Tomorrow, February 12, European Union leaders will gather in Belgium for a closed-door discussion on economic survival strategies in the new global reality. According to Reuters, the main theme of the summit will be the growing technological and production gap with China, as well as the instability in the stance of the United States, which has turned from a reliable partner into an unpredictable ally.
Over the past twenty years, the EU economy has always been inferior to the US economy in terms of growth rate. This problem is especially acute in the areas of innovation, digitalization and artificial intelligence, where Europe has failed to produce global champions. At the same time, the bloc faces enormous financial challenges: the need to decarbonize industry, transition to “green” energy and strengthen its defenses against a backdrop of external threats.
To find a solution, European Council President António Costa invited heads of state to the 16th-century Alden Bisen Castle. The informal “retreat” was designed to promote frank dialogue without a strict protocol framework. Among the invited experts were former Italian prime ministers Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta, whose reports last year on the competitiveness of the single market provided the basis for the current debate.
But skepticism remains in Brussels. Analysts, especially Bruegel senior researcher Reinhilde Weugelers, are concerned that the intensive brainstorming will not lead to concrete solutions but just end up with another “beautiful statement.”
