Europe can only escape its current crisis through sustained economic growth — and that requires a fundamental shift in mindset.
Yet the prevailing attitude across the continent remains one of degrowth, paired with the belief that each country must solve its problems in isolation. What Europe truly needs is a pro‑growth orientation, backed by a unified trading bloc and far fewer divergent regulations.
The world will no longer tolerate 27 separate approaches. This reality is already driving European entrepreneurs to incorporate abroad, even when their operations remain squarely on the continent. But the issue runs deeper than EU institutions — it lies in the convictions of the population. There is broad support for cumbersome regulations, justified by abstract worries about the power of big corporations, climate change, and worker rights. As noble as these concerns may be, they will count for very little if Europe’s economic strength continues to erode year after year. It won't matter much that you only need to work 20 hours, when you can no longer afford the things you want in life.
The outcome of these tariffs should be a wake‑up call: to build a stronger union, slash unnecessary bureaucracy, and push through meaningful reforms. Yet such decisive action seems unlikely so long as people refuse to acknowledge the seriousness of our predicament: a predicament we have created ourselves through our votes. Politicians merely enact the will of the electorate; real change demands that we change our collective vision first.
https://www.ft.com/content/85d57e0e-0c6f-4392-a68c-81866e1519c3
@mitsuhiko
The article you linked illustrates the issue well: countries defending their narrow interests and their formal sovereignty at the cost of the interests of the block and of actual power on the world stage. This is simply short-sighted, no matter what the orientation to growth is. Harmonization and simplification would already achieve sustained growth, without needing "net deregulation", as in an overall loss on worker's rights, environmental protection, etc.
The issue is that the 27 won't agree on how to achieve these, even if they agree that they are important.
Regarding growth: Europe will not become libertarian (and it should not do so in my opinion).
I agree with you that the general attitude towards progress is overly conservative. I do think it is more justified than in the past, as we have achieved a lot in many respects, and have more at stake as a result. It may well be that a more powerful Europe has the effect of slowing growth globally, and that may not be a bad thing overall (I would expect any kind of decentralization of power away from the US will have that effect in the short to medium term).
