Day of Progressive Economic Policy 2025

The new European Commission and the incoming German government are facing unprecedented challenges:  an industry in need of a major upgrade, geopolitical and security threats, and internal threats from the far-right. These come on top of a long-standing imperative to prevent a climate disaster and tackle rampant inequality.

This year’s Day of Progressive Economic Policy focused on investments and reforms needed for European competitiveness and social justice. The main message is that Instead of playing off our social achievements against the competitiveness of the European economy, we are looking for ways of ensuring decent jobs and boosting productivity together with our partners in Europe and the world.

Speakers also stressed the need to reform the European fiscal framework to enable the needed investments in Germany and across the EU. Capital and wealth taxation were another highlight of the discussion. 

FEPS President Maria João Rodrigues spoke at an opening panel alongside Enrico Letta, President of the Jacques Delors Institute and former Italian Prime Minister and Yasmin Fahimi, Chairwomen of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB). Rodrigues also gave the concluding speech highlighting the major global shifts and the competition in the digital domain, calling for serious European action on upgrading the digital sphere.

Anna Kolesnichenko, FEPS Policy Analyst on Economy,  moderated the panel “Ready for the Next Shock? Monetary and Economic Policy in Times of Uncertainty and Transformation” with speakers Sebastian Dullien, Research Director at The Macroeconomic Policy Institute (IMK), Eliza Lis, Adviser in Prices and Costs Division in the Directorate General Economics at the European Central Bank (ECB). Jens van ’t Klooster, Assistant Professor of Political Economy at the University of Amsterdam, and Manuel von Mettenheim, Policy Analyst at the Directorate-General Energy of the European Commission. 

FEPS, in partnership with FES, DGB, IMK and Fiscal Future, organised this annual Congress, which brings together top-level policymakers and thinkers and hundreds of participants to discuss policy ideas and priorities for Germany and the EU.

For more information, see the event page on FES website.

🇩🇪FEPS President Maria João Rodrigues opens the Day of Progressive Economic Policy alongside @EnricoLetta
& @FahimiYasmin! #tpw25 @FESonline

Tune in to the live stream in German 👇https://t.co/VYurnq7pr0 https://t.co/1VlsXnStAm pic.twitter.com/PdRPhck3F3

— FEPS (@FEPS_Europe) April 9, 2025