Competitiveness seems to be the talk of the town these days, with deregulation hailed as a magic recipe for putting Europe on the map of global economy players. But there are many ways to measure competitiveness and there is no universal answer to the question of how much regulation is too much. If not handled with care, debates on competitiveness and deregulation risk spiraling into oversimplified, black-and-white arguments that may threaten sound economic policymaking, writes our surprise guest Karel Lannoo, Chief Executive of the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS).

Karel Lannoo is the Chief Executive Officer of CEPS, one of Europe’s leading independent think tanks. Specialising in financial regulation, European economic governance and single market issues, his recent publications include ‘Understanding Europe’ (in Dutch), a task force report on financial sector policy for the von der Leyen II Commission, and various contributions to academic volumes and reviews. Karel is a frequent speaker at hearings of EU, national and international institutions, as well as at international conferences and executive programmes. He directs studies for national governments, multilateral organisations and private sector entities. His writings regularly appear in the media. Additionally, Karel serves on the boards of companies and foundations and as a member of advisory councils, including the Capital Markets Commission of the Dutch AFM, the capital markets supervisor.