Europe is not just in Brussels. Europe is everywhere where Europeans meet, where they talk to each other or do business with each other. When it comes to products from European soil such as grain, there has been a truly European ‘institution’ for 65 years – the European Commodity Exchange. Every year, it organises exchange days in different European cities with the aim of bringing market participants together and promoting economic success. In 2025, the European Commodities Exchange will be coming to Berlin on 15 and 16 October.
We should be grateful to Trump. No other American president before him would have been so blatant in publicly demonstrating the powerlessness of the Europeans. This power imbalance angers many committed Europeans. But this is precisely where a great opportunity lies. Now the last ones in Europe should understand: Firstly, unity counts, and secondly, those who cannot defend themselves are dependent and will not be taken seriously. This almost inevitably leads to the realisation that Europeans are best defended together. Even if defence remains a national responsibility, the EU serves as the most important vehicle for pooling national efforts and giving Europe a voice on the global stage. The goal must be an independent Europe and peace in Europe (Pax Europaea). (1)
The EU finance ministers are expected to adopt the final legal acts on 8 July 2025, enabling Bulgaria to adopt the euro on 1 January 2026. (1) It will then become the 21st member state of the EU with the single currency. This will add 6.5 million people to the 350 million already living in the euro area. The single currency offers advantages for businesses and citizens. National governments, on the other hand, lose control over monetary policy. But they also gain – probably more than expected in times of global challenges and uncertainty. To enable Europeans to reap the full benefits of their single currency, they must strengthen the euro's foundations: geopolitical credibility, economic resilience and legal and institutional integrity. (2)
There are enthusiastic Europeans who would rather see the nation state consigned to the dustbin of history sooner rather than later. The threat from East and West is currently giving rise to more and more such zealots. However, the nation state is far from obsolete. And in all likelihood, it will not come to that. This is because in every federalist state (should the EU become one ...), the units that form it – i.e. the member states – remain intact. And that is a good thing! Because the nation state contributes significantly to the identity of many people. It is where democracy takes place. And it performs the tasks for which the European level is not necessary or (from today's perspective) not suitable.
With the introduction of “shotgun” tariffs, US economic policy once again took a radical turn. As the boomer generation might report, the US has already turned the economic tide at least twice before (in its own interest or in the belief of doing so): The first time was when it abandoned the Bretton Woods system in 1971, and the second time with the introduction of ‘Reaganomics’ from 1981/82 onwards. The Europeans (like everyone else in the world) had to cope with the subsequent shocks. Surprise: the common European currency was also created to weather these economic storms. The euro is an important step for Europeans to free themselves from American dominance. Further steps towards liberation must follow, for example a savings and investment union.