“The downgrade, it is there,” notes some industry owners, while the old continent wins in terms of growth, competitiveness and innovation.
A call to a European start: to the economic meetings of Aix-en-Provence, business leaders and political leaders defend an emancipated and strong European Union against the United States and China, but loss of insufficient efforts to get it out of its “Decaling”.
“Trump is obviously something very opposing to the world, American, European economy, but it is alarm clock for us”assured the governor of the Banque de France on Friday, François Villeroy de Galhau. “We must transpose what we have succeeded in terms of monetary sovereignty, 25 years ago, with the euro, towards economic sovereignty and financial sovereignty”he insisted. To support his point, he hated a green cap carrying the message «Make Europe Great Again»nod to the red headgear often wooded by Donald Trump and wording of his slogan «Make America Great Again» (“Getting its greatness to America”).
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Fragmented industrial policy, high energy costs, bureaucratic heaviness, delay in digital technologies … The old continent wins against the United States and China in terms of growth, competitiveness and innovation. Today he faces the additional challenge of ensuring his own security due to the Washington isolationist withdrawal. “The problems experienced by Europe is not because of Trump”estimates Ilham Kadri, director general of the Belgian industrialist Syensqo pointing structural difficulties.
Industrial “Casse”
In a report, the former president of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi estimates necessary to invest 800 billion euros annually – public and private – in digital innovation, the green transition and the defense industries. But the already fragile economic health of the EU took a new shot in the spring, when the impact of US customs tax increases led to revise growth forecasts for 2025 (0.9%) and 2026 (1.4%) in the euro zone. “The downgrade, it is there”notes Jacques Aschenbroich, the president of the Orange telecommunications group.
Initiatives perceived as positive were presented by the European Commission as part of its battle plan for the competitiveness of the EU countries: reduction in the cost of energy, reduction of the administrative burden of companies, support for the decarbonation of the industry. But the need is urgent to make these efforts concretize, consider many speakers in Aix-en-Provence. Concerning “The Draghi and Letta reports (on the single market), it is not enough to make a genuflection, they must be implemented. It’s been a year now that they have been returned and not going much going ”alerts the French economist Jean Pisani-Ferry.
For example, Jacques-Philippe Gunther, partner of the law firm Latham & Watkins, denounces the complex control of business mergers by Brussels, which often lead to assets that can generate “A breakage” industrial. “Irony of history, assets are often bought by Americans or Chinese”. The OECD believes, in a study, “Indispensable to reduce the charge of regulations and to remove obstacles in the internal market”. The French Minister of Industry and Energy Marc Ferracci calls to set up a European preference in public aid and market.
Keep European savings
Another identified growth lever, the Union of Savings and Investment, struggles to set up. However, it would make it possible to mobilize private savings in favor of European companies, a windfall of more than 35,000 billion euros. “Europe will not be able to modernize if it does not keep its savings and if it does not stop sending 400 billion euros per year to the United States”argues economist Patrick Artus.
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Especially since geopolitical upheavals further weaken the finances of European countries which, faced with the war in Ukraine and the desire to quickly lead to a trade agreement with Washington, were committed to the end of June, within NATO, to invest 5% of their national wealth in favor of defense and security in 2035. “Journalists, teasing, saw in the NATO summit essentially the parade of President Trump. Me, what I have seen were European countries which, finally, have taken the measure of the threats that have formed around (them) and who decided to take charge of their security ”supports the head of French diplomacy, Jean-Noël Barrot.
