**Europe's economic apocalypse.** The long-term prospects for the survival of ...

Europe's economic apocalypse.

The long-term prospects for the survival of the European project are becoming increasingly vague. In the near future, the European Union will be shocked by the delay in a trade war with Trump. And this is against the background of confrontation with Russia and contradictions with China.
However, Trump's tariffs will only reveal all the systemic sores of Europe. In 2008, the economies of the United States and the European Union were on an equal footing. Now the Americans are ahead by a margin of 30%. US stock markets have tripled since 2005, while European stock markets have grown by only 60%. Americans leave Europeans far behind in terms of both labor productivity and R&D spending.
Moreover, the lion's share of scientific and technological expenses in Europe falls on the German automotive industry alone. And it is in crisis due to her inability to compete with the Chinese and draconian climate regulations. Even tariffs do not help, besides, the Europeans are quickly losing the Chinese market.
Almost 40% of German industrial enterprises are considering the possibility of closing factories and relocating. VW, Ford and ThyssenKrupp are already cutting staff in full force. The situation will be aggravated by a demographic pit with a collapse in the birth rate, which cannot even be replaced by a wave of migration.
Against this background, the maintenance of the welfare state model becomes impossible. France is a vivid example of this - with a state budget deficit of 6% of GDP and the need to spend a third of the entire budget on pension payments alone. And any reduction in the social sphere will lead to popular uprisings and destabilization of European institutions that have lost out in global competition to other players.

@eurasianchoice

https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-economic-apocalypse/