In The Room

Tim Gwynn Jones•twentyfourtwo.substack.com

The European Union behind closed doors. Tim Gwynn Jones talks to former top EU officials about the union's crisis years. twentyfourtwo.substack.com

Last refreshed: July 11th, 2025 at 12:48 AM ⓘ

Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.

Follow on

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

RSS

Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app

Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

"Market pressure was growing by the day" with Charles Dallara

Charles Dallara, managing director of the Institute of International Finance from 1993–2013, talks about his crisis memoir: Euroshock: How the Largest Debt Restructuring in History Helped Save Greece and Preserve the Eurozone (Rodin Books, 2024). Dallara, who co-led a small team who negotiated a €100-billion write-off of Greek debt in 2011-12, discusses how it felt to be an American "interloper", crippling European indecision, and performative politicians. Produced by Emin Fikić at davidstudio. ...

Mar 19, 2024•40 min•Ep. 9

"We couldn't accept that Spain could do better than Italy" with Vincenzo Visco

Four months after taking office in May 1996, Italian prime minister Romano Prodi flew to Valencia for a bilateral summit with his Spanish counterpart José María Aznar. Germany, France and the EU's core members were getting ready to create the euro but Italy needed more time to get its economy in order. In Valencia, Prodi lobbied Aznar to join him in a second wave but met a firm veto. "The Aznar position was very tough and somehow shocking for both Prodi and (Treasury minister) Ciampi," says Vinc...

Jun 18, 2023•47 min•Ep. 8

"He was definitely not amused" with Lex Hoogduin

On 1 June, the European Central Bank will celebrate its 25th birthday. After its tumultuous teenage years, it's easy to forget its first uncertain steps. In this new episode of In The Room, Lex Hoogduin looks back to his time as right-hand man to the ECB's first president - managing the behind-the-scenes politics and developing the strategy - and at how, in his view, the central bank has since strayed from its mandate. In The Room is a series of conversations with officials who played crucial ro...

May 05, 2023•52 min•Ep. 7

"Now maybe we're a bit spoiled" with Klaus Regling

As the man who built and ran Europe's financial "firewalls" (the EFSF and ESM) from 2010-2022, Klaus Regling was a central figure in the euro crisis. In this new episode of In The Room, he looks back not just on those 12 tumultuous years but on his time as the European Commission's top economic official and as an architect of Europe's monetary union. In The Room is a series of conversations with officials who played crucial roles in the recent history of the EU. Edited and produced by davidstudi...

Mar 04, 2023•46 min•Ep. 6

"We backed down and we started again" with Andrew McDowell

In 2011, a new Irish coalition took office under Enda Kenny only four months after its predecessor was forced to seek a sovereign bailout. It was left to the Kenny government to pick up the pieces after the collapse of the debt-fuelled “Celtic Tiger” and negotiate a better deal. From 2011-2016, Andrew McDowell was at Kenny’s side as his head of programme implementation and chief economic adviser – bargaining with (among others) German Chancellor Angela Merkel and two European Central Bank presid...

Feb 17, 2023•52 min•Ep. 5

"Trust was thin on the ground" with Georges Heinrich

As the right-hand man to Jean-Claude Juncker (chairman of the Eurogroup from 2005-13) and vice president of the Euro Working Group from 2011-14, Georges Heinrich found himself in the eye of the euro's financial storm in his late-30s. "Eventually, the right decisions were taken. Solidarity did prevail. Everybody chipped in,” he says. “But we had very, very long discussions on how to split the bill or whether to do a runner and leave one or two guys at the table who aren't so fit and who will then...

Jan 06, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 4

"Look into my eyes: you're gonna go bankrupt" with Thomas Wieser

Eurozone finance ministers coordinate policy through the Eurogroup and its engine room is the Euro Working Group - a committee of top treasury officials from member states and the European Commission. Elected as the EWG's first full-time president in 2009, Thomas Wieser became the one true constant through the tsunami of solvency crises that hit Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and Cyprus and threatened Italy, and the construction of the EU's financial firewalls. For the Obama Treasury, he was ...

Dec 09, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 3

"Reality took its revenge" with Ramon Fernandez

Ramon Fernandez, the director-general of the French Treasury 2009-14, reminisces on the euro crisis years – the early signals that “something was wrong” in Greece, the calamitous Deauville summit, managing two power centres in Berlin, working with Emmanuel Macron, and bargaining with the European Central Bank. Edited and produced by davidstudio. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit twentyfourtwo.substack.com Lea...

Nov 11, 2022•44 min•Ep. 2

"Putin united Europe" with Erkki Liikanen

A key member of the European Central Bank's governing council (2004–2018), European Commissioner (1995–2004), negotiator for Finland's accession to the EU (1990–1994), and Finnish finance minister (1987–1990) looks back on an extraordinary three decades and forward to Europe after Ukraine. Edited and produced by davidstudio. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit twentyfourtwo.substack.com Learn more about your ad...

Sep 24, 2022•45 min•Ep. 1

Hosted on Megaphone by Spotify

For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android