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.

This CIDOB analysis questions whether the EU has lost its sense of direction by trying to balance big external ambitions with slow internal reform. Europe talks about strategic autonomy, competitiveness and global influence, but its internal economic, regulatory and institutional weaknesses make these ambitions hard to realise. The text suggests a growing mismatch: the EU wants to shape the world, but it cannot fix the fundamentals at home. If this gap persists, Europe’s global role will weaken and its economy will stagnate.

This Bruegel working paper looks at the macroeconomic impact of ageing in the EU – and it reads like a warning sign for Europe’s future. As populations get older, growth slows, labour shortages rise, and pension spending climbs. The paper digs into how immigration policy and pension systems shape the damage.