Europe’s economic debate has changed shape. The European Commission’s current priorities promise a new plan for sustainable prosperity and competitiveness, with more focus on easier business conditions, quality jobs, research, innovation, skills, digital technology and a resilient economy.[2]
That sounds like standard industrial policy until it is placed in context. The EU is also calling for stronger security and defence, a more coherent external action and a foreign policy designed for a more unstable world.[2] Growth is no longer being discussed as a standalone objective; it is being treated as part of Europe’s ability to survive strategic competition.
Bruegel argues that geopolitical shocks have clear economic impacts on Europe and that the answer is not passivity but strategic autonomy in key sectors.[4] That view reflects a broader realization in Brussels: competitiveness depends less on abstract reform slogans than on whether Europe can secure its critical technologies, capital flows and materials.
The problem is that Europe’s growth model was built for openness, scale and predictability. It now faces a world where supply chains can be disrupted, energy can be weaponized and market access can be used as leverage.[4][6] That is a very different environment for firms, workers and policymakers alike.
The EU’s challenge is therefore not just to grow faster, but to grow defensively without becoming inward-looking. If it gets the balance wrong, the bloc could end up paying more for resilience than it gains in productivity.
