By Kostis Hatzidakis*
US President Donald Trump’s agenda has drawn the attention of the international community – and not without good reason. It is decidedly different from the agendas of many of his predecessors and has raised question marks in many countries, including among America’s allies. What matters right now is not trying to predict what will happen, as much as working to avoid exacerbating and – why not? – even achieving an improvement in relations between Europe and the United States or, at the very least, improving Europe’s position.
Europe is in the midst of another crisis. Its economy is having trouble with global competition. It has indeed taken steps for the environment, has what may be the world’s most meaningful social policy and also shows great sensitivity for human rights. Many describe it as a “soft superpower.” The problem is that it is becoming softer and softer. It does not have energy autonomy, it does not have a defense arm and all of the economies of the member-states that form it lack dynamism.
As far as the economy is concerned, the EU has the solution in its hands: it has the Letta Report on the issue of the common market and the Draghi Report on competitiveness. From the unification of European capital markets to the issuance of joint debt modeled on the Recovery and Resilience Facility, solutions are available. However, these solutions are not being implemented.
In the meantime, the EU’s biggest country, Germany, finds itself in a particularly sensitive pre-election period, and its second-biggest country, France, is in the grips of a continuing political crisis. At first glance, the signs appear not to be encouraging. However, it was EU pioneer Jean Monnet who said that Europe advances through crises. We can hope, therefore, that Trump will act like a wake-up call for Europe, galvanizing it into regrouping and accelerating certain key initiatives, starting with its competitiveness, which is essential to its having a more powerful presence on the international political and economic stages.
As far as Greece is concerned, the biggest challenge is keeping the economy as protected as possible. This is why it is doubly important that we stay on the path of fiscal responsibility. But also, of course, to combine this with investor-friendly measures.
Greece has made remarkable progress in the last five or six years, through difficult and turbulent times. This must be safeguarded and bolstered. This is what we are aiming for with our policies at the domestic level, while also supporting a more effective Europe and closer cooperation between Brussels and Washington, which will benefit both sides and especially young people, who have a right to live a better life than we have.
*Kostis Hatzidakis is Greece’s minister of Economy and Finance. Source: Ekathimerini