Unknown Knowns: The Euro After 25 Years: Builder or Gravedigger of Europe?

This panel is part of a half-day programme starring Prof. Jacques Sapir, alongside the preceding panel “Russia and the West: From Interest to Misunderstanding”

A quarter-century on, the euro still stands as Europe’s boldest economic experiment - but its record is fiercely debated. Famed French economist Jacques Sapir, whose heterodox analyses are well-known in French sovereigntist circles, will elaborate on his criticisms of the single currency for the first time before an international audience at the Danube Institute.

Sapir is the author of several decisive works on the euro, including Faut-il sortir de l’euro? (Should We Leave the Euro?, 2012), L’euro contre la France, l’euro contre l’Europe (The Euro Against France, the Euro Against Europe, 2016), and L’euro est-il mort? (directed; Is the Euro Dead? 2016). 

The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion, including:

• Philip Pilkington, a macroeconomist and Visiting Research Fellow at the Danube Institute, as co-panelist
• Hugo Martin, also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Danube Institute, as moderator

Biography

Jacques Sapir is a French economist and internationally recognized specialist on Russia and economic theory. A graduate of Sciences Po Paris and later Director of Studies at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), he has devoted much of his research to the Soviet and post-Soviet economy, the dynamics of industrialization, and the challenges of economic transition. He has taught at leading institutions in France, Russia, and the United States, and is a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Widely published, Sapir has authored influential works on macroeconomic theory, globalization, monetary integration, and the future of the euro, including Les trous noirs de la science économique (2000), La fin de l’euro-libéralisme (2006), and most recently La Fin de l’Ordre Occidental? (2024). Beyond academia, he is an active public intellectual, known for his commentaries on European integration, economic sovereignty, and the BRICS, as well as his analysis of the Ukraine conflict and international sanctions.

Today, even in retirement, he continues to teach in Moscow and at the École de Guerre Économique in Paris, bringing decades of expertise at the intersection of economics, geopolitics, and global strategy.

Details

Date&Time: November 5, Wednesday, 2025, 5:30pm
On-site registration: 5:00pm
Venue: Theater, Lónyay-Hatvany Villa, 1 Csónak Street, 1015 Budapest (Entrance: Aranybástya Restaurant)
Language: English

Participation is free; however, due to limited seating, pre-registration is required by clicking the button below.