Just now
Italy suddenly announced
On August 28, Italian Prime Minister Meloni made a harsh sentence: The EU is being squeezed to the edge by China and the United States. The figures she came up with were ruthless-the EU's global GDP accounted for 17%, a full nine percentage points less than in 2000; high-tech exports fell to 12%, while China and the United States added 55%.
She shares the same view as former European Central Bank President Draghi. Both believe that the EU appears powerless in the face of Sino-US competition and often becomes a "bystander" in international conflicts and crises.
For example, in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Ukraine, the EU, despite providing substantial assistance, has a limited role in promoting peace negotiations. What is even more embarrassing is that in the face of tariff pressure from the United States, the EU finally chose to yield, which further exposed its weak position in geopolitics.
The EU's dilemma did not arise overnight. Over the past decade, the global economy has changed dramatically. European companies that once occupied 36 of the world's top 100 companies now have only 14, and none of them ranks among the top 10, showing the loneliness of European companies in the international competition landscape. The decline in innovation capabilities is even worse. Europe accounts for only 8% of the world's top technology companies, far lower than the United States and Asia.
Although Europe has the world's top innovation clusters, such as Cambridge Science and Technology Circle and Swiss BioValley, problems such as insufficient R & D investment, serious brain drain and excessive supervision have seriously restricted the transformation of scientific research results.
The economic performance is also not optimistic. The European Union Commission has sharply reduced its economic growth forecast. According to its forecast, the real GDP growth rate of the European Union in 2025 will only reach 1.1%, and the growth trend will be sluggish. By 2026, the growth rate will only rebound to 1.5%, and the road to economic recovery is still long.
Germany, the economic engine of the European Union, even saw its per capita GDP fall to a near-decade low, with manufacturing employment down 3% and industrial production down 15%.
The situation in France is also not good. The economy contracted in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared with the previous quarter, and the government has to work hard to control high public debt and fiscal deficits.
Faced with these challenges, the European Union has struggled to form a unified force. The Franco-German axis is overwhelmed by domestic political problems: the French parliament is hanging, the far right is the largest party; the German coalition government is disintegrating and early elections are imminent. This internal chaos makes it difficult for the European Union to speak with a unified voice on the international stage, further weakening its ability to negotiate and make decisions.
But Meloni is not pessimistic. Her Italy is trying to break that trap, declaring that Italy is no longer the "sick man of Europe" but a model of stability, seriousness and credibility.
Italy's achievements in the economic and financial fields have been recognized by the market and regarded as a safe country and investment opportunity. In addition, Meloni has also launched a housing plan for young couples, promoted middle-class personal income tax reform, and important institutional reforms such as direct election of the prime minister and differentiated autonomy.
In terms of foreign policy, Meloni called on the EU to shoulder more responsibilities on defense issues and reduce its dependence on the United States. She pointed out that for decades Europe has outsourced security to the United States at the expense of inevitable political dependence.
At the same time, the European Union's attitude towards China is also quietly changing. From the original "de-risking" to today's "necessary partner", China has become an important trading partner and source of investment for Europe.
Especially against the backdrop of severe challenges in US-European relations, Europeans are paying more and more attention to China's policies, concepts and actions. German Chancellor Scholz has publicly spoken out, clearly opposing protectionism and holding a negative attitude towards the tariff war. He hoped that Europe and China would adopt a constructive attitude, properly resolve frictions in areas such as electric vehicles as soon as possible, and work together to maintain the free trade system.
Meloni's remarks may mark a new consensus emerging within the EU: the EU needs to redefine its role in the world and should not just be a bystander in Sino-US competition, but should become an active participant on the international stage.
This requires not only political will, but also substantive policy adjustments and resource allocation. Whether the European Union can escape the fate of "not being on the table" depends on whether it can truly achieve strategic autonomy and respond flexibly to international challenges while maintaining internal unity.
The EU's crossroads is not hopeless. Instead, it may be an opportunity to re-examine yourself and adjust direction. Whether it is strengthening the cultivation of internal innovation capabilities or deepening cooperation with global partners including China, the EU has the opportunity to find its own development path.
Source: Meloni: Facing China and the United States, the EU is doomed to "fail to get to the table" 2025-08-28 09:27·Observer Network
Italy suddenly announced
On August 28, Italian Prime Minister Meloni made a harsh sentence: The EU is being squeezed to the edge by China and the United States. The figures she came up with were ruthless-the EU's global GDP accounted for 17%, a full nine percentage points less than in 2000; high-tech exports fell to 12%, while China and the United States added 55%.
She shares the same view as former European Central Bank President Draghi. Both believe that the EU appears powerless in the face of Sino-US competition and often becomes a "bystander" in international conflicts and crises.
For example, in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Ukraine, the EU, despite providing substantial assistance, has a limited role in promoting peace negotiations. What is even more embarrassing is that in the face of tariff pressure from the United States, the EU finally chose to yield, which further exposed its weak position in geopolitics.
The EU's dilemma did not arise overnight. Over the past decade, the global economy has changed dramatically. European companies that once occupied 36 of the world's top 100 companies now have only 14, and none of them ranks among the top 10, showing the loneliness of European companies in the international competition landscape. The decline in innovation capabilities is even worse. Europe accounts for only 8% of the world's top technology companies, far lower than the United States and Asia.
Although Europe has the world's top innovation clusters, such as Cambridge Science and Technology Circle and Swiss BioValley, problems such as insufficient R & D investment, serious brain drain and excessive supervision have seriously restricted the transformation of scientific research results.
The economic performance is also not optimistic. The European Union Commission has sharply reduced its economic growth forecast. According to its forecast, the real GDP growth rate of the European Union in 2025 will only reach 1.1%, and the growth trend will be sluggish. By 2026, the growth rate will only rebound to 1.5%, and the road to economic recovery is still long.
Germany, the economic engine of the European Union, even saw its per capita GDP fall to a near-decade low, with manufacturing employment down 3% and industrial production down 15%.
The situation in France is also not good. The economy contracted in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared with the previous quarter, and the government has to work hard to control high public debt and fiscal deficits.
Faced with these challenges, the European Union has struggled to form a unified force. The Franco-German axis is overwhelmed by domestic political problems: the French parliament is hanging, the far right is the largest party; the German coalition government is disintegrating and early elections are imminent. This internal chaos makes it difficult for the European Union to speak with a unified voice on the international stage, further weakening its ability to negotiate and make decisions.
But Meloni is not pessimistic. Her Italy is trying to break that trap, declaring that Italy is no longer the "sick man of Europe" but a model of stability, seriousness and credibility.
Italy's achievements in the economic and financial fields have been recognized by the market and regarded as a safe country and investment opportunity. In addition, Meloni has also launched a housing plan for young couples, promoted middle-class personal income tax reform, and important institutional reforms such as direct election of the prime minister and differentiated autonomy.
In terms of foreign policy, Meloni called on the EU to shoulder more responsibilities on defense issues and reduce its dependence on the United States. She pointed out that for decades Europe has outsourced security to the United States at the expense of inevitable political dependence.
At the same time, the European Union's attitude towards China is also quietly changing. From the original "de-risking" to today's "necessary partner", China has become an important trading partner and source of investment for Europe.
Especially against the backdrop of severe challenges in US-European relations, Europeans are paying more and more attention to China's policies, concepts and actions. German Chancellor Scholz has publicly spoken out, clearly opposing protectionism and holding a negative attitude towards the tariff war. He hoped that Europe and China would adopt a constructive attitude, properly resolve frictions in areas such as electric vehicles as soon as possible, and work together to maintain the free trade system.
Meloni's remarks may mark a new consensus emerging within the EU: the EU needs to redefine its role in the world and should not just be a bystander in Sino-US competition, but should become an active participant on the international stage.
This requires not only political will, but also substantive policy adjustments and resource allocation. Whether the European Union can escape the fate of "not being on the table" depends on whether it can truly achieve strategic autonomy and respond flexibly to international challenges while maintaining internal unity.
The EU's crossroads is not hopeless. Instead, it may be an opportunity to re-examine yourself and adjust direction. Whether it is strengthening the cultivation of internal innovation capabilities or deepening cooperation with global partners including China, the EU has the opportunity to find its own development path.
Source: Meloni: Facing China and the United States, the EU is doomed to "fail to get to the table" 2025-08-28 09:27·Observer Network