THE KING IS NAKED: EU

 OF THE AGING, VAIDED AND AIMLESS EUROPE

THE KING IS NAKED: EU

The torrential rains, after the summer fires in much of Europe on a well-deserved vacation in July and August, and the full attention to the American elections, made us forget about the parliamentary elections in the European Union and the formation of its executive arm, the European Commission. Deep down, we are left with the charming Europe in our minds, evoked with the Olympic Games in France bringing some novelty, historical and beautiful even to emigrate there.

The summer is over, the Games are over, and in the midst of the formation of the new EU management, led again by the German Von den Lauren, who will have 40% of women on the team, with the conflict in Ukraine with no prospect of ending, a bombs report on the current state and the future of the European economy was presented by the former President of the European Central Bank, the Italian Mário Draghi.

The report simply says as in the play: the king is naked. That is, either Europe invests more than a trillion reais a year to raise its productivity and be more competitive, or it's not going anywhere. In fact, it was no longer, because, since 2000, the per capita income of Europeans has grown 50% less than that of Americans. Europe does not have technological giants, like those that changed the American economy, and its automotive industry, which was the driving force of development, is being devastated by the Chinese. And in the area of education, while in the United States universities produce science and technology, Europeans produce science, paper and little technology. While 42% of Europeans are digital illiterate, in the US, for one million inhabitants, there are 1100 who have high knowledge of mathematics. In Europe this number drops to 850. In the technological area, Europeans dominate only in the area of wind, hydrogen and water energy. The other technologies are dominated by North Americans and Asians.

It is a continent aged not only by the population, which does not renew its workforce and rejects emigrants, aged in its development model and, even with social well-being, will have to change. Already in the 70s, the Frenchman Jean Jacques Servan-Schreiber warned about the American challenge and predominance. With the bureaucratized European Union, the uncoordinated political division between the countries, the conflict with Russia and the lack of raw materials, not to mention the lack of coordination in the area of defense, Europe has to reinvent itself. And to reinvent yourself, you also have to have alliances like the agreement with Mercosur. Without arrogance, but with realism, cooperation alliances to get out of the hole where, according to Mário Draghi, he got into. He is today an important ally but who was far, very, very far behind. Change Europe.

The report is frightening and little commented by experts in Europe. He talks a lot about technology, decarbonization and energy (electricity in the EU is three times more expensive and gas, five times more than in the United States) and security, whether it's amilitary or dependence on raw materials. But it says little about agricultural dependence or migration policies. The lack of skilled labor is also linked to education and it seems that the reform called Bologna also did not produce the desired results.

The Russian invasion of Crimea did not awaken Europeans to the dependence they had on Russia in terms of energy. They were forced to reorganize in the energy area. Review all its fragility in relation to Russia in the economic and defense area. It increased its dependence on the United States, which was already great. Europe has not made technological alliances with American companies that, as in the case of Google, will now have to pay an additional fourteen billion euros in taxes, instead of being a partner of European technological development.

Europe will also have to review every supply in the changes that needs raw materials. And in this chapter Latin America enters not as a supporting actor, but as an equal partner. New agreements will have to be made, but certainly Europe depends more on LA than the opposite.

Draghi's study points out another weakness, which is the common market that does not exist and does not work. This refers us to Brazil, which is a large market and to Mercosur, which does not work.

And more, how a study like this is needed in Brazil.

Stefan Salej

Www.salejcomment.blogspot.com

Article published in the Diário do Comércio 20.9.2024.