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Martin Sandbu

European Economics Commentator

Martin Sandbu is the Financial Times's European economics commentator. He also writes Free Lunch, the FT's newsletter on the global economic policy debate. He has been writing for the FT since 2009, when he joined the paper as economics leader writer.

Before joining the FT, he worked in academia and policy consulting. He is the author of three books, on business ethics, the euro, and on the economics of belonging.

Sign up to the Free Lunch newsletter here.

Email Martin Sandbu @MESandbu  on Twitter (link opens in a new browser window)
  • Thursday, 10 April, 2025
    Free LunchTrump tariffs
    Donald Trump has had his first Liz Truss moment Premium content

    Unlike the doomed former British PM, the US president is not going anywhere — so uncertainty is here to stay

    A montage of pictures of Liz Truss and Donald Trump
  • Wednesday, 9 April, 2025
    The best books of the week
    Five books to boost your understanding of tariffs and trade wars

    As tariffs escalate, FT specialists recommend titles that explain the forces and ideas shaping trade policy in recent decades, including President Trump’s trade war

    A view at dusk or early morning looking down over trucks waiting at a container terminal
  • Sunday, 6 April, 2025
    Digital currencies
    The battle for the global payments system is under way

    Some Europeans are looking to the next geoeconomic contest

    euro banknotes
  • Thursday, 3 April, 2025
    Free LunchGerman economy
    Germany’s long slog out of stagnation Premium content

    Breaking out of fiscal restraints is not by itself enough to recover the country’s economic mojo

    Shoppers walk through a bustling market in Nuremberg, Germany, lined with red and white striped stalls
  • Monday, 31 March, 2025
    The Economics Show podcast32 min listen
    Can Germany escape its economic doldrums? With Ulrike Malmendier

    The loosening of Germany’s ‘debt brake’ raises hope for faster growth

  • Thursday, 27 March, 2025
    Free LunchEuropean economy
    What’s the point of fiscal rules? Premium content

    Don’t let the budget rule tail wag the democratic dog

    The Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, is illuminated at night. The German flag flies atop the structure, and the glass dome is visible in the background.
  • Sunday, 23 March, 2025
    EU defence
    How to create a true common market for defence

    Even Eurosceptics and Britain-bashers should acknowledge the advantage of smooth weaponry supply chains

    European leaders discuss future peace in Ukraine
  • Thursday, 20 March, 2025
    Free LunchRussian assets
    Europe is about to make its biggest strategic mistake Premium content

    Control over Moscow’s blocked foreign reserves empowers the EU to shape how the Ukraine war ends

    A woman crouches on the damaged rooftop of a village school as she picks up a piece of shrapnel from a Shahed drone amid the rubble and debris from a recent bombing
  • Thursday, 20 March, 2025
    EU defence
    Poland and UK discuss defence spending as Europe moves to re-arm

    Finance minister Andrzej Domański calls for smarter funding as continent moves to bolster its military power

    Soldiers from Poland and Britain stand in front of tanks at the Warsaw Armoured Brigade in Warsaw, Poland
  • Thursday, 13 March, 2025
    Free LunchEU defence
    Europe, stronger together Premium content

    With wise policy, rearmament can for once be a source of unity rather than division

    Technicians work on assembling a Leopard battle tank at the Rheinmetall facility in Germany
  • Sunday, 9 March, 2025
    German economy
    Berlin’s about-turn can get Europe more bang for the buck

    Even Germany’s frugal friends are undergoing policy and sentiment shifts

    Leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union Friedrich Merz
  • Thursday, 6 March, 2025
    Free LunchEU defence
    Making Europe’s defence spending great again Premium content

    Where there is a will (to boost military capabilities), there is a way

    A camouflaged Leopard 1 tank is seen on a dirt path through a grassy area in Storkau, Germany.
  • Thursday, 27 February, 2025
    Free LunchWar in Ukraine
    Can Europe go it alone on Russia sanctions? Premium content

    Washington’s coercive economic diplomacy is undergoing massive change

    The facade of Russia's central bank headquarters in Moscow, framed by ornate black ironwork
  • Sunday, 23 February, 2025
    US foreign policy
    Europe should be flattered by Maga’s attacks

    A central goal of Trump’s henchmen is to defang the EU’s regulatory power for the benefit of American Big Tech

    United States Vice-President JD Vance addresses the audience during the Munich Security Conference
  • Thursday, 20 February, 2025
    Free LunchEU business regulation
    Myths of Europe’s overregulation Premium content

    Remember the good as well as the bad and the ugly

    A close-up image of a plastic bottle with a green tethered cap, which is open but remains attached to the bottle. The cap features a recycling symbol
  • Monday, 17 February, 2025
    News in-depthThe Economics Show podcast42 min listen
    The real Russian economy. With Sergei Guriev

    How long can Russia fund a war in Ukraine?

  • Thursday, 13 February, 2025
    Free LunchUS politics & policy
    Big Tech’s hinterland of ideas Premium content

    Surveying the thinking that animates America’s new oligarchs

    Elon Musk, wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ cap, speaks while standing in the Oval Office next to Donald Trump, who is seated at the Resolute Desk, smiling and listening
  • Sunday, 9 February, 2025
    EU tech regulation
    The EU needs the courage to imagine a different digital economy

    Trump’s tech oligarchs are afraid of Europe’s regulatory power — as they should be

    Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stands at the podium to deliver a speech at the Davos summit in Switzerland
  • Thursday, 6 February, 2025
    The Economics Show podcast36 min listen
    Making sense of Trump's tariffs. With Dani Rodrik

    Is there an industrial policy rationale for Trump’s tariff brinkmanship?

  • Thursday, 6 February, 2025
    Free LunchTrump tariffs
    Could the world decouple from US trade? Premium content

    Most countries are less dependent on exports to America than you might think

    Container ships are docked at the Port of Oakland in California, with cranes towering overhead.
  • Thursday, 30 January, 2025
    Free LunchUS politics & policy
    Trump’s administrative self-coup Premium content

    A constitutional crisis looms after attempt to wrest power of the purse from Congress

    Protesters stand near the White House, holding American flags and signs that read "Release federal funds, keep America safe + healthy" and "Unfreeze the federal funds now."
  • Sunday, 26 January, 2025
    Global trade
    Europe should stop panicking and seize the opportunities Trump offers

    It is time for the EU to get down to business

    US President Donald Trump in front of an EU flag
  • Thursday, 23 January, 2025
    Free LunchGlobal Economy
    The black swans of Trumponomics Premium content

    There is so much more than tariffs that can go wrong

    A black swan on a pond
  • Thursday, 16 January, 2025
    Free LunchUS economy
    Will the Democrats overcorrect on US economic policy? Premium content

    Bidenomics’ lasting legacy may depend on Republican success

    US President Joe Biden leaves the stage after his speech at the state department in Washington on Monday
  • Sunday, 12 January, 2025
    War in Ukraine
    Russia’s war economy is a house of cards

    The financial underpinnings look increasingly fragile

    Russia’s President Vladimir Putin talking on the phone
Previous page You are on page 1 Next page

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