What lies behind Europe's weakness and how it can "step to the frontline"

10.09.2025, 19:14 eurointegration.com.ua

With the United States unhinged, China increasingly authoritarian, and Russia in full Dr. Evil mode, the world desperately needs a good guy to believe in.

There is only one candidate for the job: Europe.

No other country or region is free, prosperous, endowed with the right values – and large enough to be an example to the world.

But it is not enough for good guys to be good.

Read more about the strength Europe must harness in the global confrontation in the column by former Chilean Finance Minister (2006–2010) Andrés Velasco: Last but not a hero: can Europe overcome its weakness and lead the free world?

According to the author, right now, Europe looks anything but strong. It looks wimpy.

He reminds about the so-called trade deal with the US, which his London School of Economics colleague Luis Garicano called "not a deal, but a surrender." Then came the August 18 gathering of European leaders in the White House. If there is one art President Donald Trump practices to perfection, it is scene-setting.

"But there is no reason why Europe is condemned to genuflect before a rogue US president. Europe has a much larger population than the US, and the combined GDP of the European Union, the UK, and other rich non-EU countries, like Norway and Switzerland, comes close," writes the former Chilean Finance Minister.

But, according to him, Europe is not doing enough to address its security deficit.

Andrés Velasco pays attention to the fact that although Europe's defence spending is increasing, it still falls far short of US levels.

"Europe’s defense procurement is also maddeningly fragmented, with each country trying to create jobs by buying weapons locally. The result is inefficiency and delays," he points out.

He believes that the proposed European Defense Mechanism, which would include Britain and serve as a joint procurement agency, is a much better way forward, as is the idea (at least for the short run) of buying from the US the weapons Ukraine and Eastern Europe need to be safe.

All of which leads to the question of how Europe can pay for its rearmament.

The former Chilean Finance Minister thinks that a joint eurobond would bring huge benefits to Europe. Not only does it make perfect economic sense to finance the continent’s joint defense by issuing joint debt obligations.

Eurobonds would also help turn the euro into a global safe asset, and the time is ripe for that change, too.

According to Velasco, the EU is supposed to be a fully unified market for trade in all goods and services, but the truth is that many barriers remain. For every 100 euros of value added in EU countries, only 20 euros of goods flow back and forth between them. For the US, the equivalent figure is 45 out of every 100 dollars.

This costly fragmentation was a main theme of the weighty Draghi report on EU competitiveness, released in September 2024 – and now gathering dust on a shelf in Brussels.

For all of Europe’s lofty claims to enlightenment, the continent’s politics remain as petty and short-sighted as those of any local town hall.

"With Trump threatening from one side, and Putin from the other, Europeans can no longer afford their leaders’ passivity. The world’s only remaining good guy needs to step up. Democrats everywhere are waiting," the author concludes.

This article originally appeared on Project Syndicate and is republished with permission from the copyright holder.