The Economic Circle urges the EU to pursue a "common and autonomous defense"
The organization chaired by Jaume Guardiola calls on Europe to rethink its relations with the US, China, and Russia and to commit to being a relevant player, not a "second-tier" one.
BarcelonaEurope must wake up, both politically and economically, as a relevant player in the world. This is the warning issued by the Círculo de Economía (Economic Circle) in the opinion piece marking its annual meeting, to be held in Barcelona between May 5 and 7. "The moment is grave, and Europe urgently needs to react," it warns. After a period of energy dependence and defense protection from the US, which have favored cheap energy and facilitated exports and international trade, we have reached a current world in which all of this has become "vulnerabilities," exacerbated by Donald Trump's rise to power in the world's leading power.
In the document, the organization asks whether Europe "wants to be a relevant and respected player, capable of defending its interests; or if it prefers to be a second-tier player that does not sit at the table of the major world powers." The Círculo titled its opinion piece "Europe, wake-up call"How to respond in times of geopolitical disruption," and recommends a "common and autonomous defense" and modifying relations with the US, although they should remain on the ground of friendship, and with China and Russia, which should view Europe as a blog. The security and defense industry, they argue, should serve to boost the European economy and, therefore, finance the welfare state and activate a powerful internal market with high purchasing power, desired by other international actors, explained the Circle's general director, Miquel Nadal. The Circle's message is addressed to politicians, but also to the business world and civil society, stated the entity's general director, Miquel Nadal.
The reformulation of European security and defense policy should be within the framework of NATO, they recommend. And more than increasing resources, security and defense objectives and the coordination and transfer of sovereignty among countries should be established, according to Nadal.
The Circle states that the Old Continent must "urgently shorten" the gap technological to maintain and improve the economic level and finance the welfare state. In the document, the entity chaired by Jaume Guardiola, who will step down after the May meeting, having completed the two-year term provided for in the statutes, recalls the warning of the former president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Mario Draghi, about Europe, according to which "the scale of its member states has never been so small."
According to the Circle's warning, it is necessary to achieve technological sovereignty, among other challenges such as the commitment to "common and autonomous defense." And all this, it warns, is occurring at a time of great political and social fragmentation and polarization that hinders "sensible debate and makes decision-making difficult."
Existential Moment
Guardiola emphasized that Europe is facing "an existential moment," accelerated by the arrival of Trump. "We don't want this to be a meeting to talk about Trump, but rather to talk about Europe," he asserted. The director general of the organization highlighted Europe's dependence on Russian gas and oil imports, the import of technologies from China and the United States, globalization, and "the American protective umbrella." Today, these pillars that have facilitated well-being in Europe have become vulnerabilities, he warned.
As advantages and assets that Europe has to face the changes it requires, the Circle highlights its "first-class" human capital, "with one of the most egalitarian social fabrics in the world and with a level of wealth and well-being that makes its internal market, which remains a very relevant part of the global GDP, the object of
The organization, which recalls its European commitment since its foundation more than half a century ago, underlines European values, which are now questioned inside and outside the European Union (EU) in a more multipolar world, and the need to continue defending "respect for human dignity within the framework of a liberal democracy."
This year's annual meeting will be held between May 5 and 7 at the Palacio de Congresos de Catalunya in Barcelona with around thirty speakers and the objective, as its title indicates, of "awakening" Europe to the global context and "the current scenario of uncertainty on an international scale." with the tariff war started.
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez; the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa; the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo; and the Minister of Economy, Alícia Romero; as well as the leader of the People's Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, will participate.