Themes
Each theme is told through three lenses: the EU against the United States and China, what Europe gains and gives up, and the differences among its 27 countries.
- AI and digitalThe EU is adopting artificial intelligence faster than ever, but almost all the technology it uses is designed elsewhere.
- Trade and dependenciesFor decades the EU was the world's largest trading power. China has overtaken it, and Europe increasingly depends on others to buy and to sell.
- Productivity and growthThe EU weighs as much in the world economy as the United States, but it produces less per hour and much less per person. The question is how much of that gap is lagging behind and how much is choice.
- Freedoms, well-being and climateEurope lives longer, pollutes less and protects freedoms more than the United States or China. But those advantages are not equal across its countries, and some are eroding.
- HealthThe EU spends far less on health than the US, and people live longer. Most of it is paid with public money, but each country differs in how many doctors it has and how much patients pay themselves.
- Money and paymentsThe euro area holds more cash relative to its economy than the US and China, but uses it less and less to pay. Cards are filling the gap, largely through non-European networks. The digital euro is the EU's bet to keep public money present in electronic payments.
- Housing and the cost of livingHousing has risen less in the euro area than in the US, and so have rents. Almost seven in ten Europeans live in a home they own, but those renting at market prices bear far higher costs, and the gaps between countries in cost and space are huge.
- EnergyThe EU uses less than half as much energy per person as the US, and China has now overtaken it. Its electricity relies far less on fossil fuels, but renewables cover only a quarter of all its energy, and industry pays considerably more for power than before the 2022 crisis.