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.

Europe is already bracing for Donald Trump’s return – and the fear is palpable. This Heritage Foundation analysis says Trump is entering 2026 not as a side act, but as the dominant force shaping Europe’s choices, whether leaders like it or not. From defense spending to Ukraine, trade and China, Europe is reacting to Trump’s shadow rather than setting its own course.

Europe’s center-right is sliding back into a familiar and damaging habit – blaming America while tightening control at home. This Heritage Foundation commentary argues that conservative parties across Europe, once natural allies of Washington, are becoming more hostile, defensive and censorious. Under pressure from populists, culture wars and digital disruption, they are copying tactics they once criticised.

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 IISS online analysis argues that resilient supply chains are no longer a technical or efficiency issue – they are the foundation of economic and national security. Pandemics, wars and export controls have exposed Europe’s vulnerabilities in global value chains, turning cost-focused systems into strategic liabilities. The debate is now about how much resilience is enough, and whether Europe can build it at the speed and scale the world’s geopolitical pressures demand.