39 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025 We also need to change course when it comes to industrial policy. One year after publishing his report on competitiveness, Mario Draghi concluded that progress has been too limited. We know what we need to do. So why aren't we doing it? We will not quickly close the gap with the US and China, especially in the digital sector and, above all, in artificial intelligence. We need genuine Europe-wide projects financed by European funds. The €800 billion European Recovery Fund of 2020 was indeed financed by money raised by the Commission on the European capital market, but those funds were made available to Member States for their own national projects, albeit focused on the European ecological and digital transition. Going about it in this fragmented way will not achieve the necessary economies of scale. In today's globalized world, size and scale are essential. The absence of a European capital markets union is also a handicap for start-ups and large companies. We must learn to act and think European, not just on our own turf. That is no longer enough. In terms of defence, hopefully a number of countries will collaborate on a fighter jet, but not all obstacles have been overcome yet. In general, the situation regarding military equipment is dire. EU countries have more than fifteen types of tanks and aircraft, while the Americans and Chinese sometimes have only one. If we spend more money on defence, we should do so in the most efficient way possible. We should spend more but also spend better. Incidentally, if we spend 3.5% of GDP on defence – as much as the US – instead of the current figure of almost 2%, we are still not in a 'war economy' at all. Public spending on social protection is ten times higher than defence spending today. The EU of the 1960s also lagged behind the US, but in the decades that followed, we caught up. An important means of achieving this was the creation of the single market. This now needs to be developed further as a matter of urgency, because the single market is not yet single enough. There are also opportunities. Trump's US is now cutting back on public funding for scientific research, which in the past was the basis for innovation and increased productivity. This is yet another example of Trumpian 'shooting oneself in the foot', as is also the case with the tariff war and the abandonment of federal policy on renewable energy and climate. Now is the time for Europe to shift into high gear. In economics, there are no acquired rights. Everything is in flux. No one is condemned to stagnation, and no one is permanently superior. At the global level, there is a general lack of trust or even a breach of trust among the three global actors. The primary reason for this loss of mutual trust is the war in Ukraine. The Europeans have broken with Russia, but China has not. The normalisation of our relationship with China depends in part on the outcome of the war. A so-called defeat for Ukraine will undoubtedly encourage Russia to wage new wars in the Baltic states and elsewhere. History, including post-war history, proves that Russia is not to be trusted. The current war is existential for the Union. The second factor contributing to global mistrust is, of course, the erratic foreign policy of the US, where unilateralism is now even stronger than it was during Trump's first term and during the eight years under President Bush Jr. In any case, the 'America first' approach is not likely to disappear any time soon, even under a possible Democratic president. We will have to learn to live with that. When asked whether the political and economic unilateralism of the US can be sustainable, the answer is obviously no. One should never overestimate one's power. Humiliating countries will eventually backfire. Consider what is happening today with India, which is now seeking rapprochement with China after being threatened and punished by American customs tariffs. Ultimately, you pay a price for the lack of friends and allies, starting with an economic price. 'Splendid isolation' does not exist. It is never splendid in the long term. The UK knew that at the time. Ultimately, you end up excluded from everything. This lack of mutual trust also prevents global actors from working together to mitigate the dangers of AI. And those dangers are real. This new technology is even more transformative than the digital technology we know today. What is true and what is not, what is real and what is manipulated, can disappear. This can potentially change our civilisation. AI can also be used for criminal and military purposes. The EU regulates through the AI Act, which is unique, but innovation and companies are located elsewhere as well, in China and the US, outside of the regulatory purview of the EU. WHAT SHOULD EUROPEAN COUNTRIES DO IN THIS NEW WORLD, AND WHAT SHOULD THEY NOT DO? Leadership is needed in Europe. Traditionally, this has been the Franco-German engine and initiatives from the European Commission, preferably even together, as was the case during the presidency of Jacques Delors in the 1980s and 1990s. We do not need wild leadership like in the US, but leadership with vision and focused on the general European interest. A number of larger European countries are struggling with internal political problems, even with minority governments. Europe cannot be strong if those Member States are weak. No progress is possible without strong leadership. We must go our own way. We have a unique way of life in which freedom and equal opportunities are central values. The time when we wanted to impose this model on others is over. Now, other continents believe that obedience is the greatest virtue. Colonialism has changed sides. Russia wants to conquer and colonise new territory and America has set its sights on Greenland and Panama. Europe no longer wants to dominate world politics. Why should we, anyway? Two world wars have made us choose a different model. Here in Europe, the love of values has not disappeared. We are by no means perfect, but when I compare us to many others, we are moving in the right direction! We are not Turning fear and anxiety into hope and positive action — continued from page 16 Continued on page 48
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