himself in the eye of the euro's financial storm in his late-30s. "Eventually, the right decisions were taken. Solidarity did prevail. Everybody chipped in,” he says. “But we had very, very long discussions on how to split the bill or whether to do a runner and leave one or two guys at the table who aren't so fit and who will then have to answer to the police or wash up the dishes". This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit twentyfourtwo.substack.com

Eurozone finance ministers coordinate policy through the Eurogroup and its engine room is the Euro Working Group - a committee of top treasury officials from member states and the European Commission. Elected as the EWG's first full-time president in 2009, Thomas Wieser became the one true constant through the tsunami of solvency crises that hit Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and Cyprus and threatened Italy, and the construction of the EU's financial firewalls. For the Obama Treasury, he was the answer to Henry Kissinger's famous question: "Who do I call if I want to call Europe?" Listen to his account of a truly unique European career. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit twentyfourtwo.substack.com