André Sapir holds a PhD in Economics from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He is professor emeritus at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), where he was a full professor until his retirement in 2014. He is a Senior Fellow of Bruegel, the Brussels-based think tank, and a Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). He has worked for the European Commission from 1990 to 2004, first as Economic Advisor to the Director-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, and then as Economic Advisor to President Romano Prodi. In 2002-3, he chaired the High-Level Study Group appointed by President Prodi to review all EU economic policies, which produced An Agenda for a Growing Europe, often referred to as the Sapir Report. From 2005 to 2009 he was External Advisor to President José Manuel Barroso. Between 2011 and 2015 he was Member of the General Board of the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), Europe’s financial stability oversight body. In 2015-6, he was Chairman of the High-Level Expert Group on The Future of the Belgian Financial Sector established on the initiative of the Minister of Finance of Belgium. In 2020-21, he was Member of the High-Level Advisory Group on post-COVID economic and social challenges convened by the European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni. He has written extensively on European integration, international trade and globalisation, and financial stability.