With the escalation of the violence of war in ’, the tightening of control of the effects of climate change, scarcity of resources and global competition to achieve them, Europe faces numerous challenges.
However, the European Commission, in its latest economic forecast of the inflation rate of AB’ in 2022 %9.2’den this year %6.4’e and next year %2.8’e predicts a steady slowdown.
GDP growth in AB’ is expected to accelerate again and reach 1.6’ per cent in 2024, after falling from 3.5’ per cent in 2022’ to 0.8’e this year.
Speaking to Euronews’e at the Brussels Economic Forum’ (BEF), the European Commission's most important annual economic event, EU’'s Commissioner for Economy, Euronews’e said that these figures create a cautious feeling of optimism.
Speaking to Euronews’e Paolo Gentiloni, “Status is better than expected. Looking back a few months ago, we predicted a much worse situation where we had some concerns about energy supply, even considering possible power outages.” And there are many concerns about the possibility of stagnation and bankruptcy.”
The BEF coincided with the European Central Bank's decision to raise basic interest rates again in an effort to reduce inflation. Commissioner Gentiloni said he was not concerned about the potential impact this would have on growth.
But a recent development could also worry employment at AB’ and even trigger new legislation: It's an artificial intelligence.
Gentiloni, “, we need a set of rules. And we, as the European Union, are the masters of the rules. So I'm pretty sure we'll have good rules about artificial intelligence too, ” added.
EuropeGreen and digital transition of ’
Digitalisation, combined with the dire consequences of the climate crisis, are two of the main drivers forcing the economic transition of the European Union. For member states, this means more investment in education and training.
Spain’'s Minister of Economy and Digital Transformation Nadia Calviño, “This is probably one of the most important challenges we face going forward: How are we going to make sure that we are leading these transitions, that is, the digital and green twin transformation, that we are leading them technologically, ” explained.
“And sectors that have proven to be the most dynamic in creating jobs are linked to new technologies, information technology, science, research and health… This shows that structural transformation in the Spanish economy continues.”
Calviño, “, added that we are investing approximately €4 billion in the Next Generation EU fund to support a very ambitious digital skills program to ensure that our schools, universities and also the elderly have access to the necessary skills.
Addressing social inequalities in Europe’: Taxation and public expenditure
In the European Union, the unemployment rate in ’ is only spite being 6, a fifth of the EU's population still faces the risk of poverty or social exclusion.
The cost-of-living crisis and rising inequalities fuel social unrest and distrust of politics.
Gabriel Zucman, professor of economics at the University of California at Berkeley’, told Euronews’e that the European Union should rethink public sources of income and start taxing the rich.
Almost all social groups in “ and in each Member State pay a lot of taxes. Because we have a social model based on a significant level of taxation. This is true for almost all social groups, with one big exception that is truly rich.”
“In the context of high public debt and rising interest rates, government revenues are needed today. We should start by collecting income from population groups that pay much less taxes than the rest of us. This means that today, in 2023’te is very rich.”
This is a call shared by European unions, who argue that new sources of public income are a way to boost social justice. Another way is public spending.
Liina Carr, Confederate Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, told “ that the rules need to be changed. We think maintaining this 3% “ level of rigid deficit is in fact in no way conducive to public spending and investments because it still limits what governments can do.’
“There is also a debate that some investments in greening, such as investment in digitalization, investment in health, investment in education, should be excluded from the rules of debt and openness. Investments of the kind that really support the economy and keep economies strong.”
This discussion gained momentum on AB’, especially after the 2022 American Inflation Reduction Act’.
With a massive allocation of $369 billion (€334 billion) to promote clean technology in the U.S. ’, there is concern that Europe will be sidelined in the green transition in ’.
However, according to Jim Hagemann Snabe’, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Siemens AG, the American ’'s Inflation Reduction Act may be an opportunity for European ’'s industrial goals.
The “ Inflation Reduction Act is a catalyst for sustainable solutions for me. So it's good in that sense. Europe was the first to come up with this idea with the Green Deal, and now they are taking steps, ” explained.
I think the world is at a crossroads where we kind of have technologies, we know how to rebuild energy systems to be renewable, we know how to reinvent transportation systems, we know how to make buildings carbon neutral.
“And this is a catalyst for companies to invest more, invest faster and create the scale we need to create and deliver a more sustainable future.”
Global race for resources
But Europe’'s green and digital transformation is based on critical raw materials such as lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements that AB’ produces very little of. China's rare earth supply %He's paying for his 86’.
According to European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis’e, at a time of increasing geopolitical tensions, this reality is shaping European ’'s trade relations.
Dombrovskis, “Therefore, at AB’, we put forward the raw material strategy to increase domestic production and at the same time to provide external supplies.
“, the 2030 target for extraction and mining Getting ’ domestically within the EU. This is, uh, %It means that the 90’ still has to come from outside the EU.”
That's why partnerships with other countries will be so important. We do this through the raw material sections of our trade agreements. We develop bilateral raw material partnerships with different countries.”
UkraineThe Russian occupation of ’ is a clear reminder of the importance of reducing dependence on energy sources.
But as the climate crisis intensifies, aligning this goal with sustainable management of scarce resources will continue to be a major challenge in the coming years.
