Ignazio Visco, Governor Emeritus of the Bank of Italy, discusses Europe's role in an increasingly fragmented and uncertain world with Jörg Kukies and Vicky Pryce.


Meet our speakers and chair: 
Ignazio Visco is Governor Emeritus of the Bank of Italy. After a long career with the Bank of Italy that began in 1972, Ignazio Visco was appointed Governor in November 2011 and renewed in November 2017; his second term ended on October 31, 2023. The following November he was awarded the title of Governor Emeritus by the Board of Directors of the Bank of Italy.

As a governor Mr Visco was a member of the Governing Council and General Council of the European Central Bank, of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements and of the Boards of Governors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Asian Development Bank.

From 1997 to 2002 he was Chief Economist and Head of the Economics Department of the OECD in Paris. Mr Visco graduated from the University of Rome and obtained a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. The author of numerous articles and books on economics and finance, he also taught Econometrics and Economic Policy at “Sapienza” University of Rome.

Jörg Kukies is a German economist and politician who served as Minister of Finance in the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz from November 2024 to May 2025. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party. Kukies spent 17 years working at investment bank Goldman Sachs, where he rose to become co-chief of Germany Austria and head of the securities division in the region. From 2018 to 2021, Kukies served as State Secretary at the Ministry of Finance under minister Olaf Scholz, in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel. From 2021 to 2024, Kukies was a State Secretary in the German Chancellery; in this capacity, he also served as Chancellor Scholz's sherpa for G7 and G20 summits.

Vicky Pryce is Chief Economic Advisor at the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

Iain Begg is a professorial research fellow at the LSE European Institute.

More about this event: 
Established in 1991, the LSE European Institute (@LSEEI) is a world-leading centre for the study of Europe in its global context. With eight master’s degrees and a doctoral programme, a vibrant research community, and a world-leading public events programme, our work spans political economy, politics and policy, culture and society, and migration. Learn more about our events: https://www.lse.ac.uk/european-institute/events

OMFIF (@OMFIF) the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, is an independent forum for central banking, economic policy and public investment.

On European fragmentation and the single currency in an uncertain world

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