Europe is being told that more sovereignty will make it freer, stronger and better for the West. This Heritage Foundation argument claims that a Europe built on national control rather than Brussels micromanagement would be more dynamic, more democratic and a better partner for the US. The promise sounds neat – less regulation, tougher borders, sharper economic policy.

Europe is trying to run before it can walk – and it’s starting to trip. This CIDOB review asks a blunt question: has the EU lost its sense of direction by chasing global influence while its own foundations remain unfinished? Brussels wants to be a climate leader, a geopolitical player and an economic heavyweight all at once. But internal reforms lag, compromises pile up and delivery keeps slipping. The result is a widening gap between what the EU says it can do and what it actually controls.

This RAND assessment argues that globalisation is no longer about free trade and open flows, but about power, leverage and control – and the EU is unprepared. Supply chains are being weaponised, markets are politicised and states now trade security for efficiency. Europe, by contrast, still behaves as if rules alone can protect it. The result is a bloc exposed to shocks it cannot shape and pressures it struggles to resist.

Europe keeps arguing about borders while quietly losing the future. This Project Syndicate argument by Nouriel Roubini says immigration is not Europe’s core problem – technological backwardness is. While the US and China pour money into AI, chips and advanced industry, Europe dithers, regulates and congratulates itself for caution. The gap is no longer theoretical. It is showing up in growth, productivity and power. Europe is not overwhelmed by outsiders – it is being outpaced by rivals.

France talks like a heavyweight but increasingly plays like a constrained middle power. This Centre for European Reform analysis lays out an uncomfortable contradiction – Paris wants global influence, strategic autonomy and leadership in Europe, yet its room for manoeuvre is tightening fast. Economic strain, industrial limits and hard geopolitical realities are cutting into France’s claims of independence.

Europe’s labour market is losing its nerve – and the cracks are starting to show. This Deutsche Welle report, drawing on expert views from the Centre for European Reform, says firms are quietly hitting the brakes on hiring as growth sags and AI creeps into everyday work. After a brief post-pandemic moment when workers held the power, the mood has flipped – fewer vacancies, weaker industry and rising anxiety about automation.

This CapX commentary delivers a stark warning for the UK and Europe at large: British leaders may sound upbeat about the post-Brexit economy and immigration stance, but beneath the rhetoric lie real social and economic vulnerabilities. Political bravado and celebratory headlines mask structural problems like stagnant productivity, labour shortages, cost-of-living pressures and a fractured migration debate.