EIB in focus: Rethinking Europe's financial future with Yanis Varoufakis

EU Watchdog Radio

Corporate Europe Observatory and Counter Balance

News, Politics

5 • 1 Ratings

🗓️ 4 March 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The EU’s financial system operates in the shadows, with institutions like the European Investment Bank (EIB) wielding immense financial power, but who actually benefits?

In the latest episode of EU Watchdog Radio, we sit down with Yanis Varoufakis - former Greek Finance Minister, Member of the Greek Parliament, and relentless critic of financial elites - to dissect the EU’s economic machinery.

From the European Investment Bank’s role in fueling corporate capture to the EU’s relentless push for competitiveness at the expense of social and environmental justice, we dig into the flaws of a system designed to benefit the few.

In an exchange with Alexandra Gerasimcikova, Varoufakis unpacks the implications of Europe’s lack of political will to mobilise large scale public funds to build a green economy, prospects for Europe to compete with global actors in the field of artificial intelligence, the dangers of Europe’s growing military spending, and what bold changes are needed to shift power back to the people.

Tune in for an unfiltered conversation that exposes the reality behind EU finance.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Competitiveness means that your death is my salvation.
0:10.0	That is where the tragedy stems from. You probably You probably recognize that voice.
0:39.8	But before we get into it, I'm Keara Kasati from Counterbalance, and you're listening to
0:44.2	EU Watchdog Radio.
0:47.4	Europe is at a turning point.
0:49.2	As the far right gains ground and the regulation spreads, public finance is under pressure.
0:58.0	The use push for competitiveness is deepening inequalities, favoring corporations over communities and workers, and undermining public services.
1:03.0	At the same time, public banks like the EIB hold enormous power,
1:07.0	but instead of funding a just transition, they are backing polluters tech giants and now even
1:12.7	military spending. So what does this mean for democracy and how do we take back control of public finance?
1:18.8	In this episode, my colleague Alexandra Gerasim Chicova speaks with Giannis Varufakis, economists,
1:24.0	former Greek finance minister and political firebrand.
1:31.8	They break down what's wrong with Europe's financial systems and explore bold alternatives for a fairer economy.
1:33.4	Let's get into it.
1:38.3	In 2019, you made a proposal for a Green New Deal with the DM25 movement, which was a much needed green and
1:46.0	social investments plan that was built a lot around public investment needs.
1:50.0	In the end, we got the underfunded, private sector-oriented European Green Deal from the EU,
1:56.0	and now even this seems to be really pushed aside in favour of investments for competitiveness
2:00.0	and the clean industrial policy.
2:02.6	This track for us seems a lot away from the public interest and putting more and more corporate profits higher on the agenda.
2:11.6	So how do you assess this current clean industrial competitiveness trajectory in terms of meeting societal,
2:18.3	environmental, economic goals?
	...

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