This was stated by Minister for Finance Edward Scicluna during a discussion on ‘The Next Financial Crises’, as part of the 8th Edition Atlantic Dialogues held in Marrakech between the 12th to 14th of December 2019.

During the panel discussion, Minister Scicluna spoke about the importance for the European Union to finalise the Banking Union and the Capital Markets Union. Once these reforms are in place, only then can the EU member states discuss other initiatives such as the deposit guarantee scheme and the insurance unemployment scheme. He stated that this is not a straightforward discussion since the economic and political landscape is changing all the time. We also have to address issues related to climate change, disruptive technology, migration and other realities which are cropping up.

Minister Scicluna stated that looking at the future, if we were to combine all the threads of all the pressures around the world, they do not bode well. However, we would not go as far as to say that the next international financial crisis is looming.

On the panel with Minister Scicluna were the lead presenter was Mr Alan Kasujja from the BBC, Professor Rym Ayadi from the CASS Business School, Dr Otaviano Canuto, Senior Fellow, Policy Centre for the New South and Dr Harinder Kohli, Founding Director and Chief Executive Emerging Markets Forum.

This annual conference convenes influential public and private sector leaders from around the Atlantic basin for open, informal discussion on cross-regional issues. The event encourages an interactive exchange of views between young professionals and today’s leaders.