- 3 minutes ago
How can Europe compete with the US and China economically? MEPs debate on The Ring
From Artificial Intelligence to rare minerals, from Trump's tariffs to China's cheap exports - in this edition MEPs Jörgen Walborn (EPP) and Lina Gálvez (S&D) talk about the global economic challenges that lie ahead and that impact all of us in Europe.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/06/17/how-can-europe-compete-with-the-us-and-china-economically-meps-debate-on-the-ring
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
From Artificial Intelligence to rare minerals, from Trump's tariffs to China's cheap exports - in this edition MEPs Jörgen Walborn (EPP) and Lina Gálvez (S&D) talk about the global economic challenges that lie ahead and that impact all of us in Europe.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/06/17/how-can-europe-compete-with-the-us-and-china-economically-meps-debate-on-the-ring
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:08Hello and welcome to The Ring, Euronews' weekly debate show, this week broadcasting
00:13from the European Parliament in Strasbourg. I'm Stefan Grobe.
00:17On The Ring, debaters go face-to-face on some of the biggest political issues facing Europe.
00:23Today, we want to talk about the global economic challenges that lie ahead and that impact
00:28all of us in Europe. Luis Albertos breaks it down for us.
00:35The EU likes to see itself as an economic superpower.
00:39A market of 450 million consumers and the largest trading bloc on the planet.
00:46Yet, growth remains sluggish. Entire industries are under pressure and businesses complain about
00:51high energy costs, excessive regulation and a lack of investment.
00:56And global competition is getting tougher and tougher. For Europe, it's quench time.
01:01From artificial intelligence and clean technology to defense production and critical raw materials,
01:06Europe is lagging behind.
01:09So can the EU reinvent its economy for a new era? Is deeper integration the answer?
01:14Or does Europe need more risk-taking?
01:17And will the framework for the peace deal to stop the Iran war bring down energy costs quickly?
01:24Well, a lot to unpack here for our contenders. And here they are.
01:30Jürgen Warbon, a Swedish MEP from the Central-Right European People's Party.
01:35He serves in the Committee on International Trade, where he's played a prominent role in shaping the European Parliament's trade
01:41policy agenda.
01:42He says,
01:43Europe will only remain a global heavyweight if we reinvent our economy by cutting the regulatory burden that holds our
01:50companies back,
01:51securing affordable and reliable energy, including nuclear power, opening new markets through more free trade,
01:57and putting competitiveness at the heart of every decision we make.
02:15If Europe wants to compete with the US or China, we need to advance in the integration of the union,
02:21she said.
02:22The answer is not to deregulate, it's to integrate.
02:25That is how Europe competes, without sacrificing the social model or the climate goals.
02:33So let me welcome to the Ring Jürgen Warbon and Lina Galvez.
02:37Great to have you here. Good to see you both.
02:40The aim of the Ring is to offer our viewers a glimpse at European Parliament debates, so you should feel
02:47right at home.
02:48Are you ready?
02:49Yes.
02:49Yes.
02:50All right.
02:50Now, I want to start with a look back.
02:53At the beginning of the century, Europe accounted for one-fourth of global GDP.
02:59Today, it's down to 15%.
03:02Now, where, when, and why did we lose ground here?
03:07Lina, I want to start with you.
03:09Well, first of all, thank you for having me here.
03:12And I think, poorly, we should start with what happened in the financial crisis and the answer we gave to
03:22that crisis.
03:22It was not the optimal one.
03:25We answer with the austerity that really slowed down our economies.
03:31And it took a while to recover.
03:33When we were recovering, it came COVID.
03:35We managed to go out from COVID better than expected, probably, with next-generation EU funds.
03:42But then, later on, came just Ukraine that affected us more than probably other of our main competitors, let's call
03:50China, U.S.
03:52And so, we are lagging behind, especially since that moment.
03:56Obviously, there are other structural issues that probably we will be discussing.
04:01But I think if you want me to say just one moment where everything, like, started, it is probably the
04:10financial crisis and the answer we gave to it.
04:12She mentioned the global financial crisis.
04:15So, it affected everybody.
04:16Yet, Europe lost 10 points in terms of global GDP.
04:20Your take.
04:22Yeah, exactly.
04:22No, I agree with Linaya.
04:24This is, the story is true.
04:26But what is more problematic is that the rest of the world continue to grow.
04:31And Europe, we didn't.
04:33Well, we still grow, but we grow much slower than the rest of the world.
04:37At the time that you mentioned, U.S. and Europe were approximately the same size in GDP.
04:43And now, the U.S. is skyrocketing.
04:45Not speaking about China and India and Indonesia and Brazil, all economies around the world is growing faster than Europe.
04:53And that's why, yes, we need to deregulate.
04:56That's why we need to invest a lot more in energy, not least nuclear.
05:01We need more financing.
05:02We need more free trade agreements.
05:04And we need to integrate the internal market.
05:07If we do that, we can come back to growth.
05:09But we let competitiveness, we drop the ball.
05:13And now we have to take the ball back.
05:15We drop the ball.
05:17Lina, for your answer, historically, Europe invented many of the stuff that changed the world,
05:25but failed to create companies on the scale of Google, Apple or Nvidia.
05:31Why is that so?
05:32Well, historically, the sectors that are leading the global economy are changing.
05:38So sometimes you are in the right place, sometimes you are not.
05:41So obviously, Europe was a leader, a global leader in technology for a long time.
05:47But we were also, we did not have the size of other of our competitors.
05:58The U.S. market obviously allows them to have a scale and a scope that we didn't.
06:04And we invented the European Union in order to be so.
06:09And we have advanced quite much on our integration, but not as needed for the current moment.
06:20So we need to finally integrate the global market, the union market.
06:26We need more Europe at the end, because that will be the only way, the only way.
06:30No single country can compete in the sectors that are leading now the economy.
06:35I'm glad you mentioned that, Jörgen, and I played the ball over to you.
06:41When companies look at Europe, do they see opportunities or do they see bureaucracy?
06:48Both, I think.
06:49There are obviously a lot of opportunities in Europe.
06:53It's a big market.
06:54It's a big market for 150 million consumers, a huge economy, strong purchasing power from the consumers.
07:03So, yes, they look at opportunities and we have them.
07:05But we need to improve.
07:07And you mentioned bureaucracy.
07:08That is one of the parts, of course.
07:10And I think what happens is a lot of the issues is the digital market.
07:14U.S. took off.
07:15We didn't to the same extent.
07:17We have to fix that.
07:18And that, of course, means changing our rules, because they have different rules in the U.S.
07:23They have different rules around the world.
07:25And we have to make sure that businesses seize more opportunities and less bureaucracy.
07:31And that means not least changing and modernizing the GDPR to make data more accessible for companies.
07:39It means changing the AI Act so more of these companies would allocate here.
07:45And then it also about financing, of course.
07:48Linda, is that?
07:49Are you agree?
07:50I agree partially because I don't think regulation is the main problem.
07:56Obviously, we need a simplify our process and everything that will be great for everyone.
08:02So that's for sure.
08:03But I think what we need is more digital sovereignty, because our debt is flowing there.
08:07And our money, our savings are flying there as well, because we don't have a united capital market.
08:16And that means our savings are investing there or are financing their innovations and their deployment, especially.
08:25Because we are good in research, we are good in innovation, but we are not good in deployment, in bringing
08:31it to market.
08:31And it's not only a question of regulation, because, for instance, the Artificial Intelligence Act was blamed even before being
08:38implemented.
08:39So we are not competitive in digital because we have the Artificial Intelligence Act.
08:43And it was not even implemented.
08:45So we really need to challenge that rhetoric that regulation is the only evil.
08:51I think more integration is what we need, and we need a unified capital market in order for what savings
08:58could also invest here.
08:59I disagree.
09:00I think, of course, the AI Act was a problem before it was implemented, because companies know that this will
09:07come.
09:08And that means less investment in Europe, more in the U.S.
09:13So we need deregulation, not least on the digital side.
09:17We need to change the GDPR so it gets easier to get access to data for companies, because this is
09:24the new oil.
09:24This is the raw material for businesses.
09:27And that's why U.S. is taking off and Europe is not.
09:31And if we change it, I'm sure we can come back.
09:34I'm sure we can compete with every part of the world.
09:37We have a lot of talents and brains and entrepreneurs that could do fantastic services that might solve a lot
09:44of the big societal issues and challenges, like the climate challenge, for example.
09:51We need artificial intelligence for that.
09:53So let's start to build in Europe.
09:56Let's get back to it.
09:57And then you have to deregulate.
09:59You have to create more energy, more nuclear.
10:02You have to make sure that we have more investments here.
10:04And why don't you want to change the rules?
10:07Why don't you want to simplify?
10:09And if you say yes, what do you want to change?
10:11No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
10:11What do you want to change?
10:13The thing is that we differentiate on simplification and deregulation, because deregulation is also protecting our business, our consumers, our
10:23economies.
10:23I think what we need is more digital sovereignty.
10:26We need also that this philosophy we are putting on the Industrial Accelerator Act will go also to the digital
10:36package as well.
10:37I know we can't be completely sovereign.
10:40We are both in international trade.
10:42I'm a just substitute in this committee.
10:44You are the coordinator for the PP there.
10:47And obviously, we are for an open Europe and an open market and everything.
10:52We are for establishing really a good relationship, this soft diplomacy on trade and research and innovation, as we are
11:00doing with Horizon Europe, with our landminder partners.
11:04But we need really to work on our sovereignty, alas, at the end of our data, because they are the
11:12first cameras.
11:13So, you can call it simplification.
11:16It's different.
11:16You can call it simplification.
11:18I don't mind.
11:19Or deregulation.
11:20Or cutting red tape or less bureaucracy.
11:22It doesn't matter.
11:23As long as we cut the costs for businesses, that's what counts.
11:27So, what cut for businesses would you like to do to facilitate for entrepreneurs in the digital sector?
11:34So, a cut for business will have a better access to finance.
11:37So, unified of the financial market.
11:41I agree.
11:41It will be to have better energy cost.
11:45I agree.
11:45So, we really need to go for renewable energies.
11:49You say nuclear.
11:50This is not, obviously, my proposal.
11:54But really to increase the green deal.
11:58And we need to build more Europe.
12:00The budget we have is ridiculous for all the things we have to do together.
12:03I think we've touched upon the right issues here.
12:07I'm very glad about that.
12:08But I need to stop here as we're just getting warmed up.
12:11It's now time for gloves off.
12:17Now, we want viewers to get a real flavor of the European Parliament where members ask each other questions.
12:24That means we want our debaters here today to challenge each other directly, just as you do in the hemicycle
12:30behind us.
12:31So, let's get started.
12:33Jörgen, I want to begin with you.
12:35Your first question to Lina.
12:38We just talked about the energy situation.
12:42And I'd like to understand this from your perspective.
12:45Because Europe, we have much higher energy prices than our competitors.
12:50And it's really important for the energy-intensive industry, for the digital sector, AI not least.
12:56In Spain, your government is phasing out nuclear, fully functioning nuclear.
13:03How could we do that and still do the change to more electrification, to more competitiveness, to less prices, lower
13:15prices for businesses, if we phase out the nuclear?
13:18Well, we are going to build more nuclear.
13:20Well, Spain is growing double than many other countries and really above the European Union average.
13:29So, something we are doing well because if we take GDP, we are growing better and faster.
13:36And we have invested a lot in renewable energies and within.
13:41And also, we are also investing in hydrogen and in new sources that we think are clean and safe.
13:49Not only clean because you could say, well, nuclear is clean, but safe.
13:54I don't think we can say it is clean.
13:57So, we are very respectful about the energy mix of each country.
14:01So, if you want nuclear, well, you have to pay for your nuclear.
14:05And it is your, I mean, it's each country responsible for the energy mix they want.
14:14What they need to do is to work on this unified market.
14:19Now, with the gas, for instance, we need to cooperate and coordinate all the countries.
14:25We got your point.
14:26Well developed.
14:27And now, your question to Jürgen.
14:28So, your group constantly call for cutting red tape on rolling back the green deal as a route to competitiveness.
14:39Yet, the Draghi-led reports and also the European Central Bank and the IMF point to fragmentation.
14:46So, I was already saying that not regulation, the biggest break on European growth.
14:52Why does the EPP keep pushing the regulation as a cure when the real bottleneck is a single market that
15:02we still haven't completed?
15:05I'm really happy for this question because it also shows the difference here.
15:09Yes, I'd like to continue to cut red tape.
15:12I'd like to cut the costs for businesses.
15:15And that is one, it's not the only one, but that is one of the most important things we need
15:20to do in Europe.
15:21And that's why we need to change.
15:23We took a lot of decision on the Green Deal last mandate.
15:28And honestly, we did some huge mistakes.
15:31I'm still very committed to the climate targets.
15:34And we have to build to neutrality by 2050.
15:38But there are different paths there.
15:41And that's why we need to continue to cut red tape.
15:45We need more investment in clean energy.
15:49Nuclear was mentioned.
15:50We need a better internal market, as you said, more investment for businesses and more free trade agreements.
15:58If we can do all those five things, I'm sure we can come back to competitiveness.
16:02And I'm sure there is a lot of business opportunities in the green sector, in the climate sector, in the
16:07clean energy sector.
16:08And that's what I think we can do if we sort out all those five things I mentioned.
16:14All right.
16:15Well, we've heard the views from our guests.
16:18Now it's time to hear from a new voice.
16:24For our quote of the week, I would like to bring in Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who has emerged
16:30as Europe's sharpest critic of Donald Trump and his war in Iran and of the global economic consequences.
16:36This week, he said this, more than 7,400 people have been killed, most of them civilians.
16:45Hundreds of homes, schools and hospitals have been destroyed.
16:49Prices have surged across the board.
16:51And the economic damage has run into the billions of euros, including in Europe.
16:57This is the toll the conflict in Iran has taken.
17:01Lina, your comments on this.
17:03Completely right.
17:04Absolutely right.
17:05And at the end, this cost increase is business paying.
17:10This cost increase.
17:11Well, we're all paying, right?
17:13And also publicly paying.
17:13No, we are not all paying.
17:15Because if you look to the Oxford Intermor report that was just published,
17:20and you see the benefits, the win for profits that the energy business are having,
17:28they are multiplying in a way that it is really amazing.
17:33And even that is going up prices even more in the U.S. than here.
17:39But you have Donald Trump saying, oh, I love inflation.
17:41It is now 4.2%.
17:44I don't know if he loves that much.
17:46But probably the people who do not love that much are EU citizens.
17:52But he is probably not speaking to them, but speaking to the powers that brought him to power.
17:57Right.
17:58So when I said, well, everybody's paying, I meant, you know, consumers, citizens in Europe.
18:03Yeah, but also public...
18:04At the pump, for instance.
18:06And now we have an agreed framework of an agreement.
18:13We don't know all the details yet, but markets have already reacted.
18:17Oil prices eased after the announcement of that framework agreement.
18:22But some experts warn that it can take much longer than we all hope for oil prices to come down.
18:29What is your take here?
18:31Do we have to be prepared for higher energy prices, at least for the rest of the year?
18:36Yes, unfortunately, I think we have to do that.
18:39I think there will be volatility in the market, and we don't know how secure this deal is and what
18:46will happen.
18:47You know, when it comes to Trump, Trump is not my favorite U.S. president of all times, I have
18:51to admit.
18:52But I think sometimes in European politics, like, the driving force has been, like, you have to be against Trump.
19:01And that's not my driving force.
19:03My driving force, what can we do to be pro-Europe instead?
19:08And if you have that as a motivation, you end up with other measures, other analysis.
19:14And, for example, of course, we just voted yesterday on the Turnberry deal, the U.S. and EU trade deal.
19:21It's not the best deal in the world, but I have been pushing for this, because that is the best
19:27for European businesses.
19:29That is what gives more predictability and more stability.
19:32And I'm really happy that, at the end, also, Socialists voted for it.
19:37It took some time.
19:38I think we could have done it faster, and that would have been better for business and for investment.
19:44We'll talk about this in a minute, but let's take a break right now here on The Ring.
19:49We'll be back with more after this.
19:52Stay with us.
20:02Welcome back to The Ring, Euronews' weekly debate show.
20:05I'm Stefan Grobe, and I'm joined by Lina Galvez from the S&D from Spain and Jörgen Wabon from the
20:11European People's Party from Sweden.
20:14Today, we're talking about Europe's economic challenges, and when we're having that conversation, we hear a lot about dependence on
20:20China.
20:21But what about dependence on the United States?
20:25And here, Europe has produced only three major AI foundation models, compared with 40 in the United States.
20:33U.S. companies account for roughly 70% of Europe's cloud infrastructure market.
20:39And the U.S. also supplied roughly 45% of EU LNG imports in 2024, making it Europe's largest liquefied
20:49natural gas supplier.
20:52Lina, what would you like to underline here?
20:56Well, I would like to underline that, indeed, we have a lot of dependency with the U.S., so why
21:02we needed a trade agreement, we needed the best trade agreement possible, not ideal.
21:10That is the reality we have, because we have too many dependencies, so we are not enough strong.
21:15So while I go back to this previous idea, it's not that we have to do things against Trump or
21:23against China, not only against Trump.
21:26We need to reinforce what we have, and for that, I think, to go for clean energy, not nuclear, and
21:34for digital sovereignty, this is very important.
21:37Advance also in defense and on innovation, and preserving, obviously, our social model.
21:43And for that, we need this soft diplomacy.
21:46But I think digital sovereignty, it is essential, and for that, we need more Europe and more budget, because with
21:53a common budget, it will be absolutely impossible.
21:55With Trump, you know, the German chancellor gave him a Germany jersey at the G7.
22:00Maybe that works.
22:02But it is quite a serious situation.
22:05Trump is pursuing his anti-European rhetoric, at least.
22:09So what should we do then?
22:12We should do three things, mainly, and that is beefing up our defense industry ourselves, and more money has to
22:19go to the defense sector in the European countries, of course.
22:23We need more free trade agreements so that we facilitate for our European businesses to do trade elsewhere, both to
22:31source, both to buy products from these countries, but, of course, also to find new markets.
22:36That's the diversity, diversification strategy.
22:39But then, maybe the most important part, of course, is to develop European businesses here.
22:45And that, if politicians can take a step back and make sure that the market functions, and that means less
22:53regulation in Europe, that means more investment possibilities to change how we can create a better capital market here.
23:01The internal market, I would say, is our strong weapon here, and energy.
23:07I mentioned energy, and we disagree on nuclear.
23:09I'm absolutely certain.
23:10In order to create some independence of other nations, we were very dependent on Russian gas.
23:17There are two problems with Russian gas.
23:19We are now dependent on U.S. gas.
23:22Exactly.
23:23So, let's build more nuclear.
23:25Let's build more renewable.
23:28And then, Lina, I'm sure you have lots of energy.
23:30To say here in your reaction.
23:32Well, I think that we agree, but we disagree because for all that, we need more Europe.
23:38We need to advance an energy market on capital markets and on digital sovereignty, preserving our social rights, our democracy,
23:48of course.
23:49But for that, we need to do some more things, at least coordinate some more things together.
23:56And for that, the common budget is essential.
24:00Yeah, I agree.
24:00Yes.
24:00Yeah, we absolutely need.
24:02Short reaction?
24:02Yeah, we need a long-term budget, of course.
24:05But, honestly, the financial resources will come from the private market.
24:11When I meet SMEs, small and medium-sized enterprises, no one asks for more money.
24:16They ask for less regulation, lower energy prices, better functioning of the internal market.
24:26That's where the focus should be.
24:27And when we use the European money, taxpayers' money, they could be used to – I mean, they are the
24:34catalyst for starting something.
24:37They are not the engine.
24:38Taxpayers' money is not the engine.
24:39But for that, we need a lot of money in the current moment.
24:42Thank you very much.
24:42Now it's time to move on to our fifth and final round.
24:49As always, we're doing something different now.
24:51Now I'm going to ask you a set of questions, and you can only answer with yes or no.
24:56All right.
24:57Lena, I start with you.
25:00Would Europe's economy be stronger today if Brussels had less power?
25:06No.
25:08No.
25:09Interesting.
25:10Should the EU suspend or scrap parts of its regulatory agenda to boost competitiveness?
25:17Yes, less bureaucracy.
25:19Less bureaucracy?
25:21Simplification, but not deregulation.
25:23Yeah.
25:23No, probably.
25:24Should Europe prioritize saving industrial jobs over climate targets?
25:31Yes.
25:32In short term, yes.
25:34I don't think there's a dilemma there.
25:37So I think we can make both go at the same time.
25:42I agree.
25:43Okay.
25:43Should Canada become a member of the European Union?
25:46Please.
25:48It's up to Canada.
25:50I don't see it in the near term, but it's up to Canada, of course.
25:54Okay.
25:55One more.
25:55Should Europe strongly regulate artificial intelligence?
25:59No, quite the opposite.
26:00Less regulation, more market, more solutions for businesses.
26:04Yes, but good regulation and with other things.
26:08Because if we only fix our attention on AI regulation, that will not work.
26:14We need also more Europe and so on and so forth.
26:17Okay.
26:17And finally, was there anything over the past half hour that your opponent said that you agree with?
26:24Many things.
26:25I mean, on this soft power and trade and diplomacy and many things.
26:32We disagree on a couple of things, but on the rest, I think we agree.
26:35Okay.
26:35Very important thing is that we disagree, but I fire off now.
26:38No, no, no.
26:39I agree.
26:41And I would like to single out one issue where I think we can make a lot of change.
26:45And that's the internal market.
26:46Let's make it truly work for European consumers, for workers and for businesses.
26:51But we need a better budget.
26:52So you really need to convince your country and your group about it.
26:56It's not the budget thing.
26:58It's reducing the barriers for services, for digital services.
27:03I believe in this entrepreneurial state idea.
27:05And now it is more needed because the U.S. is doing, even if they think they are not doing,
27:10the Industrial Reduction Act went in this direction.
27:14Don't talk about China, of course, or India.
27:16You guys can continue over coffee after the show.
27:19All right.
27:20And that final answer brings us to the end of this edition of The Ring.
27:24Thanks again to Lina Galvis and Jörg Marborn for a lively conversation here from the European Parliament.
27:30Thanks to our audience at home.
27:31If you like, you can continue the conversation by sending us your comments to thering at euronews.com.
27:38That's it for today.
27:40I'm Stefan Grobe.
27:41Take care and see you soon on Euronews.
27:49Euronews.
27:50Euronews.
27:51Euronews.
27:52Euronews.
27:53Euronews.
27:53Euronews.
27:53You
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