Closer economic integration has de facto strengthened democratic engagement. But this does not mean that we should not strive to strengthen democratic participation in Europe further. Democratic engagement already takes place through the Council of Ministers – where citizens are represented by elected ministers – and the European Parliament – where citizens elect their MEPs directly.
I hope that you would extend to us your continued support for our future Conferences. Theme of this year's conference This year, we discuss how to design incentive mechanisms for economic policy makers. Institutions and the incentive mechanisms they engender collectively influence economic performance. Some institutions create incentives to induce efficient behavior, and others do not.