Energy Bars, Water, Medication – The EU Commission hopes citizens will have a 72-hour survival kit at home. why? Because it is suitable for potential crises such as natural disasters, industrial accidents, cyber and military attacks.
However, this is only on the individual level. Political, Europe is now taking steps to become more independent and arm themselves in all respects. Is it working?
Members of the European Parliament from Croatia, France’s Sandro Gozi (Updated) and Sweden’s Evin Insil (S&D) discussed this in this edition from the Strasbourg EP, the EP of this week’s talk show.
Germany’s next prime minister, Friedrich Merz, said honestly on election night. He said his “absolute priority” was to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible “to be truly independent from the United States.”
The Trump administration’s openly hostile attitude suddenly accelerated the debate on strategic autonomy – an idea that France’s Emmanuel Macron had since 2017. It’s no wonder Meltz and Macron are already close friends.
From chip production to critical medicines, from securing supply chains to arming the military – Europe stands on its own feet in the face of Russian attacks, Chinese claims and American protectionism.
The continent considers it to be the only torchbearer of liberal democracy. A survivor of some sort. And Brussels has already asked its citizens to prepare their survival kits – because of a crisis that may or may not come.
One of the focuses of the strategy is to create inventory of critical products, especially pharmaceuticals. This should also be part of the emergency kit. Does Europe have the supply chain needed?
Large German spending on armament and infrastructure, as well as Brussels’ plans to mobilize more than 800 billion euros, will only become clear over time. But does this change the perception of Europe’s global role and the role it should play forever?
Second topic: Trading. The global economy is struggling to match Donald Trump’s latest volleys on tariffs. And it’s likely that businesses and consumers are making bills in some way everywhere.
The European Central Bank once again warned of serious economic impacts. Goldman Sachs has upgraded the risk of a recession in the US to 35%, and stock markets around the world are experiencing a series of bad trading.
That’s why everything is in danger. Inflation is rising, consumption shows signs of weakness, and consumer sentiment is declining. This is all a result of Trump’s tariff policy. How bad can you do?
Finally, the panel discussed the discussions in the European Parliament, which holds two seats, Strasbourg and Brussels.
