Articles

Spain has led the EU in securing and allocating recovery funds, but actual disbursement and material execution remain slow. Heavy reliance on current expenditure and fragmented projects risk undermining the program’s structural impact.

The global economy is increasingly shaped by geopolitical blocs, reflecting the weakening of multilateralism. Spain has been resilient to this disruption thanks to its strong competitive position with other EU countries; but, this hides structural export
weaknesses with non-EU regions, notably the U.S. and China, underscoring the need to revitalize the single market and boost investment.

Europe’s lacklustre economic growth reflects deep-seated structural weaknesses, from fragmented financial markets to chronic underinvestment and low productivity. Without
further fiscal and capital markets integration, the bloc remains exposed to external shocks and the risk of a managed decline.

Europe’s assumptions about Russia’s weakness and the limits of autocracies have been upended by Moscow’s resilience in war and economic mobilization. Meeting this challenge
requires a bolder strategy, with higher defence spending, modern technologies, and deeper
European cooperation.

Despite headline-grabbing tariff announcements, the average burden on most U.S. trading partners remains moderate. While China has been hit hard, the EU and other allies have faced relatively modest increases.