Economics

A competitive, green Europe will require trillions in investments. No one has a good answer on where that money will come from.

EU leaders are on a grandiloquent streak, even by their standards.

The EU can stay relevant in a world of resurgent big power politics. Europe won’t drown in the sea of public cash the U.S. and China are throwing at futuristic industries. We can muster military might and prevent climate catastrophe. We can grow a green economy.

One pledge you don’t hear? We’ll break the piggy bank to get there. That’s because EU leaders all know: The piggy bank’s already in smithereens.

On Thursday, the EU’s 27 leaders will build on these lofty goals in Brussels, proclaiming a new “deal” to keep Europe economically relevant, fight climate change and build clean energy and digital industries to rival China, the U.S. and India.