Europe must 'awaken' and increase competitiveness in the age of Trump 2.0

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European trade chiefs warned on Tuesday that the region could fall behind its US and Asian counterparts if it fails to adapt and accelerate global policy changes expected to accelerate in President Donald Trump’s second term. .

When it comes to innovation, Europe has “always lagged behind” its counterparts in Asia and the Americas, Zurich Insurance CEO Mario Greco told CNBC from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“In a very fast-moving, very innovative world, it’s a wake-up call for Europe again. And I hope Europe takes it seriously,” Greco said.

“Take all the developments in AI (artificial intelligence) and digital. Europe has not invested as much as the US and China have done. It is also the integration of financial markets in Europe. It is still (the issue) how complicated it is. Doing business in Europe… and I will say it again. That’s why Europe needs to wake up,” added Greco.

Greco added that Europe is “well too busy” and stifling growth, especially in the new technologies needed to drive growth – and “America First” policies mean the region needs to be more defensive as we enter the Trump 2.0 era. Economic needs.

President Donald Trump signed a number of executive orders on his first day in office Monday; Among them, they have withdrawn from the Paris climate agreement and repealed the 50% electric vehicle target, as well as measures to control immigration.

Globally, Trump has sent a warning signal that the EU needs to buy more US products, as well as oil and gas, with possible 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada in early February. Or become a target for tariffs.

We hope that Trump will accelerate technological innovation, said the CEO of NEC Corporation.

Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan told CNBC that the Trump 2.0 era is “a big moment for Europe,” a time when the region needs to take control and increase competitiveness.

“Europe has to decide now, in a world where the US is very controlling and trying to increase competitiveness, Europe will continue to sit on its hands, continue to increase regulation in the (European) Commission, increase regulations in different countries, or ultimately in Europe a more supportive, competitive, innovative environment. are we going to get

“We’ll have to see. History shows that despite a lot of talk, not much action comes from the (European) Commission. And now is the time. Even with the US, it’s lagging behind,” he said.

Increase competitiveness

European policy makers seem to recognize the need to innovate and regulate in the face of growing economic rivalry and competition from the US and China.

Belgian Finance Minister Vincent van Pethem said the new Trump administration should be a wake-up call for Europe, Reuters reported on Monday. “Instead of focusing on retaliation[on U.S. tariffs]we need to focus on Europe’s challenges — the lack of competitiveness and the widening productivity gap,” he said.

Steven van Rijswijk, CEO of ING, said that Europe needs simpler and more coordinated rules in the Union to increase competitiveness and labor productivity. He also pointed out that more investment is needed.

Ing CEO said Europe must be 'competitive, more productive

“There needs to be a lot of investment in infrastructure, a lot of investment in Europe’s strategic autonomy in terms of technology infrastructure, those are the things that need to be encouraged,” he told CNBC. On the WEF side.

Banco Santander chief executive Anna Bottin said at a forum on the future of growth that governments need to develop frameworks to kick-start growth “in the right way, redistributing (and) thinking about what AI means”.

“We are not a museum,” she said of Europe. “We are in danger of becoming a museum. But who develops the latest vaccines? A lot of innovation is actually happening in Europe. We have so many startups, the cases start here and then they go to America.”