Name: Workshop: Adapting public finances to the emerging spending needs
Start: 2026-02-03T09:00:00
End: 2026-02-03T17:30:00
Location: Charlemagne building

This event has ended.

The workshop was a full-day event with high-profile speakers and discussants from academia and international organisations.

The workshop was structured in three parts. The first session explored how public spending could be reprioritised and made more efficient. The second session mirrored that on the revenue side while the third session turned to the EU budget and possible initiatives at the EU.

The event closed with a policy panel discussion with leading experts.

Please find below an overview of the event sessions and the respective presentations.

public finance
Tuesday 3 February 2026, 09:00 - 17:30 (CET)
Brussels, Belgium

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3 FEBRUARY 2026

Workshop Report

Programme

3 Feb 2026, 09:00 - 09:30 (CET)
Keynote speaker
Tim Besley (LSE)
10:10 - 11:20 (CET)
Session I: What could be done on the spending side?
- Boris Cournede (OECD)Do governments re-prioritise spending? First insights from COFOG data on public spending reallocation in OECD countries
- Jean-Louis Combes (Université Clermont Auvergne) On the macroeconomic effects of fiscal reforms: fiscal rules and public expenditure efficiency
Discussant: Martin Larch (EFB) Discussion
11:30 - 12:40 (CET)
Session II: What Further Actions Can Be Taken?
- Antonio Afonso (Lisbon School of Economics and Management)A dynamic efficiency analysis for tax revenues in OECD countries
- Chiara Criscuolo (IFC, LSE) How effective are R&D tax incentives? Reconciling micro and macro evidence
Discussant: Caren Sureth-Sloane (Paderborn University) Discussion
14:20 - 15:40 (CET)
Session III: Which role for Europe?
Speech by Commissioner Dombrovskis
- Lourdes Acedo Montoya (DG BUDG) Rethinking the EU Financial Architecture
- Roel Beetsma (University of Amsterdam) Investing in European Public Goods While Maintaining Fiscal Discipline at Home
- Discussant: Eulalia Rubio (Institut Jacques Delors)
16:10 - 17:30 (CET)
Policy Panel
Moderator: Martin Sandbu (FT)
- Vitor Gaspar (IMF)
- Daniel Gros (Bocconi University): Presentation
- Debora Revoltella (EIB)
- Natacha Valla (Science Po)
17:30 - 17:45 (CET)
Closing note
Gilles Mourre (European Commission)

Workshop: Adapting public finances to the emerging spending needs

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