![\"Europe\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/afp_20260318_a3rq8cq_v1_highres_belgiumeupoliticsinstitutions_1.jpg\" "\\"Europe\u2019s")
Europe\u2019s leaders must abandon their illusions and recognize what is at stake (File\/AFP) <\/p>\n\n Europe\u2019s economic emergency\n <\/p>\n
Europe\u2019s leaders must abandon their illusions and recognize what is at stake (File\/AFP) <\/p>\n
\n\tJudging by what one sees coming out of all the EU\u2019s various meetings \u2014 at the European Council, the European Commission\u2019s offices and elsewhere \u2014 the bloc\u2019s limited bandwidth is obvious. There are simply too many challenges and too many tasks. The world is a messy place and so too is the Brussels political scene.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe first challenge, then, is to agree on priorities. This should not be too difficult, because some are patently obvious. Continuing to confront Russia\u2019s territorial aggression is a clear strategic imperative, with financial support to Ukraine helping to pave the way to peace and a new round of EU enlargement. This month\u2019s election in Hungary, which ousted Prime Minister Viktor Orban after 16 years, has removed an embarrassing roadblock that was increasingly jeopardizing the EU\u2019s security.<\/p>\n
\n\tBut achieving stronger economic growth across Europe is no less urgent, given that a strong industrial and technological base is a prerequisite for security and strategic autonomy in an increasingly dangerous world. Major reports on EU competitiveness and gaps in the single market by former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, respectively, have highlighted major challenges and identified the necessary remedies.<\/p>\n
\n\tYet, beyond generating a wave of headlines when they were released, Draghi and Letta\u2019s findings have barely registered on the EU\u2019s policy agenda. Almost none of their proposals have been implemented and this lack of follow-through remains evident in the macroeconomic data. Apparently, there are just too many other things happening for EU policymakers to give the economy\u2019s competitiveness and productivity challenges the attention they require.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tThe first challenge is to agree on priorities. This should not be too difficult, because some are patently obvious<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tCarl Bildt<\/p>\n
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\n\tBut that is hardly a reassuring excuse. Europe\u2019s leaders must abandon their illusions and recognize what is at stake. In the face of subdued growth, persistent deficits and substantial government debt burdens, there is no way for EU member states to increase defense spending while also maintaining their welfare systems in the years ahead. Making matters worse, Europe\u2019s working-age population is expected to decline by about 12 percent in the next decade or so, placing an even greater burden on public finances and further limiting available resources.<\/p>\n
\n\tThose needs are great, because defense spending for most EU member states remains stuck at about 2 percent of gross domestic product. Yet, if the past 15 months have shown anything, it is that Europe can no longer afford to delay major investments in its own security and its defense-industrial base. It was only a few months ago that US President Donald Trump threatened to seize Greenland, a sovereign territory of Denmark, a NATO member state. And more recently, Trump\u2019s frustration with Europe\u2019s refusal to join his war against Iran has cast serious doubts on whether the US would come to Europe\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tThe EU must make growth and economic dynamism a top priority. Success on this front is the only way to avoid failure on numerous others<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tCarl Bildt<\/p>\n
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\n\tEuropeans must face reality. We are seeking to secure our physical safety, establish deterrence against potential aggressors (starting with Russia), decarbonize our economy and maintain consistent support for one of the oldest populations on Earth \u2014 all while confronting weak growth, high debt and demographic decline. Only through substantial reforms can our goals be achieved.<\/p>\n
\n\tFortunately, at the European Council\u2019s March meeting, European heads of state and government committed themselves to completing the single market by the end of 2027. If they are serious about implementing the reforms that this would require, Europe\u2019s fiscal and strategic situation could improve substantially.<\/p>\n
\n\tTrade within the single market, as it currently exists, supports close to 60 million European jobs and has already unlocked economic benefits equal to 8 percent to 9 percent of EU GDP. By completing the single market \u2014 namely, by creating a single market for digital connectivity, energy and investment capital \u2014 the EU could add another sorely needed 1 percent to 2 percent to GDP over the next decade. In fact, that is one of the lower estimates. According to the Draghi report, \u201cremaining trade frictions in the EU mean that Europe is leaving around 10 percent of potential GDP on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tBut for this to be possible, the EU must make growth and economic dynamism a top priority. After all, success on this front is the only way to avoid failure on numerous others.<\/p>\n
\n\tEurope is not doomed. We have the talent, the universities and the rule of law that businesses need in order to thrive. Our common currency is strong and our quality of life is superior to anywhere else in the world. But rather than allowing these strengths to lull us into complacency, we must recognize that they are all at risk. We must start meeting our single greatest challenge with the urgency it demands.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tCarl Bildt is a former prime minister and foreign minister of Sweden.
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\n\tCopyright: Project Syndicate<\/p>\n
Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News’ point of view<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Europe\u2019s economic emergency Europe\u2019s leaders must abandon their illusions and recognize what is at stake (File\/AFP) Judging…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":554104,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[84,1294,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-554103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=554103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/554104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=554103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=554103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=554103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}