EUROPE IS not known for its dynamism, but today it looks stagnant by any standard. Frazzled by the energy shock that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the European Union’s economy has grown by only 4% this decade, compared with 8% in America; since the end of 2022, neither it nor Britain has grown at all. If that were not bad enough, Europe faces a surge of cheap imports from China which, while benefiting consumers, could harm manufacturers and increase social and industrial strife. And within a year Donald Trump could be back in the White House, slapping huge tariffs on Europe’s exports.
The timing of Europe’s misfortune is bad. The continent needs strong growth in order to help fund more defence spending, especially since American support for Ukraine has dried up, and to meet its green-energy goals. Its voters are increasingly disillusioned and liable to back hard-right parties such as the Alternative for Germany. And long-standing drags on growth—a fast-ageing population, overbearing regulators and inadequate market integration—have not gone away.