"Market pressure was growing by the day" with Charles Dallara
Charles Dallara, managing director of the Institute of International Finance from 1993–2013, talks about his crisis memoir: Euroshock: How the Largest Debt Restructuring in History Helped Save Greece and Preserve the Eurozone (Rodin Books, 2024). Dallara, who co-led a small team who negotiated a €100-billion write-off of Greek debt in 2011-12, discusses how it felt to be an American "interloper", crippling European indecision, and performative politicians.
Produced by Emin Fikić at davidstudio.
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39:41
"We couldn't accept that Spain could do better than Italy" with Vincenzo Visco
Four months after taking office in May 1996, Italian prime minister Romano Prodi flew to Valencia for a bilateral summit with his Spanish counterpart José María Aznar. Germany, France and the EU's core members were getting ready to create the euro but Italy needed more time to get its economy in order. In Valencia, Prodi lobbied Aznar to join him in a second wave but met a firm veto. "The Aznar position was very tough and somehow shocking for both Prodi and (Treasury minister) Ciampi," says Vincenzo Visco, Prodi's finance minister. "During the flight back to Italy ... Ciampi convinced Prodi to try to enter in the first group". Why and how?
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.
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47:24
"He was definitely not amused" with Lex Hoogduin
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
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52:13
"Now maybe we're a bit spoiled" with Klaus Regling
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
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46:02
"We backed down and we started again" with Andrew McDowell
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
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France