Writing on 29 January 2026, Paul Krugman, winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics declared:
"Europeans must stop repeating Washington's worst myths. Europe is not collapsing, it is not outdated, it has chosen a different balance.”
He also condemns MAGA propaganda, which is like that of Russia. For example, the ridiculous statement by the American ambassador to the European Union: “Europe is as poor as Mississippi."
The American Nobel Prize winner has done the maths: the European economy is the same size as that of the USA, $28 trillion versus $29 trillion, but with the United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland, it stands at $34 trillion, which is much more than the United States. Europe's strength lies not in spectacle but in size, structure and resilience.
Crime rates, life expectancy, health — everything speaks in Europe's favour.
As for trade, he believes, with figures to back him up, that ‘the world needs Europe more than it needs the United States’, which is isolating itself and marching towards a divorce from the world's major economies. ‘Trump doesn't hold the cards’, and the agreement between the EU and India confirms this.
This does not mean that Europe is problem free. Like other continents, it has its share of serious issues. These concern its productivity, its demographics and the lack of competitiveness of its enormous potential for innovation, but it must be said that it is constantly expanding its network across the world.
As for the military strength needed to support a more active diplomacy, Europeans already have this and would have no difficulty in exercising it jointly in the event of imminent danger.
James Stavridis, former Supreme Commander of NATO forces in Europe, declared on the first anniversary of Trump's inauguration at the White House that “the real winners of the war in Ukraine could well be the Europeans. I hope it will be with the Americans, but if necessary, they can do it alone”.
Stavridis explained that it could take five years to compensate for an American withdrawal from NATO, which he does not want to see happen, adding that Europe is already building tanks, ammunition and submarines faster than America, with aggregate budgets of more than $400 billion per year; and that eight of the twenty-five largest defence companies in the world are European.
He even suggests, as we did in 2016, that Europeans should adopt their own treaty in which they take charge of Europe's defence.
We know that Europe is attractive for its values, its way of life, its protective laws and its solidarity. We must not underestimate its real power, which is unlike any other.
No, Europe will never speak on the international stage like Putin, Xi or Trump, autocrats who borrow more from the worst outdated practices than from 21st-century modernity! Yes, Europe is a thorn in their side and disturbs them because it is strong and peaceful.
It is the duty of our leaders and citizens both to recognise this and to harness the energy needed to continually improve Europe, enabling it to exert a different, but very real power on the international stage in a more confident manner.
